Large golf ball size lump at bottom of neck.

[kids chicks 6]

Update: As you can see I am doing my midnight check. I have BrownNeck in my shop with the wood stove going, and we made her a makeshift nesting box today under one of the benches. When I went out to the shop, she was standing up, Hmmm. She has not moved all day except when my boys picked her up to help her drink and eat a little. She had Poo all over her rear so I held my breath and was getting some off her when I felt a big lump in front of her breast bone area, I guess it is at the bottom of her neck. I rubbed on it, and it moved around. Also when she is looking around it does not seem like she is seeing things rite, I put the water bowl up to her mouth, and she almost missed the bowl, and when I snap my fingers by her face she does not even blink, and when I snap behind her head she does not even try to see where the snap came from. But she is moving around more, as she was able to jump up on a milk crate rite beside the makeshift bed to try and perch. She holds her wing out so she will not fall over. It sure is strange that none of the other hens are sick, if that is what it is. When I found her yesterday(WED) morning still in the coop at 9AM or so, she was acting this way. They had been locked up all night in a very secure Coop with only one Roo that is not to terribly mean. She was just fine the day before when I closed the Coop door (Tuesday night). I just don't get it. and what is that golf ball sized lump at the bottom of her neck?

It sounds like maybe she might have an impacted or sour crop. Try posting this in a new emergency thread and see if anyone more experienced can help!

So what is a impacted crop??????????

 

[kids chicks 6]

Original thread at "Lame White leghorn"

 

[ChickensRDinos]

It could be a crop issue but it doesnt completely sound like one to me. If she is really acting like she is blind it could be something even more serious--I would first look at Mereks just in case. That is not a symptom of a crop issue. Neurological issues are a separate matter.

Chicken's digestive systems are completely different from humans.



They have no teeth. Instead, they swallow food whole and it goes down their throat and into their crop which is like a food storage tank. As they eat through the day it will get more and more full. They can eat WAY faster than they digest. This is normal and correct. Slowly, food will pass out of the crop and through the gizzard which is a very strong muscle full of little rocks that chickens eat (grit!). These rocks grind up the food and "chew" it. The then ground food pass through the intestines where it is digested. (no stomach!)

An impacted crop is when something, generally lots of long tangled grass or something large blocks the path from the crop to the gizzard. The chicken feels hungry because her body is telling her brain she is not getting any food because nothing is digesting so she keeps eating and her crop keeps filling but everything is stuck. It will get HUGE and hard. She will start to lose body weight but will have a giant crop and if nothing is done could starve to death.

The best way to check is to feel her crop. At the end of the day a chicken should go to bed with a full crop that feels like whole feed under their skin when pressed-- sort of like a bean bag or stress ball. If it feels SUPER hard or very very liquidy there could be an issue. Isolate her with no food overnight and the check on her in the morning when she has had nothing to eat for hours. It should be empty. If empty, no crop issue.

Sour crop is another crop issue that s caused by two things. 1) a bacteria imbalance in the crop. It is actually sort of like a yeast infection. 2) an impacted crop where the food has been in there long enough to start to rot. Either way the crop will feel full of liquid and her mouth will smell bad--like very sour, rotty, yuck.

A golfball sized crop seems small to normal to me depending on how much she had been eating when you found her and what the texture was like. In y experience an impacted crop in a large fowl hen is much much larger than that. But, size is less important than whether or not it seems to be empty when she has not eaten for a period of tie. Hopefully this can help you see if you think this is a crop problem or not and we can help you from there.

Feel your other birds crops when they go to bed and compare. They should go to bed with full, healthy crops.

This is a picture of a copper maran with impacted crop. If you can it is very large compared to her body--more like a grape fruit.

 

[Dkersey]

Wow! This was EXTREMELY helpful.
Thank you very much

 

[Jawn]

Dude... that's a Rhode island red, all ****en day long. F**k you for giving chicken advice and not knowing what breed your chickens even are.

 

[Sussex19]

Dude... that's a Rhode island red, all ****en day long. F**k you for giving chicken advice and not knowing what breed your chickens even are.

Firstly, this thread is very old, secondly, I can't see a RIR? Only what looks like a black copper marens, which is what they say it is.
And thirdly, no need to be rude about it. Welcome to BYC though!