Update: Sour Crop - Now think it's a stuck Egg

[britinpa]

Friends can be very generous with advice on matters they know nothing about. Oyster shell particles are more effective at raising calcium levels in the blood stream if they are larger and not pulverized into powder for the simple reason they take longer to dissolve and that gives a hen's body more opportunity to absorb the calcium.

Giving your hen the calcium tablet will not make her crop issue worse. In fact, it will help to clear the likely egg blockage that is slowing down her crop function.

You do not need to bathe your hen. It will only add more stress to the stress she's already experiencing, and it can make matters worse.

No one can really know why egg binding happens. It can be diet. Some veggies contain oxalic acid which slows down calcium absorption so treats must be watched carefully. Some hens don't absorb calcium at a fast enough rate to replenish blood calcium after laying eggs. All we can do is treat with a calcium supplement when a hen has a crisis and to make sure oyster shell the hen has access to is of sufficient quality to serve her needs.

I don't think he meant it to help with this issue now. He kept chickens himself and used to grind up the oyster shell and put it into their food - and what he was saying is he never had this problem with his own hens. I'll skip the bath then for today. She sat in the nest box for a short while - I have shut her in the coop with the calcium pill to see whether she will eat it on her own. If she doesn't I will have to catch her and give it to her.

 

[azygous]

Grinding up oyster shell to feed it in food risks getting too much or too little into a laying hen as each hen absorbs calcium at an individual rate. This is why free choice is a better management practice. Long term overdosing of calcium puts undue strain on kidneys and may invite other health issues such as kidney stones. Just because someone hasn't had a hen suffer ill effects does not mean there won't be any at some point.

A hen will probably not eat a calcium tablet on her own. Waiting for her to do so risks running out of time to clear the obstruction before it blocks poop which can cause death or depletes the calcium in the blood stream as the shell gland is laying down shell which can cause sudden death.

Your hen is in crisis. Time is not on her side in this.