Strange object from pullets bum - pictures **Final UPDATE post #37**

[TimeMist]

I haven't tried to feed her because her crop is so full. I'm just hoping there isn't a big blockage somewhere in there like another egg stuck.

I'm not sure about the menapause. I would rather that than lose her to an internal egg

 

[Poulets De Cajun]

Glad we figured it out and you didn't jump the gun and dispatch her! Thats whats so nice about this site! Teamwork!

 

[TimeMist]

Yep she's one lucky hen...for now

I have smelled her breath and can't smell anything unusual but her crop is huge. My question is if I do the upside down trick of masaging her crop and getting rid of the gunk, what's the chance of her aspirating the stuff that comes up while she's wrong way up? I would hate to kill her with the remedy

This is what I love about the internet, you can get so much combined knowledge all in one place, and at the touch of a button.

Thanks so much everyone for your help so far.

 

[cjeanean]

Hmm, I've never tried anything like that. At one point I had some of my cochins end up with problems, when they inhaled their food it got stuck in their esophagus. They couldn't get it swallowed. I gently pressed on the bulge that had appeared right under their beaks, and it caused the lodged food to come into view. They sure didn't like me for that! I had to use tweezers to get the stuff out, then soften their food from that point on till they were better. I don't know about actually trying to get stuff out of the actual crop!

Does it feel full of liquid? Or like there's food in there that isn't going through?

BTW,

I forgot to say it!

 

[cjeanean]

Here's some info that's probably already been posted on here a hundred times but I can't seem to find....

LINK: http://club.omlet.co.uk/forum/viewtopic.php?f=41&t=5334&p=143934

Before you can decide if your hen is unwell because of a crop problem you need to know what a normal crop should be like.

Hens only have a small gizzard (stomach) for grinding up their food which is quite a long process for them as they have no teeth to chew it up first. The food eaten during the day is stored in their crop which will gradually become distended. They can eat so much they become quite bosomy in a singular sort of way. During the night they will gradually grind the food up in their gizzard and their crop will become deflated by morning. If the hen has a lump on her chest in the morning feel it to try to determine what the problem may be.

Blocked or Impacted Crop

If the lump is hard, then it is called impacted or blocked crop. This can happen when they have eaten long, tough, fibrous grass, or something similar, and it has got into a tangled mass that is too large to pass further down.

Some Omleteers recommend giving the hen live white maggots (the fisherman’s type) to eat. These may then eat their way thought the blockage. A more standard treatment for a blocked crop is adding a lubricant and massaging the crop to try to help break up the blockage the contents so it can pass out of the chicken’s crop and on down into the digestive system. Do not try to make your chicken sick as the hard lump will be too big for the hen to regurgitate !

Olive oil is good option as a first aid measure, but do not to use it for more than a day or two, as it may overload the chickens liver. Another option is liquid paraffin (from chemists or vets) which, does not go through the liver passes out with the droppings.

Use 2-3ml of oil or liquid paraffin twice a day, and massage the crop quite firmly for a few minutes afterwards. Use a syringe to give the lubricant, being careful to put it past the hole at the back of the chicken’s tongue. This hole leads to the lungs and if anything other than air gets down there this can be dangerous. You may need to use a syringe with a narrow tube attached.

Avoid letting the chicken eat anything which might add to the impaction. Feed soft, highly nutritious food. If this treatment does not reducing the size of the lump, or has not resolved the situation after a week, or the chicken’s health is deteriorating in any other way, the only other option is to consult your vet.

Sour crop

If the crop is very soft and feels like a water filled balloon, then this is called a sour crop. This is caused by a fungal infection and all the extra liquid is the body’s reaction to the fungus. In this case the crop contents will smell awful, so another way to confirm this is the problem is to smell the chicken’s breath, which can be done at anytime of the day. A bad smell points to sour crop. Sometimes a hen my regurgitate some of the contents of the crop.

You can get rid of some of the fluid by making the chicken sick. If you do this you need to be very careful so the chicken doesn’t choke as the fluid comes back. You should hold her upside down away from you, head downwards, and gently pushing with your hand from the bottom of the crop upwards towards the chicken’s head. Do several small attempts, rather than one big one.

Then feed you hen live, bio yogurt. Most chickens, given the chance, will eat this directly. If she will not eat it give a teaspoon or two (5-10 ml) by syringe daily. And feed soft nutritious food. If this treatment does not help after a few days, or if the chicken’s health is deteriorating in any other way, a vet will prescribe an anti-fungal medicine. If sour crop is left undetected or untreated long term there can be irreversible damage to the lining of the crop.

Putting Apple Cider Vinegar in the drinking water and garlic in their feed are very good for the digestion and can help to prevent problems.

(MY COMMENT: Garlic makes the eggs taste funny!)

 

[TimeMist]

Thanks for posting that. It does not appear to be sour crop. It does not appear to be fuid filled.

Her crop feels very full compared to my other chickens, and she has not had food in nearly 24 hours (but she is drinking plenty of water) It does not feel really solid just very full and I can feel the pellets that she normally has during the day.

I have given her some oil and tomorrow moring will try her on some soft food. I will not try to remove anything from her crop at present.

Thanks again.

Pip

 

[TimeMist]

I just realised the update I did on this thread never showed up? So I'll do it again even though it's months later.

Well, Buttercup made a full recovery. As soon as she passed those two very strange eggs she went from strength to strengh. I also did end up putting some olive oil into her crop and massaging it. I did this for 2 days in a row till it was clear that she was emptying it herself. I kept her on a soft diet for the rest of that week (total 6 days)

A month of so later she appeared to get lethargic again, so I separated her off and put her on a soft diet again. She passed what appeared to be the white lining that goes between the shell and the white of the egg but nothing again. She came right within 2 days.

Off and on for the next few weeks I would find the odd piece of egg that she had passed, either just egg white or a funny shell, but never any yolks.

Last month I found an egg in the nest box that had no real shell although assumed it must be hers. A couple of days later another one with a slightly thicker shell. A few weeks later yet another egg with an even thicker shell.

So now every once and a while I will get an egg that appears normal on the inside, but lacks a fully hard shell on the outside. So maybe her body is starting to get the hang on this egg laying business

I had to downsize my flock recently (sold 4) but refused to get rid of my buttercup even though my other hens lay 1 egg a day everyday and she lays...well....something every now and then, but she is such a great pet and the other hen's more than make up for her. They are all ex-battery hens and since they started laying for me (about 4 weeks after I got them) with the exception of buttercup, I have always got an egg a day from them, even in full moult

So that's the update, oh and BTW buttercup is the brown shaver in the front of my avatar picture

 

[Biddieacres]

So glad Buttercup is getting the hang of it. Poor thing. Those pictures are amazing. You are taking such good care of her with her soft diet etc...your a good Mama.

 

[nzpouter]

have you been giving her grit?

 

[NancyDz]

THanks for posting the update, I wasnt a member when you had this going on and it is a really interesting thread that I may not have seen if you hadnt done the update. Glad Buttercup got better and has such a great home! I just got a hen yesterday named "Buttercup" from a fellow BYC'er.

Nancy