Enlarged flaming red crop. Impacted? Sour?

[Hobie Ranch]

One of our girls has had a greatly enlarged crop for a couple of weeks. It does not go down overnight. The good news is that she is still very active and is eating voraciously. But she is losing weight and I just noticed that the skin immediately around her crop is flaming red. I feel terrible that I first noticed it a few weeks ago - but we have had an ill human family member as well, which has taken our attention away from the dear chicky girls.

I've read a bunch of the threads describing various crop issues but wonder if the red skin is a sure symptom of one thing or another, and would dictate how she should be treated. Thanks for any suggestions.

 

[Hobie Ranch]

Any suggestions? Thanks...don't want to do the wrong thing.

 

[HorseFeatherz NV]

Can you bring her into the house or garage, in a crate/kennel - for a few days so you can observe her? This way you can pull food/water before bed and check her crop first thing when you get up. I would also get a weight on her daily - if you have a small enough scale.

Red skin - not sure - irritation from the expanded crop or maybe she has a bug problem (very common in chickens - lice). Take a look around her vent area - do you see what looks like a small clump of poop on her feather shaft, close to the skin? If so these are most likely lice eggs. She can be bathed or powedered to kill the bugs.


How old is she? Are they able to free range?


Sorry I am not much help, hopefully others with more crop problem experience will see this thread.

 

[Lisa202]

Have you tried giving her some warm olive oil (or mineral oil I have heard works) and messaging the crop? I don't know if it's too late for that now, but it might help with advice to know if this didn't work.

Try searching this topic (upper right corner box), I'm sure you're not the only one this has happened too, and you might find some answers there.

Good luck.

 

[ranchhand]

I'm not at all sure what you're dealing with, so it's hard to advise. I can only tell you what I would do.

Check the skin and feathers all over for any signs of mites or lice. Is she molting? New feathers coming in can really irritate the skin.
Since the crop is not going down overnight I'd make sure she has plenty of grit and is actually eating it. Might even try some bread or scrambled eggs with lots of olive oil on it.

Just a few guesses, it's a vague thing. Best of luck, sorry to hear about a sick person.

 

[Hobie Ranch]

I've brought her into the garage and she's in a big dog kennel. OK, so it is smaller this morning. Maybe it does go down a bit at night, but it's still bigger than the other girls' and it gets huge during the day.

* I massaged the crop and it felt full of fresh layer pellets...and something else. Kind of hard and cylindrical, or wrapped up in her crop - like something sinewy in there.

* Also - she's making a gurgling sound. I can't tell precisely where it's coming from. It seems that it happens when she moves around. Sound slows and stops when she stands still.

* Her skin elsewhere looks fine, light pinkish white. It's just in that immediate area that it's enflamed.

* She has been molting, but she's been working on that forever and her new feathers don't seem to be coming in. She looks generally really scruffy - where the other girls are finishing the molt and looking all fresh again.

* I'll look for lice eggs.

* She's about 20 months old and has been the top girl in the flock.

I will try warm oil mixed with boiled egg yolk, and more massaging for now. Should I start yogurt and ACV now - or should I wait a day or so?

Thanks!

 

[Hobie Ranch]

OK, I just saw another post from last eve with a similar sound, and that person described it much better - sizzling of water drops in a hot frying pan, or Alka Seltzer dissolving in water.

 

[mypicklebird]

If you are feeling something hard and sinewy in her crop (and be sure you are not feeling her windpipe or neck bones from the underside)- then she likely has a matt of grass or string or plastic in her crop. Oil may help, but often the material needs to be surgically removed- best done by someone with experience and access to the right tools- like a vet. The sound you are hearing MIGHT be grit/large pieces of material rolling around in the liquid & air trapped in her crop. If the skin is stretched out and irritated due to the crop being too full underneath- it could certainly look red. If she is uncomfortable, she may also be picking at it herself.



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[Hobie Ranch]

Good going there chicken mommy - I think that WAS her windpipe I was massaging! Anyhow - the massaging helped the crop go down in size quite nicely, she's pooping normally, she's busy in her little dog crate, and she's happy to eat a slush of warm olive oil and boiled egg yolk. So now her only symptom is bright red skin immediately around her crop. I'll watch her for a day or so and soo what happens.

Thanks for the suggestions and encouragement!

 

[Omijo]

I know this is an old post but curious what happened with your hen. Did she recover? One of mine is suffering from the same thing and I'm at a loss for what to do.