A follow up, and thanks to all who helped the 'emergency' going into 'cures'.
Yesterday evening I opened the door to go out, and out went Goldie. Assuming that she would be happier in the coop, night falling and therefore not going to be eating, I let her go. (29 poos later ).
This morning we...
HI, Thanks again for the replies. More oil and a gentle massage.....crop feels fuller again, but fairly soft. Her appetite is pretty enormous........ and 26 normal poos and counting .....I didn't realise that a chicken could produce this much. I'm only counting as I am cleaning and disinfecting...
Well, morning has broken here.
Goldie looks well, poo everywhere....did another 3 or 4 after the pic......all poo normal. Her crop is down to about a quarter of the size, but feels like there are lumps in it, deformable, not fluid filled. She is preening, bright eyed and generally seems well...
Thank you to those who responded so quickly.
I retrieved from the coop to which she had gone for the night. She is confined indoors, and is studiously scratching around looking for food! (YES, she is a real glutton). Her breathing is absolutely normal and she seems otherwise very well.
I have...
Goldie Hen has a huge lump (approx 12 X12 cm) to the right of the midline on her chest area.
I'm not new to chicken keeping, but have never seen this before....didn't notice it yesterday.
I can't feel the crop separate, the lump feels very firm (not squishy). She has just come back into lay...