Large crop

[Chris Kurzfeld]

One of my Bluebelles had a problem with her crop some time ago, it was huge - she is a greedy madam and had overstuffed it. Anyway, I managed to empty it by turning her upside down and massaging it - being very gentle and careful not to choke her - and then put her on her own putting her on rations. She was separated for almost 3 weeks and all seemed well so I put her back and she's done it again only this time she isn't very well . It isn't sour crop, there is no smell, it's just huge again and this time I can't empty it (last time it never went back to normal size). I haven't a scalpel to try and empty it that way (not sure i could anyway - too squeemish ) and our vet knows nothing about chickens. I think she may be too far gone to help her (she has got this way in less than 24 hours and is poohing pure water!!!!!) but thought I would ask you all if you had any ideas first, personally I think she overstretched it so much the first time she will always have this problem but I don't know enough to know for sure.

[Top Hen]

Have you tried getting some caster oil down her then massage it to soften it up and then maybe it will come away when up turn her upside down.

[Chris Kurzfeld]

Yes, it's what I used last time too, but no luck this time, it's stuck fast - I think she has been in the lambing shelter and stuffed herself with the hay, thats what it feels like! I have over 30 chickens and none are as greedy as this one, it's like she's on a mission - can they get eating disorders?

[Rhode Runner]

You have a crop bound bird Chris. You are right about the nature of what she is eating.Often birds become crop bound when they eat course material such as long dry grass stems. She has obviously been stuffing herself with coarse hay and such like. The crop feels hard and unyielding. It is easiest to detect first thing in the morning before the bird starts feeding. If it feels full then it is crop bound.

Here's the cure:-

Treatment for Crop Bound

The earlier that you discover the problem the easier it will be to solve. First put the bird in a pen that will not allow him access to any food including grass and dirt . Take some ordinary plain
( unflavored ) yogurt and mix it with some cool water to make it syringeable and squirt it down his throat several times a day . You might want to mix a small amount of Vit& Elec with it as well . Massage the crop vigorously to mix the contents with the yogurt . Keep doing this until he starts to pass the feed. He should be cleaned out within 24 hours . Next take a hard boiled egg and mix the yogurt with it and feed it to him for the next 24 hours. When he is passing this feed without any problem bring him back on a mixture of the feed that you normally feed mixed with the hard boiled egg and the yogurt until over a few days he is eating and passing the feed without difficulty. Then put him on his regular feed. During this time the bird must have plenty of fresh water with Vit&Elec in it as well.

Stay away from using bread,milk,and oils as they are hard to digest at this time when the digestive system is under such stress.

Sour crop is caused by an infection in the crop. The crop will feel squishy and the breath will smell badly.

Sour Crop: the hard facts
The Chook Doctor explains:

[Sour Crop] is a common problem with hens, especially if they are allowed to graze on grass when they are first released. These birds are not used to eating such natural foods, so they tend not to know how to do it properly. Long strands of grass in the crops of such birds often are unable to pass through the digestive system, [so they] bind in the crop and ferment.

The Chook Doctor
A quick method of telling whether a chicken has Sour Crop or not is to gently squeeze it and sniff the air thats expelled from its mouth. If the bird has Sour Crop then the air will smell awful, if not well, I dont suppose a chicken smells very nice anyway, but apparently la diffrence dodeur is marked. (Of course, sniffing chickens is also one of the eight sure-fire ways of being marked down as a looney, but well put that aside for the moment.)

Fear not, help is at hand
Luckily for you my mother has a cure for Sour Crop. First she grabs you (this isnt hard because youre just lying there burping), then she sticks a tube down your throat, and pours a mixture of yogurt and olive oil into you.

That done, she takes hold of your feet, hangs you upside down, and massages your stomach and crop until lots of green and white muck comes pouring out of you.

Finally she flips you the right way up, pats you on the head, and puts you down. You ruffle your feathers, squawk a bit, ruffle your feathers some more, and then walk off in as dignified a manner as you can muster.

Its a tough life, being a chicken.

Allan x

[Rhode Runner]

Further to everything. Here is an excellent Poultry Site on which I am a member. There are some very good articles and stuff on all aspects of bird health. This site is well worth bookmarking for instant advice.

Here's the bit on crop bound:-

http://dlhunicorn.conforums.com/index.c ... 1176631148

Diana whose site it is, is very approachable and will advise freely. She should really be a member here.

Allan x

[Chris Kurzfeld]

Thankyou, sending OH out for what we need as we speak.

[Brahmagirl]

Very recently, I had an old Lt. Sussex hen - looking as though she was a death's door - pooing water - standing hunched - when I got her in for isolation I found her drop was huge. I was not happy about doing the crop-emptying/massage routine on her as she didn't look as though she would be able to stand any stress. Fortunately, she loves to eat yoghurt. I started putting small amounts in for her and she ate it readily. She seemed to want more all the time. I fed her yoghurt (plain, organic, bio) as often as she wanted it. No water, or other food. After 24 hours her droppings changed, the crop was clearing itself. 3 days I kept her on the yoghurt and at the end her droppings were back to normal and her crop had gone down. I was so glad I tried this.

I do hope you are able to help your hen - shall be waiting to hear how she gets on.

