Mia Patel
A chicken's crop is a small sack that stores food after it has been swallowed and before it reaches the stomach. Crop issues can be caused by overconsumption of fibrous foods, such as long grass, or by underlying health issues. Common crop issues include impacted crop, sour crop, and pendulous crop. Impacted crop occurs when food becomes compacted and creates a blockage, while sour crop is a yeast infection that can develop due to impacted crop. Pendulous crop occurs when the crop becomes stretched and saggy. Treatment options for crop issues include crop massages, probiotics, and, in severe cases, surgery or a molasses flush.
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What You'll Learn
Identify the issue: sour crop or impacted crop
A chicken's crop is located on the middle right side of their breast. It is a small muscle pouch that holds food until it can be digested in the proventriculus (stomach) and gizzard. The crop is usually full at the end of the day and empties completely overnight while the chicken sleeps. Therefore, a healthy chicken should have an empty crop in the morning.
An impacted crop occurs when a chicken eats too many indigestible things, causing a blockage. The crop will feel extremely full, hard, and lumpy, and may even feel like it is full of fibrous material. If the chicken has been drinking lots of water but not eating much, this is a further indication of impacted crop.
To identify impacted crop, you should first pick up your chicken with its tail toward you and its beak facing away. Then, gently feel the center right side of its breast to check the condition of the crop. If the crop feels full in the morning before your chicken has eaten or drunk anything, it is likely impacted.
On the other hand, sour crop is often a secondary consequence of impacted crop. It is caused by a yeast called Candida albicans and may result in a yeast infection. A chicken with sour crop may exhibit lethargic behavior and loss of appetite. If the crop feels squishy and full of liquid, and there is an odor coming from the chicken's head that smells similar to sauerkraut, then you are probably dealing with sour crop.
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Withhold food and water
If your chicken has a crop issue, you should first verify whether it is a sour crop or an impacted crop. A chicken with a sour crop will display symptoms such as lethargy, loss of appetite, and a full crop in the morning. A sour crop is essentially a yeast infection that occurs due to an impacted crop.
To fix a chicken's sticking-out crop, you may need to withhold food and water temporarily. Here's a guide on how to do this:
- It is recommended to separate your chicken from the flock and bring it inside.
- Withhold food until the impaction is cleared. Adding food to an impacted crop will worsen the situation and will not provide any nutritional benefits to the chicken.
- A chicken can typically go without food for a few days. Adult chickens can survive without food for up to four to five days, especially if they have access to water.
- Ensure your chicken has plenty of water. If necessary, you may need to force-feed water to prevent dehydration. Water is crucial to help break up the blockage in the crop.
- You can also provide granite grit, which aids in breaking up the impaction.
- Massage the crop, starting from the bottom and moving upwards.
- If water alone is insufficient, you may consider adding olive oil, although opinions vary on its effectiveness.
- During this period, monitor your chicken's condition closely. Observe if the crop is emptying, and gradually reintroduce food in small portions once the impaction has cleared.
- If the crop issue persists or becomes severe, seek veterinary advice, as there may be underlying health issues or surgical interventions required.
Remember, it is crucial to act promptly and monitor your chicken's health throughout the process. Withholding food and water is a temporary measure to address crop issues, and regular access to food and water is essential for your chicken's long-term health and well-being.
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Administer Nystatin or other antifungals
A chicken's sticking-out crop can be a sign of an impacted crop, which, if left untreated, can develop into a yeast infection known as sour crop. Sour crop is caused by a Candida infection, which is characterised by a foul-smelling, compacted crop, loss of appetite, lethargy, and delayed emptying of the crop.
Nystatin is an antifungal medication used to treat Candida infections in chickens. It is considered the drug of choice for treating Candida infections and is FDA-approved for use in egg-laying hens in the United States. Nystatin is not systemically absorbed in the gastrointestinal tract and must come into direct contact with the organism to be effective.
To administer Nystatin to your chicken, you can follow these steps:
- Purchase Nystatin in the form of liquid or pills. The liquid form is easier to administer, as you can simply give 1ml twice a day. If using pills, you will need to cut a pill (usually 500,000 units) into quarters to get the correct dosage of 100,000 units twice a day.
