Emrosenagel
Songster
- Oct 2, 2020
- 88
- 46
- 101
Hello!
I have a problem hen, it seems. She can never just stay normal for more than a couple weeks.
Anyway, my 9 month old bantam Cochin (recent mother of three as of 7 weeks ago) has been behaving odd at night and during moments of rest during the day. I first noticed about 1 1/2 weeks ago she jerked her crop, as if trying to dislodge something. I wrote it off as her just readjusting her crop and went on normally for about a week. I then decided, for whatever reason, to put my camera in the coop that night to watch my big chickens (normally I watch the little ones at night cause they’re so dang cute). That was when I noticed my Cochin jerking her crop around, sometimes mildly, sometimes violently. It looked almost involuntary, kinda like a hyping jerk you get right as you’re falling asleep. She continued doing it throughout the night anytime she woke up. In the morning she acted 100% normal, but her crop still had some stuff in it. Felt like a small (1/3 the size of a full crop) pouch of seeds. She went about her day normal, laid her egg, dust bathed, and so on. But again, at night, she continued this crop/neck jerking. Next day, same seed filled crop. That day she jerked her crop during her mid morning nap. I gave her some oil, massaged her crop, withheld food. Still that night, she jerked. But the next mourning, her crop was empty!
I was relieved, but wasn’t quite out of the woods yet. That day I treated them seeds, because my Cochin loves seeds best. I realize I should have held off for a while, because she still jerked that night, and the next morning her crop was even fuller than before (felt like mostly liquid this time with a few seeds). I withheld food again, gave some coconut oil (she ate that up so greedily!) and massaged. Gave her some scrambled egg, and then she took a massive poop (wet but not liquid, healthy brown and white) I figure something must be going through if she still pooping, right? I let her out in the run again because she was putting up a stink (crowing, of all things) in the house.
she has had minor crop issues before, prior to her broody month and during. When she had her chicks, she never really ate so her crop stayed fairly empty. But after she dumped the chicks, she started eating like a pig (gained almost whole pound). I don’t know if or how long she’s had a blockage, but it might have caused sour crop? Since she was mostly squishy this morning. Her breath doesn’t really smell, though. But I hear gas bubbles inside her crop and she burped a couple times (one may have been smelly, but I’m not 100%)
I’m just confused and concerned, because it isn’t really an impacted crop but also, since her breath doesn’t stink, it doesn’t seem like sour crop either. I’ve dealt with two cases of impacted crops successfully in the past and one case of sour crop, but none of them ever jerked their crops/neck like that. So odd. And on top of that, she’s acting totally normal. Laying eggs everyday, active, pooping pretty normally (I have one case of pure clear liquid, but I may have given her too much coconut oil)
I have some miconazole 2% I used for another case of sour crop, so I went ahead a started treating that just in case.
Has anyone ever dealt with this odd behavior?
PS they free range almost everyday in the yard and have given them access to grit in the run starting yesterday.
I have a problem hen, it seems. She can never just stay normal for more than a couple weeks.
Anyway, my 9 month old bantam Cochin (recent mother of three as of 7 weeks ago) has been behaving odd at night and during moments of rest during the day. I first noticed about 1 1/2 weeks ago she jerked her crop, as if trying to dislodge something. I wrote it off as her just readjusting her crop and went on normally for about a week. I then decided, for whatever reason, to put my camera in the coop that night to watch my big chickens (normally I watch the little ones at night cause they’re so dang cute). That was when I noticed my Cochin jerking her crop around, sometimes mildly, sometimes violently. It looked almost involuntary, kinda like a hyping jerk you get right as you’re falling asleep. She continued doing it throughout the night anytime she woke up. In the morning she acted 100% normal, but her crop still had some stuff in it. Felt like a small (1/3 the size of a full crop) pouch of seeds. She went about her day normal, laid her egg, dust bathed, and so on. But again, at night, she continued this crop/neck jerking. Next day, same seed filled crop. That day she jerked her crop during her mid morning nap. I gave her some oil, massaged her crop, withheld food. Still that night, she jerked. But the next mourning, her crop was empty!
I was relieved, but wasn’t quite out of the woods yet. That day I treated them seeds, because my Cochin loves seeds best. I realize I should have held off for a while, because she still jerked that night, and the next morning her crop was even fuller than before (felt like mostly liquid this time with a few seeds). I withheld food again, gave some coconut oil (she ate that up so greedily!) and massaged. Gave her some scrambled egg, and then she took a massive poop (wet but not liquid, healthy brown and white) I figure something must be going through if she still pooping, right? I let her out in the run again because she was putting up a stink (crowing, of all things) in the house.
she has had minor crop issues before, prior to her broody month and during. When she had her chicks, she never really ate so her crop stayed fairly empty. But after she dumped the chicks, she started eating like a pig (gained almost whole pound). I don’t know if or how long she’s had a blockage, but it might have caused sour crop? Since she was mostly squishy this morning. Her breath doesn’t really smell, though. But I hear gas bubbles inside her crop and she burped a couple times (one may have been smelly, but I’m not 100%)
I’m just confused and concerned, because it isn’t really an impacted crop but also, since her breath doesn’t stink, it doesn’t seem like sour crop either. I’ve dealt with two cases of impacted crops successfully in the past and one case of sour crop, but none of them ever jerked their crops/neck like that. So odd. And on top of that, she’s acting totally normal. Laying eggs everyday, active, pooping pretty normally (I have one case of pure clear liquid, but I may have given her too much coconut oil)
I have some miconazole 2% I used for another case of sour crop, so I went ahead a started treating that just in case.
Has anyone ever dealt with this odd behavior?
PS they free range almost everyday in the yard and have given them access to grit in the run starting yesterday.
