Really large firm crop

My son's pet gold laced cochin bantam has a really large crop and she has pulled out all her feathers on her chest. She is still laying eggs and is broody so we thought she was just making a cozy nest. We picked her up to cuddle her today and check her over and noticed that her crop is very firm and really large! It isn't rock hard or squishy and when I gently push on it the contents do move around quite easily. My son was in tears so worried about his special girl. Is this an impacted crop?

We would really appreciate any suggestions!

Jen

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Step one. Starve the bird for 12 hours. She can have water, but NO FOOD. If after 12 hours there is no change in the crop, you have a crop problem. If after 12 hours of no food the crop is smaller (or more likely, mostly empty) all is well.

I have done crop surgery. It is not as easy as they make it sound. Not when chief surgeon (husband) faints and crashes on the patient.

I will not tell surgery story as many have heard it and you need not think about surgery until other avenues have been attempted. But first, no more food for the chicken for the next 12 hours!

Thank you both so much. Uno I will separate her out and see how the crop changes. I would be the "fainting husband" and probably collapse on the poor girl. HigginsRAT, I appreciate the info, I am dedicated to saving this adorable little girl so if it comes to it - I'll do it!!

I have a feeling that she has been eating the pine shavings when scratching around the coop floor. It is the only thing I can think of.

I really appreciate the help ladies!!!

Jen

I would love to hear how this turns out. I am wondering if surgery is that necessary, smiling. I have heard people massaging the crop (if it is really hard as described) and putting mineral oil down the gullet of the bird to help move along the massaged food. I think that the best advice right now is what Uno said, to isolate her and not feed her and see if the crop diminishes in size, that would certainly mean that it is being digested.

One time I picked up a cockerel last summer and I was petting his chest. I don't know why, I just thought that the rooster would have nice feathers to touch (I was actually looking for some smut on his body, smiling) and I felt his chest. For fun. I was shocked at what I felt. Having never felt a bird's crop I didn't know what I was feeling for. But I felt this huge mass on the front of his chest. This may sound really stupid, but I have never had cause to feel the crop. So I got kind of worried and I felt this huge mass better. It was his crop. I could feel all the little gritty things in there, clearly the scratch that he has been eating a while before, a few hours later, still not completely gone. This was interesting and I felt the crop some more. It felt very squishy and I could move the inside stuff around and I was squishing this crop, it was very gentle squishing. It was very interesting to feel. Picture a little bean bag, like a hakisak (spelling), that is exactly what this felt like.

I guess this was a learning curve. I know what normal crop feels like, like a squishy bean bag. If a bird had an impacted crop, I think that the bean bag would feel like a rock that has very little give to it.

You say that the contents feeled like they moved around. I don't think this bird has an impacted crop.

When that broody mamma gets off her nest, so she can keep those little eggs below her beautiful and lovely cochin belly, she will need to spend long periods of time before she gets off to eat and poop. Me thinks that the mammas would gorge themselves and their crops would be very full, I think that is what is going on with your gal. Interesting that she pulled out her feathers, this must have been because the weather is cold and she knows she may need extra downy and warmth of extra feathers to help, along with that beautiful belly of Jamaica heated humidity.

Please keep us posted on this, and tell your Son that the little gal will be alright. I don't think you have an issue there at all. Perhaps even this morning when you look at her, you will see a crop that has diminished to a normal size. This was 8:30 last night you made this post, Jen.....please let us know what you see this morning, we are all listening. Have a most beautiful day, CynthiaM.

I have had excellent success with impacted crop using massage. I am not talking the light rubbing you might do on your husbands shoulders, but the deep kneading like you might do with bread.

I find the crop feels like hard Plasticine. I squeeze it side to side, then front to back. And I really squeeze hard. I do this until the lump loosens. I am thinking I might be forcing the contents into the stomach. I try to do this as many times a day as I can. Once I even took the bird into the house and massaged every time I walked by her.

Since starting 'massage therapy' I have not lost one bird to impacted crop.

Sue

It has been my experience that the feel of the crop changes with the foods consumed and quantity consumed. ALso how wet or dry the contents are determine how it feels.

With the hen we did surgery on, there was no way that massage would have helped. Her crop was packed tight with long, dry tough grasses. THey had wound into a solid mass with some grains and fir needles stuck in. This mass was immovable. In fact ripping it apart to get it out of the incision was a time consuming, nit picky undertaking. Like taking apart a bird nest one strand at a time. With a tweezer. In the dark.

I think massage is the next thing to try BEFORE surgery, but at some point, depending on what's in there, it might not be enough. I would worry about bursting a crop but having cut my way into one I can tell you they are VERY tough! But still, rupture is possible. Proceed with caution, unlike Miss Brutal Massage Sue. What a meanie!

uno wrote:It has been my experience that the feel of the crop changes with the foods consumed and quantity consumed. ALso how wet or dry the contents are determine how it feels.

With the hen we did surgery on, there was no way that massage would have helped. Her crop was packed tight with long, dry tough grasses. THey had wound into a solid mass with some grains and fir needles stuck in. This mass was immovable. In fact ripping it apart to get it out of the incision was a time consuming, nit picky undertaking. Like taking apart a bird nest one strand at a time. With a tweezer. In the dark.

