Swollen crop?

docdubz

Songster
5 Years
Nov 24, 2016
410
431
171
Central Texas
Is a swollen crop always a bad sign? One of my pullets has a visibly swollen crop. I didn't notice it until about the middle of the day after my flock had inadvertently gained access to (my niece was over and dumped about 4 lbs in a large pile) a large amount of scratch. I've never dealt with crop issues before so I have no idea if it's just that she gorged herself on scratch or has sour crop.
 
Is a swollen crop always a bad sign? One of my pullets has a visibly swollen crop. I didn't notice it until about the middle of the day after my flock had inadvertently gained access to (my niece was over and dumped about 4 lbs in a large pile) a large amount of scratch. I've never dealt with crop issues before so I have no idea if it's just that she gorged herself on scratch or has sour crop.
Sour crop wouldn’t happen that fast; impacted crop is first, and as the food sits in the crop and doesn’t go down it sours and ferments - aka, sour crop. I would check her first thing in the morning before she eats or drinks anything and make sure that it has gone down. The crop is supposed to fully empty overnight. It’s good that you’ve noticed this now before any impacted food gets the chance to sour. As a matter of fact, check all of them. And def don’t allow them access to that much scratch again (I know it didn’t happen on purpose, but just keep in mind high carbohydrates are a breeding ground for fermentation).
 
Sour crop wouldn’t happen that fast; impacted crop is first, and as the food sits in the crop and doesn’t go down it sours and ferments - aka, sour crop. I would check her first thing in the morning before she eats or drinks anything and make sure that it has gone down. The crop is supposed to fully empty overnight. It’s good that you’ve noticed this now before any impacted food gets the chance to sour. As a matter of fact, check all of them. And def don’t allow them access to that much scratch again (I know it didn’t happen on purpose, but just keep in mind high carbohydrates are a breeding ground for fermentation).
Thanks. Checking in the morning was my original plan but I wanted to check here and make sure it wasn't an emergency that needed immediate intervention.
 
Thanks. Checking in the morning was my original plan but I wanted to check here and make sure it wasn't an emergency that needed immediate intervention.
I don’t think so.... just make sure you don’t leave any food or water in the coop so you can get an accurate idea of whether or not the crop is fully emptying. I suspect this will be like a toddler eating too much candy - they may get a “tummy ache” and a little diarrhea, but they will probably be just fine.
 

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