Yesterday morning my third hen in about 5 weeks died. They have been having signs of listlessness, then they begin to pale, then they just slowly doe. I decided to get an autopsy done, becuase I can't bring in new chickens not knowing why my old ones were dying. Also, being a vegetarian, I am not too familiar with what the insides of the chicken are supposed to look like, so I needed some help. Silly, I know. Anyway the autopsy showed that the stomach walls had really thickened and this appeared to have caused a back up of what ever she ate. So that her crop was full and not going anywhere and causing fungal, bacterial and microbial build up. We could find no reason for this back up, other than the stomach walls. The vet said that he really doesn't know why the walls of the stomach would have thickened like that, but I am thinking that it had to be some type of nutritional deficiency. Any ideas as to what in particular may cause this type of problem? Thanks!

-- Doreen (animalwaitress@yahoo.com), April 11, 2001

Answers

Sorry, I never heard of such a thing, so I cannot be any help.

-- Green (ratdogs10@yahoo.com), April 11, 2001.

Reading.... hold on.....

Not a blasted thing like it in three different books. They didn't even come really close. Sorry.

-- Sue Diederich (willow666@rocketmail.com), April 12, 2001.

Yeah...nothing in the monstrous Avaian Pathologists Guide either. The only thing they talk about is the pendulous crop with no instructions on how to prevent it or why it occurs. Nutty, isn't it?

-- Dreen (bisquit@here.com), April 12, 2001.

Silly question, I know, but are they getting grit? Could they just be crop bound?

-- mary, texas (marylgarcia@aol.com), April 12, 2001.

Well, I give them oyster shell and they are half yard /half free range. Maybe that is it? No one here feeds grit to their chickens as we have lots of small pebbles and clay...Maybe it is that? I never had even a thought of it. What do you think?

-- Doreen (bisquit@here.com), April 12, 2001.

To be honest, I haven't fed mine grit in a long time either, but it still sounds to me like it could be the problem. Pretty cheap to get some and try it, anyway. If they aren't getting little rocks or something to grind the food in their crops, that would explain the food getting backed up there. My dad has always kept little cups of grit and oyster shell both out free choice for his chickens.

-- mary, texas (marylgarcia@aol.com), April 13, 2001.

I usually throw in the pin or an the ground some scraps, such as egg shells. This helps with grinding the food they ate and also a cheap way of doing it. Good Luck.

-- Katy Faulkner (dazyation@yahoo.com), February 02, 2002.

I noticed yesterday my sussex has the same problem. I read in one of the magazines to isolate the bird with no food for 48 hours only water. If that does not work they recommend milking the crop. This involves holding the chicken upside down and 'milking the crop' The chicken must immediately be put the right way up again to let it breathe. I have not tried this yet, as it is only the second day. Worst comes to worst they recommend surgery to realease the impacted crop.

My chickens are in a pen, so do not have access to long grass, or fibrous substances, I do feed bread but only now and again. It could have been the bread.

-- Margaret Davis (jemj@btinternet.com), June 01, 2004.

I have been raising and breeding show pigeons all of my life and recently brooded 54 chickens, in my experience with pigeons,when one becomes crop bound it most often occurred because the pigeon was extremly hungery and fills its crop too much. I now have a chicken which has an extended crop, (crop bound),, as with the pigeons, I half filled a turkey baster with olive oil,, peanut oil is most often used, but olive oil will do,, I then opened the chickens mouth and inserted the baster tip down into the esopogus and slowly injected the oil down its throat. then gently massage the birds crop to work the oil in and to loosen any impacted material. The oil will sometimes dislodge the blockage. the bird must then be isolated and kept from eating for at least a day, water is allowed in minimal amounts. my chickens range on grass, are allowed good quality grit and also have the habit of picking pin feathers off of other chickens, in my case, I think that this chicken may have ingested some pin, or blood feathers. good luck,, I will let you know how well my chicken does to this treatment

-- vince (manyfeathers7@aol.com), July 04, 2004.