I think massage is the next thing to try BEFORE surgery, but at some point, depending on what's in there, it might not be enough. I would worry about bursting a crop but having cut my way into one I can tell you they are VERY tough! But still, rupture is possible. Proceed with caution, unlike Miss Brutal Massage Sue. What a meanie!

I agree- mine were impacted with grain and realtively easy to squish. Never had impaction with grass. What a mess that must have been.

However, I think anyone who suggests slicing into a chickens neck had better not be pointing her meanie fingers at me. Sometimes you have to be cruel to be kind. The chickens certainly did not object to their deep rolfing massage.

Sue

Well, I'm finally back, what a couple days. I was called to work so couldn't get online yesterday morning. My son was in emergency last night for heart issues (8 yrs old) - he got home at 2:30am. Everything is fine but a real scare!

I am just sitting down to answer all the wonderful replies before making breakfast - of course all the animals are fed and loved and now it is my turn

Our little hen's crop seems fine this morning. It has shrunk in size by 1/3. Yesterday morning I "felt up" many of my birds and several had the same consistency. I agree with Cynthia that is was the feeling of a hakisak and was very movable around the crop. It must have been a normal crop that was just over stuffed. But was it really huge - at least 2.5 - 3 inches long and 1.5 inches thick. Huge for a little bantam cochin. It is back tot he size of a toonie this morning.

But now i have noticed a Silkie and a few others with water squirts instead of regular poop. It is a really loud squirting sound and a high pressure squirt of straight water. What does this mean? Urgh, I need a nap.

GOod grief! What a harrowing time you've had! I hope your little guy is okay and I hope you are over the scare and I sure hope you get that nap!

Good news about the crop, as long as it gets smaller, all is well. Impacted crop is dangerous when you DON'T notice it until the bird topples over from starvation! That was my experience. BY the time I saw this bird staggering around and picked her up, holy cow, she weighed nothing at all and her breast bone was sticking out like a knife blade, she was so thin! Looked the same until her odd behaviour alerted me. We did surgery on her in a last ditch effort to save her life. IT was not my first choice, that's for sure!

About squirty poops, they are likely no worry. BIrds go through poop cycles, different textures, colours and amounts. The time to worry is when a bird appears actually ill, hunched, ruffled, not eating, not moving, standing apart from the rest, eyes closed a lot. That is a sick bird and cause for worry. BUt if the bird is acting normal but just squirting...go back to your nap. It's probbly no worry.

Oh Jen, what a night, so glad that your Son is doing OK, that must be scarey stuff. You must be exhausted, take it easy today.

Sounds like your hen is gonna be just fine, she just stocked up and her crop was filled to the brim, little piggy, smiling. She probably wanted to be chuck full so that she could relax and just sit. When a bird is broody, they don't use as much food or drink that a bird would use that is being active, kind of a state of statis, if you can look at it that way, almost like how a mammal hibernates and requires little eating or drinking of water.

About the squirty feces. I have seen that now and then, and if it is now and then, you can bet your bottom dollar it is frequent. Unless the birds are ailing, I personally would not worry about it.

I have linked a site before (not sure if it was here or not, probably elsewhere), wherein many pictures of what chicken feces can look like. There are many forms of poo, and the pictures indicate what is normal and what is an worrisome, abnormal poo, look at it. Quite an interesting bunch of pictures. have a wonderful day, CynthiaM.

Chicken poo pictures

http://chat.allotment.org.uk/index.php?topic=17568.0

CynthiaM, great link. I am thinking that I see lovely posters of apple varieties, pear varities, dogs of the world, horses of the world...you know what I mean. LArge decorative posters that people hang in their houses as decoration. I think you ought to compose a wall chart, Poultry and Their Poo. It can feature all the poo, good and bad. I think poultry fanciers would snsp them up! I will be the first in line to hand over my $10. Who needs a boring calendar when you can have a poo chart? A Complete Compendium and Poop Primer. Ha ha ha! Do it!

CynthiaM wrote:Oh Jen, what a night, so glad that your Son is doing OK, that must be scarey stuff. You must be exhausted, take it easy today.

Sounds like your hen is gonna be just fine, she just stocked up and her crop was filled to the brim, little piggy, smiling. She probably wanted to be chuck full so that she could relax and just sit. When a bird is broody, they don't use as much food or drink that a bird would use that is being active, kind of a state of statis, if you can look at it that way, almost like how a mammal hibernates and requires little eating or drinking of water.

About the squirty feces. I have seen that now and then, and if it is now and then, you can bet your bottom dollar it is frequent. Unless the birds are ailing, I personally would not worry about it.

I have linked a site before (not sure if it was here or not, probably elsewhere), wherein many pictures of what chicken feces can look like. There are many forms of poo, and the pictures indicate what is normal and what is an worrisome, abnormal poo, look at it. Quite an interesting bunch of pictures. have a wonderful day, CynthiaM.

Chicken poo pictures

http://chat.allotment.org.uk/index.php?topic=17568.0

I have that one saved to my files thanks to Cindi posting it in the past. It's such a great reference and NOT lacking visual.