[Chris Kurzfeld]

Wouldn't you just know it - greediest hen - doesn't like yogurt!!!!!! Have resorted to thinning it and syringing - fingers crossed.

[Rhode Runner]

I should have said Chris it should be LIVE YOGHURT. If anybody's interested you can make this yourself and have it by you all summer in the fridge. It is very thick like greek Yoghurt and besides putting good bacteria into your birds it is very good for you. Here's how to do it.

Requirements to begin

I pint or more if you like of whole milk.
1 tbsp. plain live yoghurt

Method

In a saucepan bring the milk to the boil - Set aside and allow to cool to blood heat i.e. not warm or cod to the touch

Pour into a large bowl and add a tablespoon of your live yoghurt. Cover with a clean cloth - tea towel and set in a warm place - airing cupboard is ideal. Leave overnight - In the morning it will be thick set and ready for use. When you need more just take a spoonful of your last batch and add it to the newly boiled and cooled milk. Yoghurt everlasting.

uses

Most poultry love it. Use it in any recipe that requires Yoghurt. This is the yoghurt indians put in their curry dishes. You can also mix fruit in with it. Great with raspberries, strawberries, red & black currants, stewed apple or plum. The Ideal summer sweet outside in the garden with a bottle of sparkling something on ice.

Allan x

[crazychick]

Hi all,

Just wanted to make a quick observation: the website quoted above from dlhunicorn's site (which is an excellent site) is for blocked gizzard, which is not at all the same as blocked/impacted crop. The crop is a storage pouch located at the base of the esophagus, and is easily seen and felt on the hen's body - no digestion occurs here, but the food is "lubricated" with secretions from the bird's crop walls. The crop then pushes food on into the proventriculus, which is like our acidic/bile stomach. Here, the food is chemically digested, just like in our own stomachs. From the proventriculus, the food goes on to the gizzard, which is a tough, muscular organ that physically grinds the food (mixed with grit etc) to digest it further. From the gizzard, the "food" now enters the small, then large intestine for further processing. So an impacted gizzard is not treated the same way as an impacted crop (badly impacted gizzards usually require surgery and are difficult to diagnose), and is not that common in chickens. Impacted crop is far more common, but is every bit as dangerous. There are many different ways to treat an impacted crop, but I usually go this route (three things to try): 1) oil/liquid paraffin is given orally, usually a couple of tablespoons. Massage the crop vigorously then leave the hen be for a few hours... then repeat. If the impaction is made up of smaller pieces (shavings, short straw pieces, grains...) often the oil is enough to get the mass broken apart and moving through. If the crop is full of long, snarled grass, though, usually we're on to step 2): Using a feeding tube (I can post instructions below on how to do this) give the bird 40-60 cc of warm water. The object here is not to make the bird regurgitate, as she will only bring up the water, not the stuff blocking her crop. Give her the fluid, then massage GENTLY, to try to physically break up the mass of grass/straw/shavings and get it "in solution", so to speak. If you can get the mass to start to break apart with all the fluid, there is a good chance that the ball will start to unsnarl and work its way through out of the crop. The natural contractions of the crop squeeze all the fluid out - even that which is produced by the crop itself - leaving the mass in the crop a dry-ish lump that is impossible to move through. That's why the large amount of fluid given all at once is needed in order to break that mass apart. This procedure should be repeated up to twice a day, or even just once per day, depending on progress. Don't allow the bird to have any solid food when they are impacted, as it not only leads to further impaction, but can sour as well. That's why things like babyfood puree or baby cereal and yogurt are good, as they work their way through the mass and into the proventriculus without too much trouble, keeping the bird's calories up.

If steps 1 and 2 fail, your next logical choice is 3): surgery. A vet can do this with general anesthetic (which is dangerous, especially if your bird is very thin and very stressed from the crop impaction..., which is why you want to make this decision when the chicken is still relatively healthy and bright). A small incision is made through the skin and muscle of the crop and the muck is pulled out. Then the skin/muscle is then sutured shut and the chook is put on a soft diet for a few days to allow the crop to heal and come back to normal size.

Hope this helps clear some possible confusion up...

Laura

PS: Allan - thank you for the yogurt recipe - I love yogurt (LOVE yogurt) and so does my husband. I think I might try making some myself, now... and we can share it with our chooks!

[Devonmaid]

I'm going to try that Allan Hope your hen is ok soon Chris

[Rhode Runner]

Thanks for putting me straight on that Laura. I hope it hasn't screwed screwed anything up. I think the first two bits were correct. U I should ahave read a bit more closely. Enjoy your Yoghurt

Allan x

[Chris Kurzfeld]

Looks a bit smaller this morning so keep your fingers crossed, and she is eating the yoghurt (live, bio - thanks). As this is the 2nd time this has happened to her the thing that worries me is how I am going to stop her from doing this again. I free range my chooks and feel she would be unhappy being caged up on her own - I guess we shall just have to wait and see.

[Rhode Runner]

Looks good then Chris. Well done. I hope the improvement continues.

[earl grey]

Glad she's on the mend... I would talk to her severely about the merits of eating or not eating hay, they never listen but I always feel I've done my duty by warning them....any chance of a picture of this greedy gem of a hen??