Sour Crop or Something More Serious?

[marieri]

Hi all,

One of our lovely girls has a suspected case of sour crop, but I'm worried it may be something worse. The right side of her chest, where the crop is, is very enlarged to about the size of a tennis ball, I'd say. She is big for a hen and hasn't started laying even though she's about 7 months old, and she has a very big, floppy comb so we think she might be a rooster, but she hasn't crowed or tried to mate yet. She's a brown leghorn.

The crop (I assume) is soft to touch and I can feel what I believe to be food, and she is a big eater, but it's very very big and I'm worried it may be a tumour. She's clucking fine and still eating and drinking, and she's happy to walk/run around like normal. Recently I have been busy so their water has been dirtier than usual, but it's never perfectly clean because they seem to enjoy kicking dirt and food into it. I give them cleaner water in a different container that seems to get less trashed, but they can still drink the less clean stuff.

I'll check in the morning when she hasn't just eaten to see if it's still huge, and I'll start her on apple cider vinegar and some massages, but should I be worried or take her to a vet?

Thanks!!

 

[marieri]

Mini update:

After some discussion I and another family member have concluded that she may just be eating too much. When I let them out of their shed to roam in the morning, she's pretty much straight away eating the food out of a large tray we have. Most of the time she's just eating, not really scratching like our other hen, so I think she might just need to go on a diet. Would anyone agree?

We're going to worm them and change the water distribution system tomorrow, as well as provide them with some calcium grit rather than the shell they don't eat, and add some apple cider vinegar to their water.

Any feedback or emergency "don't do that!"s would be much appreciated!!

 

[DobieLover]

When I let them out of their shed to roam in the morning, she's pretty much straight away eating the food

This is completely normal behavior. As long as she can roam and forage, she should be just fine.

go on a diet. Would anyone agree?

No.
Check her body score:

and add some apple cider vinegar to their water.

I would not do this.
If they are easily kicking debris into the waterer, raise it to about even with their backs. It helps keep it cleaner.

about the size of a tennis ball

This is not large. I have an Australorp that looks like she's swallowed half a cantaloupe by the time they go to roost. By morning, her crop is flat and empty. This is what you need to do with your pullet. As long as that crop is empty in the morning, it is functioning just fine. Your girl may just be a big eater.