Tell me your stories of crop impact surgery

[docteurshepherd]

Hi folks, I'm back again temporarily for just this post. I'm really just curious to hear other folks stories of crop impact surgery and how it went. Preferably by those who have performed it themselves. I appreciate it. I'll talk about why I'm asking below.

So this past week I lost two chickens to what I believe was a fox, I found my favorite chicken, Ruby, wounded with bite marks, in over a decade of having chickens I've never seen one survive an attack like this. She really has great luck as she's survived now a respiratory illness as a chick which I didn't think she'd survive where I was syringing her medicine everyday, a fox attack, and now hopefully crop impact surgery.
I brought her in for the night and cared for her, she wouldn't really move at all so I've been going down to the coop everyday and giving her water with a syringe. She seems like she's perking up, the first night.. this may sound gross but I slept with her in my bed. I really wasn't sure she'd make it and didn't want her passing away alone.
Anyways, I did notice her crop felt full and thought it was odd it was still full at night but figured if it was still full by tomorrow I would be more concerned and it was. I tried massaging, for a long time but didn't work. I heard online that once it's as big as a baseball it's unlikely to pass on its own and it probably is the size of a baseball from what I can feel. Probably bigger honestly. So I ordered what I need and will be performing the surgery as soon as things arrive. I've never done surgery but I feel confident that I can do it well. I'm usually good with this type of stuff and I've been researching lots and lots.

Wish me luck. I'll add some old photos of Ruby in the post as she just doesn't look great right now

Editing to say again I'm just looking to hear folks stories of how it went, I feel confident on doing it I'm just curious how things have went when folks have done it thank you

 

[Wyorp Rock]

Hi folks, I'm back again temporarily for just this post.

Temporarily? You might as well stay, people usually always keep coming back
OK, well. We'll still try to help a little.

Why don't you treat the crop first following the info in the article below. Crop issues are not always resolved overnight - it can take days. Patience and persistence. https://www.backyardchickens.com/ar...w-to-know-which-one-youre-dealing-with.73607/
Have you checked to make sure there's no wounds that may be affecting crop function too?


IF treatment doesn't work, then surgery could be considered.
Surgery is a last ditch effort, imho, but if that's the route your set on taking, then instructions and a video are in the 2 links below.
https://www.backyardchickens.com/threads/stuck-impaction-please-help.1453822/post-24216445
https://www.backyardchickens.com/threads/stuck-impaction-please-help.1453822/post-24216448

 

[docteurshepherd]

Temporarily? You might as well stay, people usually always keep coming back
OK, well. We'll still try to help a little.

Why don't you treat the crop first following the info in the article below. Crop issues are not always resolved overnight - it can take days. Patience and persistence. https://www.backyardchickens.com/ar...w-to-know-which-one-youre-dealing-with.73607/
Have you checked to make sure there's no wounds that may be affecting crop function too?


IF treatment doesn't work, then surgery could be considered.
Surgery is a last ditch effort, imho, but if that's the route your set on taking, then instructions and a video are in the 2 links below.
https://www.backyardchickens.com/threads/stuck-impaction-please-help.1453822/post-24216445
https://www.backyardchickens.com/threads/stuck-impaction-please-help.1453822/post-24216448

No wounds that I can see whatsoever other than the head ones that are honestly not too concerning to me. I keep reapplying the antibiotic ointment and monitoring and they're healing fast, weren't deep to start with.

I'll try again with a tiny bit of olive oil. I'll keep trying of course but if you seen and felt her crop I think you'd be considering surgery seriously as well. Like I said I've heard folks say once it's over baseball size it's unlikely without surgery. which makes sense because it's so full that massaging doesn't seem to work like there's no room for anything to move and just makes her uncomfortable.

Of course surgery should be the last ditch effort, but I don't want her to continue suffering prolonged if she doesn't have to as well, also I don't want her getting sour crop, and I don't think I should wait weeks like I've seen some folks do and they end up dying or being super weak to the point where I wouldn't think she'd be stable enough for me to perform surgery confidently. So yes I'll keep trying but when everything arrives which will probably, hopefully be Monday I'm more than likely going to do it.

edit, also as for staying/leaving I feel pretty good with my brief returns every 6 months or so. Folks on here can be pretty unkind. Not looking to start anything just an observation and explanation for why I only feel comfortable popping on briefly once i a great while.

 

[Shezadandy]

I've done crop surgery multiple times now. If you're rusty at suturing, or a newbie to stitching, I strongly suggest looking it up on youtube, getting comfortable somewhere with your computer or phone and practicing.

Get a skin-on store-bought chicken (or chicken pieces, breast or thighs work well) to get some practice with cutting using a scalpel and practice suturing on the muscle layer and then the skin layer. Youtube has a wealth of instructional videos - getting the knots down pat is very important.

