What’s this bulge on my hens neck (that’s not her crop)

[Fluster Cluck Acres]

Hi friends! This is Buffy, my 3 year old ISA Brown. What is this bulge on her neck?

Background: Yesterday she was doing normal chicken things, but I could tell she was feeling a little “off.” She slept most of the night in a kind of unusual position where she was very upright, neck extended. This morning she was reluctant to leave the coop. When I took her out she was lethargic and her crop wasn’t emptied. She was gurgling & doing neck gyrations as if she was burping or trying to vomit. Her crop was soft and squishy - not completely full but not empty (she’d had no food since the evening before). She had no interest in food, treats, or water. Just stood around and kept closing her eyes. I massaged her crop, which she seemed to enjoy, and seemed to make her “burp” more. It also seemed to make things move around, and occasionally she’d get this second, hard bulge (it comes and goes). Eventually she regurgitated - she spit out tons of black liquid plus some full kernels of corn and mealworms. Her crop was empty and she was no longer stood in that awkward tall, head up position. I put her in a dark quiet place to recover for about an hour. This picture of her in the shower is her AFTER regurgitation and her rest period. She hadn’t eaten or drank anything. But the bulge is still there. Since her rest period, she has perked up. She drank water and ate a few pieces of shredded cheese. She kept her eyes opened for a while and just hung out. But she is still far from being back to normal. I have Monistat 7 I was going to give for sour crop, but is this something else? I will say I don’t smell anything as vile as many people describe.

Some more background- Buffy has been laying normally and laid an egg yesterday morning. She lives in a flock of 6, and they're on Flock Raiser and have oyster & egg shells. The flock was wormed back in February with Safegard. She’s had very few stools, but they’ve all been watery diarrhea since she went to roost last night. Before that they were normal as far as I’m aware. As I’m typing this, she’s decided to start picking at her food more and scratching at her food bowl which makes my heart happy. But what should my next steps be? Thanks in advance for any insight or suggestions.

The very last picture, where she’s facing toward the camera, is the most recent. You can still sort of see the bulge near her neck.

 

[The-White-Elephant]

@azygous @Wyorp Rock

 

[azygous]

You need to feel the neck with your finger tips and translate that into a verbal "picture". For example, is it the size of a mouse? Is it hard like a rock? Is it soft like a wad of grass?

 

[Tookie]

Production breeds like Isa Browns will often get health issues at around the age of your hen. Not to give your hopes up but I got three Isa Browns about 4 1/2 years ago and two of them got sour crop and the other one probably had a reproduction issue and they all died. I hope your hen gets better!

 

[Fluster Cluck Acres]

You need to feel the neck with your finger tips and translate that into a verbal "picture". For example, is it the size of a mouse? Is it hard like a rock? Is it soft like a wad of grass?

The neck felt… like her neck. As if she had 2 spines. It was hard, long, and skinny, but not smooth. (Like a petite spine). I don’t know how else to describe it.

As an update she has slowly improved all night since the regurgitation. She went out in the garden with me and we went worm hunting. She was eating and drinking, scratching and looking happy. But I’m sure we’re not out of the woods, so I’m still curious if you have any theories.

 

[Fluster Cluck Acres]

Production breeds like Isa Browns will often get health issues at around the age of your hen. Not to give your hopes up but I got three Isa Browns about 4 1/2 years ago and two of them got sour crop and the other one probably had a reproduction issue and they all died. I hope your hen gets better!

That’s kind of what I’m worried about. My other Brown has been having issues, too. It’s heartbreaking- they are the friendliest and sweetest girls- but knowing what I know now, I doubt I’ll ever get them again. The good news is she made dramatic improvement tonight since her regurgitation. So fingers crossed she continues to improve. I didn’t wind up treating her for sour crop yet, but still might tomorrow depending on how her crop feels and how she’s acting.

 

[azygous]

Was the neck bulge gone before you felt her neck? I meant for you to describe the bulge, not the neck. Perhaps she had something stuck in her esophagus and it dislodged when she vomited. Chickens do sometimes swallow things whole such as mice and lizards.

 

[Fluster Cluck Acres]

Was the neck bulge gone before you felt her neck? I meant for you to describe the bulge, not the neck. Perhaps she had something stuck in her esophagus and it dislodged when she vomited. Chickens do sometimes swallow things whole such as mice and lizards.

The bulge seemed to come and go a few times. It felt the same as her neck. I guess it is difficult to describe. I am beginning to suspect she had/has something in her esophagus. At one point when regurgitation, she made a painful squawk and some full corn kernels came out. I’m not sure if that’s enough to get stuck. But then it’s also possible she didn’t get all of it out since the bulge reappeared after regurgitating. I wonder if she had something stuck in her esophagus and it became inflamed? Maybe that’s what I was feeling? She’s doing well today, although still not 100%. Her crop was mostly empty this morning, so I’m not planning to treat for sour crop.

 

[azygous]

She should be okay now. As I mentioned, chickens are known to swallow some pretty outrageous stuff. People have posted videos here of chickens catching live mice and scarfing them down. Such a meal can stay in the crop for quite a while until acidic juices break it down.