Impacted Crop

[BirdMumma]

Hi All
This is my very first post, and the reason for joining BYC...
My sweet girl is showing signs of impacted crop. We have 3 Chookies in total. 2 are off the lay, but our Donny is a colossal sized egg laying champ! We thought she may have been egg bound, but on day 4, found she had a small solid crop in the morning when the others didn't. Following the advice of feeding coconut oil to help; the solid mass has become less firm.
Having said all that, my question is this...
Can too much coconut oil have adverse effects? Or, is there anything else we can try - other than a Vet!?
Thanks in advance

 

[6-Hens-and-Me]

How old is she, is she free range? What’s her diet if not.

 

[6-Hens-and-Me]

If the crop is extremely full and hard, or perhaps lumpy, and maybe feels like it's full of fibrous material, you are probably looking at impacted crop. If the chicken has been drinking lots of water, yet not eating anything, this is further indication of impacted crop

Freeze the coconut oil and cut then slip into the beak of the dom without creating a huge mess or getting oil into the airway. You want to measure two teaspoons for an adult chicken and one teaspoon for a baby chick.

massage the crop gently in a circular and in an upward motion. This will direct the contents to exit the crop. Massage for five to ten minutes. If this doesn’t work you should repeat in 30min and if it still doesn’t work and is very hard give a stool softener. But don’t use laxative as it can cause cramping.



As it for occurring again Well, that chicken breed tends to be greedy! I’ve had several which are lol. As long as they have grit available and don’t have many treats she should be ok, also make sure she’s drinking plenty of water as it can be stressful period and you don’t want her dehydrated.

 

[Shadrach]

It takes time to clear a malfuctioning crop. Coconut oil on it's own may help a bit but is unlikely to clear the crop on its own.
A teaspoon full of coconut oil then 20ml of water and a few minutes massage done 4 or 5 times a day for a few days may clear it.

 

[BirdMumma]

How old is she, is she free range? What’s her diet if not.

She's around 18mths. We keep them in a 3x4m (9.84 x 13.12 feet) coop and feed a mix of grains and pallets. They free-range on the weekend.

 

[Eggcessive]

Massage the crop several times a day to break up the impacted crop after giving the coconut oil (1-2 tsp daily.) Each morning first thing, feel the crop to see if it is going down. Encourage a lot of water, and feed her very soupy chicken feed, egg, or a spoonful of plain cultured yogurt, but no whole grains, seeds, or scraps.