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mtrueman

Impacted Crop *Sad Update*

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How do I tell the difference between an impacted crop and one that just isn't emptying in the morning for some reason? I was told to give her metaclopromide to get things moving, which I did for a couple of days but it didn't make any difference so I'm now treating her for an impacted crop. Her crop is quite firm in the morning but I wouldn't say it was hard as such. After a couple of doses of oil and massage it definitely feels a lot squishier but then firm again this morning. She still looks lively and wants to eat so I'm just not sure if it is an impacted crop.

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TBH I don't really see how metaclopromide will help :? A chicken's crop should be empty in the morning i.e. nothing at all in it - an 'empty bag' , it will gradually fill during the day then empty overnight.

 

An impacted crop is caused when the crop isn't emptying properly overnight - usually due to a blockage which can be shifted by oil, massage and maggots. Occasionally it is caused by a blockage further down the digestive system (usually the gizzard) or gastric stasis. If the problem seems to be with the gizzard, then try giving then hens extra hard grit to help the gizzard to grind and process the food, starve for 24 hours giving only water with ACV or probiotics in it, then re-introduce food but give small amounts of wet mash at first.

 

In all honesty, any problems further down that the crop don't have a good prognosis and any treatment would only prolong the inevitable.

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Thanks very much for the quick reply Claret. I was told the metaclopromide stimulates peristalsis in the gut and gets everything moving but shouldn't take more than a couple of days to fix the problem. I thought it might be down to her not getting enough sleep as the nights are quite short at the moment, but then the others would have the same problem if it was that. Do you where can I get extra hard grit from?

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Hi GeogieB, I don't want to depress you but what you're describing sounds very like what we experienced recently with Mabel. In her case she developed sour crop as well as an impaction. We managed to clear the sour crop and the impaction appeared to be improving, but within 24 hours of withdrawing the metaclopromide (she was on it for 4 days total) it was obvious that her system wasn't clearing and for the first time Mabel looked like a sick chicken (up until that point she'd been lively and behaving as normal). It was then I decided it was time to give up at that point, it just didn't seem fair to her, so I had her pts. I do hope things go much better for your hen than they did for Mabel.

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Thanks very much for the quick reply Claret. I was told the metaclopromide stimulates peristalsis in the gut and gets everything moving but shouldn't take more than a couple of days to fix the problem. I thought it might be down to her not getting enough sleep as the nights are quite short at the moment, but then the others would have the same problem if it was that. Do you where can I get extra hard grit from?

 

If there's a blockage in the crop, then metaclopromide won't work as there's just no way that they contents can get out :?

 

Just mixed grit is fine - have a coop pot of it in the run at all times or mix it into a wet mash

 

mixed-grit-437-p.jpg

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Loris had an empty crop this morning which is great but it did feel very hot. Claret, thanks for your reply again. I always have a pot of grit in their run, although they never seem to eat much of it. I guess cos they're free ranging all day.

 

Thanks for your message Minnie&Moose. Sorry to hear about Mabel. I am keeping my fingers crossed that she'll be ok now but it is a worry that it's never going to function normally. So it's not possible to just give her the metaclopromide every day long term? She hasn't looked poorly at all so if thats all I need to do to keep her well then I will. She likes the maggots she gets afterwards as her treat, so I don't suppose she would be too fussed about having it daily.

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So it's not possible to just give her the metaclopromide every day long term? She hasn't looked poorly at all so if thats all I need to do to keep her well then I will. She likes the maggots she gets afterwards as her treat, so I don't suppose she would be too fussed about having it daily.

 

I'd check with your vet tbh as it's a prescription treatment as far as I'm aware.

 

My understanding is that if the cause of impacted crop is mechanical (a blockage), then it's not much use, but if the impaction is due poor peristalsis causing a back-up, then it is helpful.

 

Hope she continues to improve. :)

 

 

edited to correct horrible spelling!!!

Edited by Guest
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I ended up taking Loris to the vet yesterday as her crop had food in it again first thing on Saturday morning and is getting worse. The metaclopromide is obviously not working.The vet thinks her crop has been stretched from an impaction before she came to us and is now not going to function properly. She says I will probably need to syringe oil into her and massage every 2 or 3 days for the rest of her life. I personally thought it would have been kinder to put her to sleep as she really hates the oil, being starved and also separated from the others, but the vet said she thought I should see how she goes. She won't even eat the live maggots now though, which she loved before.

 

It brings tears to my eyes when I look at her now. She looks worse than yesterday and her eyes have turned pink which is worrying me even more. I thought I should give her til tomorrow to see if the oil is going to make a difference this time but if it does, is it fair to her to keep her going with a life of syringing her with oil every couple of days? Especially if it takes a couple of days too, every time I do it. To me it doesn't seem like a happy life but I'd be interested to hear what other people think.

