The Natural Chicken Keeping thread - OTs welcome!

[sunflower4you]

Mmm..nougat.

 

[sunflower4you]

How can you tell if a bulging crop is just because they ate a lot or if there is a digestion problem (impaction)? I think one of my EEs is just a foodie because she is always first in line for the treat bucket, but her crop always looks full to me. I have not been able to check her out first thing in the morning because it is still dark out when I open the coop before work. I guess I will check her out tomorrow morning since I don't have to work. Ok, so maybe I don't have a question yet.

 

[ronott1]

How can you tell if a bulging crop is just because they ate a lot or if there is a digestion problem (impaction)? I think one of my EEs is just a foodie because she is always first in line for the treat bucket, but her crop always looks full to me. I have not been able to check her out first thing in the morning because it is still dark out when I open the coop before work. I guess I will check her out tomorrow morning since I don't have to work. Ok, so maybe I don't have a question yet.

Get a head lamp and check her before she eats in the morning.

an impacted crop is vary large. Also, the chicken will lose weight--feel skinny. Usually within several days they get pasty butt--or vent gleet--It has an odd sweet smell to it.

If the crop is impacted, you may need to treat both "ends" of the chicken....

 

[hoosiercheetah]

How can you tell if a bulging crop is just because they ate a lot or if there is a digestion problem (impaction)? I think one of my EEs is just a foodie because she is always first in line for the treat bucket, but her crop always looks full to me. I have not been able to check her out first thing in the morning because it is still dark out when I open the coop before work. I guess I will check her out tomorrow morning since I don't have to work. Ok, so maybe I don't have a question yet.

If you're still not sure, I would go ahead and isolate her, and give water only for 24 hours, and then see how things look.

I had a go-round earlier this year with an impacted crop. It took several days of water only, followed by several days of feeding coconut oil and raw egg, but eventually it worked loose. The hen has been fine since.

 

[simply blessed]

So here's the other awesome thing about brining birds - when you cook them, a lot of that water comes back out. If you stuff the body with some onion, celery, and carrot, and cook it in a crock pot all day, you end up with moist tender chicken and about a quart of concentrated chicken stock in the pot. Keep the stock, and it makes the best soup you've ever had.

Brilliant! I wonder if you've ever stuffed them before freezing? Would probably be best to steam veggies first and that would take away the easy factor. Never mind! So simple to just put it in with the bird, and to think I've been doing this in two steps when one would work! Thanks for the idea!

 

[hoosiercheetah]

Brilliant! I wonder if you've ever stuffed them before freezing? Would probably be best to steam veggies first and that would take away the easy factor. Never mind! So simple to just put it in with the bird, and to think I've been doing this in two steps when one would work! Thanks for the idea!

You're welcome!

I usually cut the stock in half with water, and it's still more rich than stock that you can buy in the store.

 

[CoopChick719]

I'm only crunchy on the outside.  Inside I'm creamy nougat.

LOL

Mmm..nougat.

Ditto on the nougat, sunflower!

 

[sunflower4you]

Get a head lamp and check her before she eats in the morning.

an impacted crop is vary large. Also, the chicken will lose weight--feel skinny. Usually within several days they get pasty butt--or vent gleet--It has an odd sweet smell to it.

If the crop is impacted, you may need to treat both "ends" of the chicken....

If you're still not sure, I would go ahead and isolate her, and give water only for 24 hours, and then see how things look.

I had a go-round earlier this year with an impacted crop. It took several days of water only, followed by several days of feeding coconut oil and raw egg, but eventually it worked loose. The hen has been fine since.

Thanks for the advice. I love this thread!

 

[LindaB220]

Brilliant! I wonder if you've ever stuffed them before freezing? Would probably be best to steam veggies first and that would take away the easy factor. Never mind! So simple to just put it in with the bird, and to think I've been doing this in two steps when one would work! Thanks for the idea!

Yeah I'm all for the simple method. Quicker the better.

 

[MargaretYakoda]

Go after it, it's worth it. Smile and say, " I'm just saving you the time of bringing it".

Actually, I'm really thinking of making a new and improved wool hen from an old insulation panel, hardware cloth, and wool. The chicks use it only until they're about twelve weeks old, so it can be shorter. And if I make the floor double thick with insulation, and then covered with something easy to clean like a vinyl flooring scrap, that would be a huge improvement.

Also, the person who has the old one is ... Well, I don't know her very well, and she's in an important position in a local organization that my son and friends are involved in. So I'd rather not make waves. And the new one will be ooodles better. So, yeah. I'm good.