Chicken bald back

[tinkkletoes]

afternoon all.

i have a 3 year old black rock. she's always been a greedy lady, but she's worrying me at the moment. her crop has got much larger that usual and it's getting in her way & she tries to over step when she's walking & she's not her usual self. she finds it very hard to walk down the ramp from the coop & it's not a sharp ramp. basicly her crop feels body warm & she's managed to rub her feathers off the bottom of her crop so it's bare skin. she done that on the rungs in the coop over months. . i have felt the crop and felt a couple of lumps of what felt like food and a lot of loose food in it. i have been massaging it after administering warm olive oil to try to break it up for a couple of days. i have also been feeding her live maggots for 2 days to see if they could help with the problem.( not at the same time) i can't say much has changed, when i massage her there is a smell of fermenting food coming from her. i haven't taken her away from the main run, but i don't think she has eaten any normal food, she also doesn't come running to me any more just hiding under the bushes. i can't say there is much liquid in her crop, so sour crop doesn't seem likely. i do think her crop has stretched as she loves her food. basicly is there anything else i should be doing or not doing to help her or is it a visit to the vets ? she has recently laid about 6 days ago.

[gavclojak]

How does her crop feel in the morning? What's her poop like? I think I would seperate her and try her on small amounts of water only for 24 hours. Have you tried holding her forward for a few seconds while manipulating the croo to see if the fluid in the crop drains out of her mouth. Please be aware you should only do this for a few seconds So she doesn't suffocate

It sounds like she has a pendulous crop

[tinkkletoes]

i don't think she has really done any droppings. well i haven't seen any from the areas she slept in the coop the next morning.

guess i will have to do the emptying of crop..

[gavclojak]

That indicated nothing is getting through so I would try starving her for 24 hours to see if that helps clear it, just give her very limited water during that period. She may already be in poor condition as she isn't getting any sustenance.

When you massage the crop and try tipping her forward...gently does it, maybe YouTube it first so you can see how it's done. As for the crop "bra" I would sort out the cause first and hopefully the muscle of the crop might recover.

Is there any smell from the beak? You say fermenting and that could be sour crop in which case I would try the above but syringe neat ACV into her beak a few times a day.

 

If you are worried about her and she is in decline I would have a trip to the vets if your not confident you can treat her.

[mullethunter]

I agree with Gavclojak. I would isolate her in a small area for a day or two. This will allow you to know for sure whether she's eating and pooing. It will also allow you to keep her on water only for 24 to 36 hours - see how her crop is after this.

[tinkkletoes]

making her sick didn't help nothing budged, so we went to the vets. he put her on liquid paraffin & crop massage, it;s been 24 hours water only and solitary confinement all day to check droppings. there has been a good amount of poo slightly loose, but going in the right direction & crop getting a little smaller. she seems a lot happier so all moving in the right direction but still early days.

[mullethunter]

How is she now?

[gavclojak]

Once the crop has gone down I would start giving her ACV either neat in a syringe or in her water for a week. I hope she is getting better. It seems there is always something to worry about isn't there!!

[The Dogmother]

Glad to hear that it is clearing.

 

You may find that you need to restrict her access to food, going forward. The crop doesn't have any muscles to help it to shrink back. So, like a balloon, it will stretch out of shape and gradually get bigger as she gorges. Apart from an operation (tumy tuck!) there's nothing you can do about it.

 

ACV is very good for digestive health, and will help to prevent sour crop.

[tinkkletoes]

OK guys am i being stupid what is "ACV" or do i know it as something else..

[Cat tails]

Apple cider vinegar. Not a stupid question at all!

And they mean the cloudy one containing bacteria, not the clear one of which I have a few litre sitting in my kitchen cubbard...

[The Dogmother]

No, you're not being thick; it's Apple Cider Vinegar. Specifically the non-pasteurised version.

[The Dogmother]

Cat tails, if you have some of the shop stuff wasting away, then dilute it and use it to rinse your hair after washing - it will make it shine. Either that, or use it to remove limescale from taps etc.

[Cat tails]

Thanks DM! I started using it to get rid of limescale and rinsing the glug and grub after washing for extra hygiene.

Never used it for my hair though! Doesn't your hair smell a bit acidic?

[The Dogmother]

Not when it's dry. Just dilute it quite well.

 

I use white (distilled) vinegar to clean taps, and also in the washing machine with the detergent, where it boosts the cleaning power and gets rid of any ingrained whiffs in the laundry.

[tinkkletoes]

Arr, i get it now. yes they are all on it and have been for years. Oh and she's a lot better being her usual self, dust bathing, scratching around & just being normal.. thou she always checked when coming out of coop in the morning just in case she gets grabbed and liquid paraffin put down her now off to get marriages fluvet pellets for the quarterly worming.