What could be wrong?

[aart]

Ok, thank you! I looked at her, her crop seems just like all the others’. Couldn’t catch her to make sure though

Get her off the roost at night and put her in a crate.

I isolate bird in a wire cage within the coop for a day or two....so I can closely monitor:
-their intake of food and water,
-crop function(checking at night and in morning before providing more feed),
-and their poops.
Feel their abdomen, from below vent to between legs, for squishy or hard swelling.
Check for external parasites or any other abnormalities.


Best to put crate right in coop or run so bird is still 'with' the flock.
I like to use a fold-able wire dog crate (24"L x 18"W x 21"H) with smaller mesh(1x2) on bottom of crate under tray.
Then you can put tray underneath crate to better observe droppings without it being stepped in. If smaller mesh is carefully installed, tray can still be used inside crate.

 

[RoyalChick]

Checking her crop before dawn is a good way of telling if it is empty. For novices like me it is easier to check in the dark because the chicken is sleepy and you can take her off the roost and have a good feel-around.
It is also easier to tell if a crop is empty than come to a judgement on whether it is 'normally full' during the day.
If it is totally empty first thing then a lot of issues can be excluded.

 

[The-White-Elephant]

Checking her crop before dawn is a good way of telling if it is empty. For novices like me it is easier to check in the dark because the chicken is sleepy and you can take her off the roost and have a good feel-around.
It is also easier to tell if a crop is empty than come to a judgement on whether it is 'normally full' during the day.
If it is totally empty first thing then a lot of issues can be excluded.

It is not empty. @azygous It didn’t not empty, and is pretty hard. Hardest crop I’ve ever felt.

 

[azygous]

That sounds like impacted crop. Now, the fun part, getting a lot of oil into her.

Did you read my article yet? It tells how to treat the impacted crop. Coconut oil is easiest, so get some from the grocery if you don't have it. Coconut oil is easier to deal with that liquid oil. Divide it into pea size pieces and chill until hard. Then feed her one at a time into her beak. If you can find the virgin unrefined coconut oil, it tastes good and she might eat it out of your hand.

Read the article to be sure you have all the information.

 

[RoyalChick]

It is not empty. @azygous It didn’t not empty, and is pretty hard. Hardest crop I’ve ever felt.

Well now you know what you are dealing with!
Read @azygous article as she explains below.
I am a relatively inexperienced chickeneer so will add a few things from my recent experience with this.
- As azygous says, the pure coconut oil is clearly yummy. I started popping it down her throat like a pill but stopped that when my Minnie felt I wasn't feeding it fast enough and gobbled up all my little cocomut oil pills in one go. They were little frozen balls and chips. That took a lot of the stress out of it for me
- Massaging the crop itself requires some firmness - this is not petting - you are trying to break up fibrous stuff - with experience you can start to feel it through your fingers.
- Don't beat the chicken up or make everything come up to its mouth so have patience - it took me a week of twice a day sessions to finally break up the ball of fibrous stuff that was blocking Minnie.
- Doing the massage before dawn is easiest - Minnie would fall asleep tucked under my arm while I massaged.
I hope those few thoughts from someone who remembers how scary it was the first time are helpful for you.

 

[azygous]

 

[The-White-Elephant]

Well now you know what you are dealing with!
Read @azygous article as she explains below.
I am a relatively inexperienced chickeneer so will add a few things from my recent experience with this.
- As azygous says, the pure coconut oil is clearly yummy. I started popping it down her throat like a pill but stopped that when my Minnie felt I wasn't feeding it fast enough and gobbled up all my little cocomut oil pills in one go. They were little frozen balls and chips. That took a lot of the stress out of it for me
- Massaging the crop itself requires some firmness - this is not petting - you are trying to break up fibrous stuff - with experience you can start to feel it through your fingers.
- Don't beat the chicken up or make everything come up to its mouth so have patience - it took me a week of twice a day sessions to finally break up the ball of fibrous stuff that was blocking Minnie.
- Doing the massage before dawn is easiest - Minnie would fall asleep tucked under my arm while I massaged.
I hope those few thoughts from someone who remembers how scary it was the first time are helpful for you.

Ok, thank you! Will do!

 

[The-White-Elephant]

Her crop appears quite full in the photos. Have you monitored it to see if it's emptying overnight? She may have pendulous crop and it doesn't empty, causing discomfort and even starvation. Read through this and it will help you figure out if a crop issue may be causing her to be unwell. https://www.backyardchickens.com/ar...w-to-know-which-one-youre-dealing-with.73607/

Anything else I can use instead of coconut oil? I don't have any.

 

[azygous]

Go buy some. You probably need milk and bread, also. It's in the baking aisle.

 

[Poultrybonkers]

The way its standing i think could be ascites