Worm balls in crop!!!

[KCChickenMomma]

Yes, you read that right. I have treated my chickens twice now for eye worms. Both times several hens have gotten an impacted crop from the mass of worms that won't go down.
I have had 2 that ended up dying from sour crop. It's been a few days since the second treatment and when I checked everyone yesterday I had 13 out 26 with a worm ball in their crop. So into the freezer went the whole jar of coconut oil and I preceded to try to unclump (so very disgusting) the worm ball. I was able to separate the worms for the kost part but I didn't have any success getting them out of the crop after 2 rounds of oil. This morning most still have their worm balls but now I have 5 more with them. One didn't clear her food from yesterday. I do not know what to do here. I lost two of my most beloved favorite ladies (yes, I play favorites) and I'm afraid I'll loose more. Almost my whole flock has these nasty balls of worms that they we can't clear. What can I do here? I'm so completely and totally overwhelmed here. Anything you've got I'll try!
BTW, it's as disgusting as it sounds, breaking up a ball of worms in the crop. I'm not super squeamish, but man, it gives me the heeby jeebies.

 

[GermanKennhuhn]

@azygous Should be able to help.
sorry for you losses!

 

[dawg53]

Did you give them Valbazen? Also, can you post a photo of a worm ball if possible?

 

[aart]

How are you sure that the crop is jammed with worms?

 

[KCChickenMomma]

Did you give them Valbazen? Also, can you post a photo of a worm ball if possible?

Yes, I used the valbazen. It's working! I knew they had them bad but I had no idea how bad. I can't get a picture. I only feel them when the crop is empty and they seem to be stuck together at one end where i can feel something else. It is very difficult to explain but it's like a solid rectangle shape and when I massage it or squish it trying to break it up the worms are more defined. I can feel them individually. They're bigger than I thought they'd be too.

 

[KCChickenMomma]

How are you sure that the crop is jammed with worms?

I can feel them when I do crop checks in the morning. Sometimes I have to feel around for them but I know something is there because thier crop isn't completely flat like it's supposed to be. I don't clear it at that point, the next day the crop is empty.

 

[Banana01]

I can feel them when I do crop checks in the morning. Sometimes I have to feel around for them but I know something is there because thier crop isn't completely flat like it's supposed to be. I don't clear it at that point, the next day the crop is empty.

Have you done post mortems on the ones that died to cut open the digestive system and crop to see what it was?

You can help the ones with worms by supplementing another 20 mL of water every night before bed. If you want to flush a crop, give them more water than they drink on their own. Sometimes I get up in the middle of the night and grab a chicken to give water if I feel they are having crop issues.

 

[dawg53]

I've never heard of worm balls in the crop. When birds are wormed, the worms are normally digested as protein. If the guts were loaded up with worms, some may be excreted in feces.
The only worms that I know of that infect the crop are capillary worms. Here's a link, scroll down to "Final location of Capillaria worms."
https://parasitipedia.net/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=2649&Itemid=2938

 

[KCChickenMomma]

I've never heard of worm balls in the crop. When birds are wormed, the worms are normally digested as protein. If the guts were loaded up with worms, some may be excreted in feces.
The only worms that I know of that infect the crop are capillary worms. Here's a link, scroll down to "Final location of Capillaria worms."
https://parasitipedia.net/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=2649&Itemid=2938

I am so very confused now after reading the info from the link. I think the worms in the crop are dead. I haven't felt them in all the birds and I've only felt them after worming. From what I understand eyeworms are not that big though and the ones I am feeling in the crop seem to be about one to two inches long. I have no doubt they have worms in their eyes. I have seen them. The only fecal I have done came back negative. I was told that this happened because I missed the cycle of the worms. I don't know what I am dealing with here but I do know this all started when my birds discovered nightcrawlers in the soil after some pretty decent rain. I'm going to be collecting more feces for another fecal asap. Is the valbazen supposed to completely get rid of the worms in their eyes after the second treatment? From what I'm seeing it hasn't. They're definitely doing so much better.

 

[KCChickenMomma]

I

Have you done post mortems on the ones that died to cut open the digestive system and crop to see what it was?

You can help the ones with worms by supplementing another 20 mL of water every night before bed. If you want to flush a crop, give them more water than they drink on their own. Sometimes I get up in the middle of the night and grab a chicken to give water if I feel they are having crop issues.

I have not done post mortems on them. They had sour crop so I didn't think it was necessary. Now that I'm finding these worm impactions I do of course, but it's too late for that. They've both been cremated. I will give the water tonight to as many as I can. I have a broody that I'm most worried about. She will be done twice tonight. Thank you!