![\"an-impacted-crop\"](\"https:\/\/img.hobbyfarms.com\/an-impacted-crop-225x300.jpg\")
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What Causes Impacted Crop<\/h2>\n
Chickens will eat a wide variety of things, especially if they\u2019re allowed to free-range. However, we run into problems when they eat things they can\u2019t digest!<\/p>\n
Chickens that eat the following can develop an impaction.<\/p>\n
- \n
- long, fibrous grass or hay<\/li>\n
- string, rope or twist ties<\/li>\n
- feathers<\/li>\n
- bedding or litter (including wood chips, sand or shavings)<\/li>\n
- plastic or metal trash<\/li>\n
- hard, indigestible fruit skins (such as banana peels or avocado skins)<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
Chickens that are kept in a run and then suddenly allowed to free-range can also develop an impaction by suddenly gorging themselves on long grasses and other natural fibers in the yard.<\/p>\n
So how do you know your chicken has an impacted crop? Look for the following symptoms.<\/p>\n
- \n
- reduced appetite<\/li>\n
- lethargy or depression<\/li>\n
- weight loss<\/li>\n
- hard, distended crop visible early in the morning<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
How to Find a Crop<\/h2>\n
To find a chicken\u2019s crop, choose a bird that you know has eaten recently. You\u2019ll have the most success finding the crop if you do it late in the day when it\u2019s sure to be full of food.<\/p>\n
Pick up your chicken with her tail toward you and her beak facing away from you. Hold her like you would a football, and use your hand to gently feel the center right side of her breast. The crop will feel like a firm or doughy ball.<\/p>\n
It\u2019s important to familiarize yourself with the location of the crop and its typical size and texture before you have to deal with an impaction.<\/p>\n
How to Test For Impaction<\/h2>\n
The only sure way to know if your chicken has an impacted crop is to feel the crop first thing in the morning, before your chickens eat or drink anything.<\/p>\n
A chicken\u2019s crop is at varying stages of fullness throughout the day. However, the crop empties completely overnight, while the chicken sleeps. So, every healthy chicken should have a flat, empty crop when they come out of the coop first thing in the morning.<\/p>\n
To test for impaction, go out to the coop first thing in the morning and feel your chicken\u2019s crop. A chicken with a hard, full crop in the morning is suffering from an impaction.<\/p>\n
![\"an-impacted-crop\"](\"https:\/\/img.hobbyfarms.com\/an-impacted-crop.1-285x300.jpg\")
When a chicken\u2019s crop is empty, its breast will look flat and smooth. Birds with a very full crop will have a breast that is more rounded and bulges out.
(Photo by Heather Levin)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\nTreating Impacted Crop<\/h2>\n
There are several things you can do to treat mild to moderate cases of impacted crop. Mild impactions are when the crop is the size of a baseball or smaller.<\/p>\n
1. Isolate & Withhold Food:<\/strong> One strategy to treat a mild case of impacted crop is to put the bird in isolation and withhold food for 24 to 48 hours. Make sure your chicken has access to plenty of fresh, clean water during this time. The more water you can get her to drink, the more it will help get matter moving through the crop. Her isolation cage or area should also be warm and stress-free.<\/p>\n
2. Use Herbs:<\/strong>\u00a0You can also give her a calming, cooled herbal tea in place of water to help her relax while she\u2019s in isolation. Herbs such as chamomile, lemon balm, catnip and lavender all work well.<\/p>\n
Chamomile is especially good to give impacted birds because it\u2019s an excellent digestive aid and helps ease cramping and bloating. It\u2019s also a mucilage, which might help get the items in the crop moving. Other mucilaginous herbs include marshmallow, fennel, and fenugreek. Given as a tea, these herbs might help get the fibrous material in the crop moving again. Adding turmeric to your chicken\u2019s water while she\u2019s going through treatment can help prevent sour crop, a secondary condition that often piggybacks on an impaction. Sour crop is caused when the contents of the crop start to ferment, and an overgrowth of Candida yeast develops. Numerous studies, including\u201cAnti-Candida Activity of Curcumin: A Systematic Review \u201d (bit.ly\/3PzWUTs) in Current Drug Discovery Technologies (Vol. 18, No. 3, 2021), have found that turmeric is an effective natural treatment for Candida overgrowths.<\/p>\n
3. Massage the Crop:<\/strong>\u00a0If your chicken still has an impacted crop after 24 to 48 hours of isolation and fasting, try massaging the crop.<\/p>\n
To do this you\u2019ll need a syringe or eye dropper, olive or vegetable oil, and lukewarm water. First, mix 1 tablespoon of oil with \u00bc cup of lukewarm water and mix. Quickly fill the syringe or dropper with up to 10 milliliters of the oil and water mixture, and slowly dribble it into your chicken\u2019s beak. This might be a two-person job, as you\u2019ll have to hold the bird and open her beak by hand to do this.<\/p>\n
If your chicken starts coughing, stop immediately and give her a minute to rest and catch her breath. Once you\u2019ve gotten the oil and water mixture down the esophagus, gently massage the crop from top to bottom for three minutes.<\/p>\n
Do this entire process several times throughout the day.<\/p>\n