Impacted Crop Advice

[lizzylemon]

Hello All!

Hendrix, she of the infrequent but very pretty eggs, has, I'm 99% certain an impacted crop. I noticed yesterday that her right breast is much more extended than the others and she's gone off her lay (hence me watching them intently to discover the reason).

I picked her up yesterday and felt the area and it felt 'grainy' under her skin (cringe, my pet gross-out is anything skin eating/ blood sucking related: mites, ticks and now lumps, which feel like giant ticks, gag, gag, gag) so I rubbed it downwards and slowly massaged it in small circular movements and it seemed to go down a bit. Today I found very stringy poo which I guess is the long grass moving out of her stomach.

So what I need to know is there anything I can stick down her neck to 'loob' the stuff? Plus how do I it and for what length of time do I massage her. Do I stop her from eating or what?

I've checked the Chicken Helpline forum and although I like sewing, not up for open-crop-surgery.

As always, thanks for your help & advice Oh Great Chicken Sage-etts

[Flummery]

They seem to suggest that you syrynge a teaspoon of olive oil down the side of the beak (so it doesn't go down the air passage and choke the poor soul) and then continue gentle massage. This lubrication is said to help the offending matter go down.

This is all theoretical you know. I've read loads and never even picked up a chicken. I'm a quick learner though!

[MaureenHall]

Yes, Flummery's got it right I think, olive oil is the treatment of choice. I think I'd be tempted to mix it in with some porridge or something that slips down easily too just to make sure it's going down the right hole! Keep up the massage though till her crop feels normal again. Also move any long grass out of the chooks way, they're so stoooopid they'll eat it again when they're feeling better and it'll be back to square one again

[Eyren]

You could also try probiotic yogurt or, if you can get past the grossness factor, live maggots (from the fishing shop) will help in severe cases - the hens will love them, and the maggots will munch through the blockage before getting digested themselves

[MaureenHall]

Eyren that sounds really gross but effective

[Nicos]

if you can get past the grossness factor, live maggots (from the fishing shop) and the maggots will munch through the blockage before getting digested themselves

[lizzylemon]

You could also try probiotic yogurt or, if you can get past the grossness factor, live maggots (from the fishing shop) will help in severe cases - the hens will love them, and the maggots will munch through the blockage before getting digested themselves

Not at all grossed out by Maggies - loading them onto my big cousins line was the ONLY job I was allowed to do as a soft girl when I was younger.......

.....although these days I have my suspicions as to who was the softie......

I'll ask my neighbours boys where I can get some from. I'm a bit worried I might choke the chook.

[Rhode Runner]

I think there is a bit of a mix up here between impacted crop and sour crop.

Impacted crop

Symptoms:- Crop still feels very full in the morning before the bird has fed. Crop is hard and food or other matter has formed a solid impassable ball, this is often caused by long strands of tough grass.

Treatment:- As mentioned a loiile olive oil dribbled into the beak and down to the crop then massage and try to shift the blockage down through the system. Failing this surgerey is a last option.

Sour crop

Symptoms:- This is caused by a bacterial infection similar to thrush. Basically food is rotting in the crop. The crop will feel squishy. If you hold up the bird, give it a gentle squeeze, and smell it's breath it will smell awful.

Treatment:- Try and get a mixture of yoghurt and olive oil into the birds crop and stomach. Turn the bird upside down and massage the crop and stomach until a lot of green and white foul smelling muck comes pouring out. That done keep the bird in isolation and feed bio yoghurt and stewed apple d for a couple of days. You should see rapid improvement.

I hope this clarifies the two. Keep,us posted on your hen Lizzie.

Allan

[lizzylemon]

Hi Allan - completely clarified, thank you Hopefully it wont get to the sour crop thing but I suspect that might be the next step on from a impacted crop or at least I hope so!

I'll do the olive oil thing as I had a syringe for my little girls antibiotics not so long back still knocking around that'll be ideal.

I feel quite bad actually as they've been penned up for a while now so I'm guess shes had the grass in there for a month or so before I even noticed. Fingers crossed I can get whatever it is through and make her well again.

[Nicos]

Rhode Runner......

VERY interesting!!!...thankyou!

[Eyren]

Love the animation, Nicos - cheered me up no end (off for the last stage of my root canal work this morning )

[di]

Love the animation, Nicos - cheered me up no end (off for the last stage of my root canal work this morning )

Hope it goes O.K!!!x....I'm busily ignoring a rather large hole,but I know the more I try to ignore it the worse it's getting!

[Glutton4...]

Hope it goes O.K!!!x....I'm busily ignoring a rather large hole,but I know the more I try to ignore it the worse it's getting!

Mmmm - glad I'm not the only one

[HayleyB]

Great advice Allan, best to remember all that short grass good - long grass bad

[Nicos]

uuuurrrmmm....how long is LONG?????- are we talking of up to 2" , 3" ,4" is OK???....or up to 6"????
I'm off to the UK for 10 days and leaving my guys n gals in the field which is now about 2" high..is it going to be OK to leave it for 10 days?????- or should I strim it first????( should I rake up the cuttings????)...it's raining here- and will be difficult to do in the next couple of days