- Crush the pill and add it to a tablespoon of applesauce or other soft food. You can also mix it with grain or add it to water. If mixing with food, ensure it is well incorporated.
- Feed the mixture to your chicken twice a day until symptoms resolve. For hand-reared birds or chicks, you can mix 1/4 teaspoon (~1g) of Nystatin powder into 7 ounces of soft food daily. For adult poultry, mix 1/4 teaspoon (~1g) of Nystatin powder with 0.7 fluid ounces (20ml) of water, then dose 1ml of this mixture per 0.22 pounds (100g) of body weight twice daily.
In addition to administering Nystatin, it is important to provide supportive care to your chicken. Ensure they have access to plenty of water, as this will help break up the blockage in the crop. You can also give them granite grit, which further aids in breaking up the impaction. Massaging the crop gently, starting from the bottom and moving upwards, can also help.
If your chicken is showing signs of severe illness, such as stopping eating and drinking, or displaying lethargy or depression, it is important to seek veterinary care. A veterinarian can prescribe Nystatin or other antifungal medications, and they may need to empty and flush the crop, which can be a fatal procedure if not done correctly.
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Massage the crop
Massage therapy is an effective way to treat a chicken's impacted crop. It is a common practice that can help break up the impacted mass and encourage the chicken to eat and regain energy.
To begin the massage, gently hold the chicken upside down and massage its crop in an upward motion, starting from the bottom. This technique can help to move the impacted contents out of the crop and may even induce regurgitation. It is important to be cautious during this process, as there is a risk of aspiration pneumonia if the chicken accidentally inhales any regurgitated contents.
For a more intensive treatment, you can try massaging the impacted mass twice a day, working it into a small, gumball-sized piece. Once you have reduced the mass to this size, you can attempt to force it into the chicken's gut by locating the "V" in her chest and holding the piece in place for about a minute. This process may need to be repeated several times over multiple days until the entire mass is cleared.
Additionally, you can incorporate water or other liquids into the massage therapy. Offering water with a pipette or syringe can help soften the impacted mass and provide hydration. Apple cider vinegar or a small amount of olive oil can also be added to the water to further break down the obstruction.
Massage therapy can be an effective treatment for a chicken's impacted crop, but it is important to monitor the chicken's condition closely. If there is no improvement after a few days of massage and other home remedies, it is recommended to seek veterinary advice for prescription laxatives, GI stimulants, or, in some cases, crop surgery.
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Provide granite grit to aid digestion
If your chicken is displaying symptoms of lethargy and loss of appetite, it may be suffering from crop issues. The crop is a sack where a chicken's food is stored just after being swallowed and before going to the stomach. Food can remain in the crop for some time before being digested.
One way to treat crop issues is to provide granite grit to aid digestion. Chickens swallow their food whole or in bite-sized pieces, and without teeth, they need something else to break down the food in their digestive system. This is where grit comes in.
Grit is small, insoluble rocks, usually granite, that chickens swallow to help break down food in their gizzard, the part of their stomach where food and grit are mixed together with digestive enzymes. The gizzard is the part of the digestive tract that mechanically breaks down food and aids in the grinding of food particles. Granite grit is ideal for this purpose because, unlike soluble grit such as oyster shells, it does not dissolve in water or in a chicken's stomach. This means it can remain in the chicken's digestive system for longer, helping to break down food.
Chickens can naturally source grit from their environment by consuming small pebbles and coarse dirt when they are foraging. However, confined chickens or chickens raised on pasture may not have access to these natural sources of grit and so will benefit from having constant access to supplemental grit. This is especially important if they are being fed treats or snacks, or a whole grain diet, as grit will help them to digest these foods.
Granite grit can be purchased in the form of poultry grit, which is crushed granite that has been sized to make it easier for chickens to swallow. It is important to provide grit free choice, meaning that it should be available at all times to allow birds to self-regulate their intake according to their individual needs.
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