Swollen but not hard crop(similar to waterbelly)

[54renihanmeadows]

Hey all,

I have a 9-10 montjh old hen whose crop is very prominent. She layed for a bit in the fall but hasn't been during the shorter days. The crop is not hard but feels like a giant jiggly waterballoon. I tried uploading a video but I could only get pictures to load. She doesn't seem to bothered by it and is running around like normal but it does kind of drag when she puts her head down. I think it's bare because she's been trying to keep it clean. Do you think this is sour crop? Either way what do you think the best treatment would be? Thanks so much for your help.
Pete

 

[Wyorp Rock]

How is she?
I would assume it's not emptying overnight.
Is she pooping?

I would treat as Sour Crop and Pendulous Crop. Most of the time a crop problem are symptom symptom of an underlying condition. Could be she does have something else going on too, but maybe the crop has lost it's elasticity too. She's quite young for that to happen though, imho.

Treatment info in the first link along with a short tutorial about how to make your own crop bra. Second link, Carol has better info about making a bra and subsequent pages where she made adjustments to "tweak" the fit and function.

Hope these help.

https://www.backyardchickens.com/ar...w-to-know-which-one-youre-dealing-with.73607/
https://www.backyardchickens.com/threads/making-a-crop-bra-for-a-hen-with-pendulous-crop.1464848/