Catgut or "chromic" sutures are absorb-able and great for use on the patient, but practice with some kind of poly material- easy to pull it out when practicing on the store-bought chicken. Also - chromic are expensive ... don't waste them on practice runs. She needs to be able to eat and drink when you're done, so doing the incision as high as possible so the incision/sutures aren't stretched when she goes to eat and drink later.

https://www.amazon.com/Sutures-Thre...hild=1&keywords=sutures&qid=1621756584&sr=8-6

Depending on what's in there, a giant 8" hemostats can come in very handy - especially if it's a huge solid ball that there's no way to pick out one strand at a time.

https://www.amazon.com/HTS-161S2-Lo...hild=1&keywords=forceps&qid=1621756757&sr=8-6

Most 'medical student' kits will contain all the basic instruments you'd need.

https://www.amazon.com/Dissection-V...=medical+instrument+kit&qid=1621756852&sr=8-6

A couple of 35ml "feeder" tip syringes to flush the crop over and over- adding water and then sucking the contents back out. Following the food path all the way down to ensure there's not more impaction between the crop and the gizzard is important too.

To help with the suturing (unless you have access to some injectable numbing solution) using Band-aid Hurt Free antiseptic spray has come in handy - I spray it on the incision repeatedly as I close things back up. Walmart usually has it in store by the bandaids.

After care - managing intake and making sure what she's eaten has gone down before offering more is very important. It's not often I will tell someone to withhold water, but there is a real danger that she may 'water-balloon' herself afterwards by drinking too much at the same time. It's a good 3-6 days of very limited portions multiple times a day and constant monitoring.

 

[docteurshepherd]

I've done crop surgery multiple times now. If you're rusty at suturing, or a newbie to stitching, I strongly suggest looking it up on youtube, getting comfortable somewhere with your computer or phone and practicing.

Get a skin-on store-bought chicken (or chicken pieces, breast or thighs work well) to get some practice with cutting using a scalpel and practice suturing on the muscle layer and then the skin layer. Youtube has a wealth of instructional videos - getting the knots down pat is very important.

Catgut or "chromic" sutures are absorb-able and great for use on the patient, but practice with some kind of poly material- easy to pull it out when practicing on the store-bought chicken. Also - chromic are expensive ... don't waste them on practice runs. She needs to be able to eat and drink when you're done, so doing the incision as high as possible so the incision/sutures aren't stretched when she goes to eat and drink later.

https://www.amazon.com/Sutures-Thre...hild=1&keywords=sutures&qid=1621756584&sr=8-6

Depending on what's in there, a giant 8" hemostats can come in very handy - especially if it's a huge solid ball that there's no way to pick out one strand at a time.

https://www.amazon.com/HTS-161S2-Lo...hild=1&keywords=forceps&qid=1621756757&sr=8-6

Most 'medical student' kits will contain all the basic instruments you'd need.

https://www.amazon.com/Dissection-V...=medical+instrument+kit&qid=1621756852&sr=8-6

A couple of 35ml "feeder" tip syringes to flush the crop over and over- adding water and then sucking the contents back out. Following the food path all the way down to ensure there's not more impaction between the crop and the gizzard is important too.

To help with the suturing (unless you have access to some injectable numbing solution) using Band-aid Hurt Free antiseptic spray has come in handy - I spray it on the incision repeatedly as I close things back up. Walmart usually has it in store by the bandaids.

After care - managing intake and making sure what she's eaten has gone down before offering more is very important. It's not often I will tell someone to withhold water, but there is a real danger that she may 'water-balloon' herself afterwards by drinking too much at the same time. It's a good 3-6 days of very limited portions multiple times a day and constant monitoring.

Thanks, I feel like I'm pretty good to go like I said I've been researching lots and lots and feel confident but that's very helpful advice. I was posting as I was curious to hear how it's went. Yours have been successful?

 

[Shezadandy]

Yes. Though if the hen is determined to eat every last stick and strand she runs across, keeping her crop healthy is a challenge!

 

[docteurshepherd]

Yes. Though if the hen is determined to eat every last stick and strand she runs across, keeping her crop healthy is a challenge!

I'm sure, I don't know what mine even has gotten into. Maybe she will get issues again but I love her so much I can't not try. I plan on performing it today assuming the package comes like it's supposed to. I'll update on how it goes.

 

[docteurshepherd]

Okay we're maybe half an hour post op. There was a lot. Mostly grass, super tangled, I genuinely don't think there's any way she'd pass it on her own. It was at least baseball sized. She's recovering in the living room with a sheet over her cage. I really really hope she'll be okay. Like I said I love her a lot. I tried my best.

 

[turkey girl 0964]

Okay we're maybe half an hour post op. There was a lot. Mostly grass, super tangled, I genuinely don't think there's any way she'd pass it on her own. It was at least baseball sized. She's recovering in the living room with a sheet over her cage. I really really hope she'll be okay. Like I said I love her a lot. I tried my best.

Great! Hope she recovers well!

 

[docteurshepherd]

Great! Hope she recovers well!

Thank you so much!! Me too. You know what's funny is she made a kind of coo sound after a minute or two after I put her in her cage, we hadn't heard her do that since getting ill. I thought it was a good sign.