Crop Issue Advice: Update, Surgery Was A Success

[Wyorp Rock]

I felt the crop today, it was much harder than it was last time I checked (maybe 2 months ago). I can still try the crop bra, but will it actually help? For reference, the crop is the size of a grapefruit and the hardness of an inflated basketball.

Can you post a few photos of her so we can see what she looks like?
For some reason I can't find your previous post(s) about her, so can you tell us what you did to treat her the first time around?

If she is still roaming around with the flock, she is filling up on...whatever. So you may need to cage her within the coop/run so you can "control" what she's eating to get this resolved. A kennel works well, she can still be with the flock and they can all see each other.
I would try the crop bra, but read the link that Azygous gave you - good information there. But a bra is not going to fix everything, you still need to treat whatever crop issue she has going on - blowing up like a grapefruit - does it feel like it has air in it?
I'm sure she will chime back in, but I would start by getting some coconut oil into her, massage - then provide her with water only for the day or most of the day, massaging several times. Any food that she gets needs to be soft - wet mushy feed and a small amount of soft cooked eggs for a "treat" - not much. Ideally put her on puppy pads so you can get a good look at her poop and so she's not eating bedding.

 

[UncleDougsChickens]

If I were to do crop surgery, would she feel pain from cutting it open?

 

[Wyorp Rock]

If I were to do crop surgery, would she feel pain from cutting it open?

I'm sure she would. Do you think it has gotten to that point?

I would not attempt to perform crop surgery until I had exhausted all other options of treatment.

 

[UncleDougsChickens]

I'm sure she would. Do you think it has gotten to that point?

I would not attempt to perform crop surgery until I had exhausted all other options of treatment.

I agree, I really dont wanna do surgery haha but I dont think anything else is gonna help her. I will try a few days indoors in a dog crate to see if it helps her but like I said last time she just bounced back to a balloon so it seems like a lost cause.

 

[UncleDougsChickens]

Assuming it is a super impacted crop, why would it be so rock hard though if it was full of dried grass? I feel like I should at least be able to move it around a bit? The thing is as hard as a basketball

 

[Wyorp Rock]

I agree, I really dont wanna do surgery haha but I dont think anything else is gonna help her. I will try a few days indoors in a dog crate to see if it helps her but like I said last time she just bounced back to a balloon so it seems like a lost cause.

Assuming it is a super impacted crop, why would it be so rock hard though if it was full of dried grass? I feel like I should at least be able to move it around a bit? The thing is as hard as a basketball

Can you post some photos of her?
Well, how did you treat her before - what did you do/what did you use?

Not sure why it's so hard, but I would cage her - provide water (always have water), no food and start with giving 1 tsp of coconut oil. Go from there. Crop issues can be a real bear to clear up at times. Can you take a stool sample to your vet to check for worms?

 

[Kiki]

It could possibly be a tumor or something. I'm just guessing.

 

[UncleDougsChickens]

It could possibly be a tumor or something. I'm just guessing.

Honestly I wouldnt rule that out but I cant tell without going to a vet and paying hundreds of dollars for the exam :/

 

[azygous]

The size and hardness of the crop is symptomatic of an impacted crop. The danger of letting it go without treating is that the contents will eventually sour as yeast colonizes the stagnant mass.

If you haven't read the article I provided a link to, there are detailed instructions as to how to treat impacted crop and gizzard.

People have surgically opened a stubborn crop to remove the contents. I have practiced on a dead hen as I was doing a necropsy, and I wouldn't hesitate to do it on a live chicken if the crop refused to respond to the oil treatment.

There are two layers to a crop - the regular outer skin and then the crop sack. You make an incision in the outer skin, maybe an inch long, then move the outer skin to the side incrementally, and make the crop sack incision to slightly offset the outer skin incision.

Of course this is all done after spraying the skin with Vetericyn to kill bacteria on the surface. Squeeze out the crop contents, and spray both incisions a final time, cleaning all the surfaces well, and the incisions will knit back together very quickly; no suturing is necessary. Vetericyn promotes fast tissue growth.

Feed and water very sparingly for a couple days until the incisions are closed.

 

[UncleDougsChickens]

The size and hardness of the crop is symptomatic of an impacted crop. The danger of letting it go without treating is that the contents will eventually sour as yeast colonizes the stagnant mass.

If you haven't read the article I provided a link to, there are detailed instructions as to how to treat impacted crop and gizzard.

People have surgically opened a stubborn crop to remove the contents. I have practiced on a dead hen as I was doing a necropsy, and I wouldn't hesitate to do it on a live chicken if the crop refused to respond to the oil treatment.

There are two layers to a crop - the regular outer skin and then the crop sack. You make an incision in the outer skin, maybe an inch long, then move the outer skin to the side incrementally, and make the crop sack incision to slightly offset the outer skin incision.

Of course this is all done after spraying the skin with Vetericyn to kill bacteria on the surface. Squeeze out the crop contents, and spray both incisions a final time, cleaning all the surfaces well, and the incisions will knit back together very quickly; no suturing is necessary. Vetericyn promotes fast tissue growth.

Feed and water very sparingly for a couple days until the incisions are closed.

if i used something like orajel to numb the cut site would that be ok or is that not safe since Im opening the skin?