My rabbit is digging through the run wires

[littleredsquirrel]

She hasn't swallowed a golf ball (at least I don't think so!!) but she has a large circular lump dangling under her chin. It is reasonably hard but wobbly at the same time. Without meaning to lower the tone too much she looks like she has testicles dangling under her chin. Its been there for about a week now and isn't disappearing. She had a bit of a cold a few weeks back and was sneezing but that has gone and she has been eating and drinking as normal. Doesn't seem particularly under the weather although her comb is slightly pale and she has been moulting a little around the face. Does anyone know what this is? Trying to get her to the vets but struggling to find a poultry vet lcose enough to get her there before the weekend.

 

Could it be fowl cholera or would she be sickly?

 

Could she have been eating barley straw?

 

She's still in with the 5 others since the only other provisions we currently have is a broody cage. Do I need to isolate her or will it be too late now anyway if she's ill.

[laurmurf]

It sounds like a full crop, is that what it reminds you of?

The concern is that the crop should be empty by the morning and you really should notice a difference in the size of it early in the day. If it's staying the same size then it could be an impacted crop: there's lots on the forum about them.

 

When one of mine had an impacted crop it was caused by gobbling too much grit and long grass tangled into it. I syringed avipro in very regularly (about hourly) and massaged the crop when the liquid was in there. Eventually - over the course of several days - she started to pass a snake of long grass out of her vent, after that her crop went down.

 

You will need to have a good look and treat it though as she won't be getting good nutrition, even if she is eating and it could cause sour crop too.

[littleredsquirrel]

I'm really not sure. We've only had hens since alst april and we haven't had any problems at all and so I don't really know what a swollen crop or impacted crop would look like. The pictures I've seen on the internet seem to show a swollen chest whereas this is very much a circular golf ball sized lump dangling from directly underneath her chin . The feathers are coming out on that area too

[Ain't Nobody Here]

Could you take a photo of it? That might help us decide what it is .

[littleredsquirrel]

Erm.. I'll give it a go if I can find the instructions on how to do it. I took one on my phone when I locked them up for the night but it wasn't very clear since they were alreday roosting and not very keen on having their photo taken!