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Yeah, I thought that's what you'd say :cry: I wish it wasn't so hard though. I've just been watching her and it makes it even harder to see her sunbathing and moving around a bit as I keep thinking that maybe she'll get better and that the vet could be wrong about it being a long term thing. It was only a few days ago that she jumped up onto our garden table as she couldn't wait to get her maggots.

 

I feel so sorry for her. She's had a miserable life (being an ex-bat) and she's only been out the cage for 4 weeks. I'll try and get an appointment today.

 

Thanks

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So sorry to hear this GeorgieB - it's a horrible position to be in. I hated making the decision about Mabel but felt confident after the event that I had done the right thing, and did feel relieved that I hadn't allowed things to drag on unreasonably. Doesn't stop me missing her though :(

 

One way to think about it is that you've cared for her, given her a chance she would never have had otherwise, and now, because you care about her, you're making the decision that's best for her - even if it's hard for you. Good luck this afternoon.

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Thanks Minnie. I know it's the best thing for her and you're right, I just need to think about the fact that at least she was lucky enough to have a taste of what life should be like- to have space to roam, sunbathe, scratch for worms etc. She has loved the mealworms and maggots and has been happy, apart from these last 2 days. It's amazing how close you get to them after such a short time. She is such a sweet natured girl too. I will really miss her :cry:

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Hi guys, I have also been having the same problem with my Aruacana Ebony, she has had an impacted/sour crop off and on for the past two weeks. When she first came down with it I took her to the vets on three occasions which cost me over £50 but at least I know now how to syringe oil into a chicken with confidence . However, the past four days I have isolated her from her sister's but still in full view of them, have been feeding her with maggots and water with ACV. She looks a bit more active today, not like previously hunched up, sloppy green poops (still sloppy and green) and looking very sorry for herself. Even though she looks more cheerful today her crop is still huge and quite hard. Today I have given her watered down pellets (mashed) as I'm worried she is going to starve or waste away. I'm not sure if her crop will reduce in size and am worried it may have been overstretched. Surely it would have gone down after being starved virtually the past few days. Has anybody got any other suggestions or could this be the end for my darling as like previously said I don't fancy syringing oil into every other day for the rest of her life. :(

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It won't go down if there is a blockage, not even after starving... think of a blocked sink trying to run away... are you massaging it at all?

 

You will need to do the oil/massage/maggots routine 3 times a day for it to be any good. In the meantime give her plenty of water with Life-Guard in it and she ought to be OK.

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It won't go down if there is a blockage, not even after starving... think of a blocked sink trying to run away... are you massaging it at all?

 

You will need to do the oil/massage/maggots routine 3 times a day for it to be any good. In the meantime give her plenty of water with Life-Guard in it and she ought to be OK.

Yes and they usually like the massaging bit. :)

Has she layed is she laying, did she lay anything a softee perhaps just before the morning she was empty.

Has your vet checked inside her vent incase something (shell perhaps) is stuck and rotting?

This is a blockage too,,,,,

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When I took Ebony to the vets two weeks ago, he checked her vent and said she was clear, which I expected as she hadn't been laying for quite some time. I have been doing the oil/maggots/massage routine since I took her to the vets which was two weeks ago. I would have continued going to the vets but it would have cost me £13 each time and goodness knows how many visits I would have had to have made. She has ACV in her water, I have also been giving her nutri-drops to boost energy. Tried her with cat food but made her poos even worse even though she thoroughly enjoyed it. Yesterday I gave her some mashed layers as she had only been on maggots for 3 days constant and she was starting to turn her nose up at them, I suppose having too many, you get sick of eating the same thing. Yesterday seemed to be her best day, a lot more alert but this morning is back to her poorly self, hunched up, sloppy green poos. Her crop is still large and fairly hardish. She is separated from her sisters but is in full view of them, a bit of trellisisng separating them and they all go to bed together. I'm really stumped on what else to do. People say about tipping her upside down, but I don't feel very confident doing this, also she is very fussed on being held or massaged too long. Is there anything else I can do, any help would be gratefully appreciated. Thanks

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If the blockage is further down, below the crop, massage, oil or maggots won't shift it. I'd take her back to the vet if I were you. Has she been eating long grass? A friend of mine had a hen with a similar history, and she had a cable tie inside her, which had worked its way into the gizzard, and was causing an obstruction.

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Ditto, sounds like the blockage is further down the digestive system and it is backing up. :?

 

With all this type of thing, I find it helpful to draw an imaginary time line by which I'd hope to see an improvement. Otherwise it's easy (with all the best intentions) to let it go on longer than one ought.

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