[christianj04]

hello. i have 2 hens i rescued from a farm. one of them is perfect and is shedding her feathers at the moment but the other has a really big noticable crop that feels like a sponge. i started massaging it and speckles of blood started to come out of one side of her nose.
please help.
    and does any one know roughly how much it will be for the vet to empty the crop? please help me.  

[Aunt Sally]

This doesn't sound good to me.  There are two condition that this could be.  Impacted crop or sour crop.

If the lump is hard it would be impacted or blocked crop. This can happen when they have eaten long, tough, fibrous grass, or something similar, and it has got into a tangled mass that is too large to pass further down.  It may need a vet to clear it, or you could try yourself,  some people recommend white (fishing) maggots, these might chomp there way through the blockage.  A more usual method is to syringe some liquid paraffin into the crop and gently massage it hoping to lubricate and loosen it allowing it to pass in the normal way.  You should never try to make the chook sick as if the blockage is to large to go down, it is also to large to come up.

If the crop feels bloated and squishy like a balloon full of water it could be sour crop.  This is caused by a fungal infection and you will be able to smell it on the chooks breath.  It will require vets medication and emptying of the crop by holding the chook upside down and massaging from the bottom of the crop towards the head "very gently" and she will regurgitate the contents.  You may need to repeat this severil timesBio yoghurt is good for helping recovery.

You really first must decide which condition she has.  Try to make sure she is drinking even if she won't eat at present.

Do tell us how she goes  

[christianj04]

hello again thanks for your reply.Her crop feels like there is food in it but i cannot feel any definite lumps. it feels like its mashed up food but she is fed pellets and i cant feel any. does the food get mashed up in the crop? she is still eating and drinking but when she goes the toilet its dihareha and a light brown colour. also she has tryed pecking at the lump because her feathers have dissapered on it and there is a red rash on it. there is a rash on her bottom aswell and she has pulled her feathers out there aswel. im getting very worried. i dont want anything to happen to her. will the vet fee be high.
please reply      

[Aunt Sally]

Check her crop first thing in the morning before she eats anything.  It should be deflated if normal.  If it's still full then it is an impacted or sour crop and I would take her to the vets if she were mine, You could ring them to ask how much it is likely to cost before taking that decision.

Have you done a thorough check for lice and mites both on the chook and in her housing, that could be why she has a red rash.  Has she been wormed recently  :?: Worms can cause dihareha as well as other infections.  Good luck with her   :!:  

[muntjac]

starve her from the morrows from seed or pellets put 2 egg cups of apple  vengar in a gallon of  water and feed her loads dandelion leaves .picked preferably away from roads . then feed her normal next day .then if its cleared up feed her normally from then on but feed her fesh dandelion leaves daily for 2/3 weeks . regs karl

[hermon]

bit late to post but what good do dandelion leaves do for hens?

[muntjac]

courtesy of the pagan medicine garden
 Dandelion is a common meadow herb of the Asteraceae or sunflower family, closely related to chicory. There are about 100 species. Its name is a corruption of the French "dents de lion", meaning "teeth of the lion."

Folk names include lion's tooth, bitterwort, wild endive, priest's crown, doonheadclock, piss-a-bed, Irish daisy, blow ball, yellow gowan, puffball, clock flower, swine snout, Pu gong ying, fortune-teller, and cankerwort.

The generic name derives from the Greek words taraxos, meaning disorder, and akos, meaning remedy. The designation officinale indicates that Dandelion was officially listed as a medicinal.

The Dandelion grows to a height of about 12 inches in temperate lands.
 

History
Dandelion has a long history. Early colonists brought it to North America, where indigenous people saw its value and used it for its medical and nutritional benefits.

Dandelion leaves and roots have been used for centuries to treat liver, gall bladder, kidney, and joint problems. In some countries, Dandelion is considered a blood purifier and is used for ailments such as eczema and cancer. Dandelion has also been used to treat poor digestion, water retention, and diseases of the liver such as hepatitis.

The first mention of the Dandelion as a medicine is in the works of Arabian physicians of the tenth and eleventh centuries. Thirteenth-century Welsh medicine lauds its properties.
 

Active Constituents
Dandelion is a source of potassium, sodium, calcium, phosphorus and iron. The leaves are a richer source of Vitamin A than carrots and contain some amounts of Vitamins B, C and D. The root contains bitter glycosides, tannins, triterpenes, sterols, volatile oil, choline, asparagin, and inulin.
 

Actions
Diuretic, hepatic, cholagogue, anti-rheumatic, laxative, tonic, bitter. It is a general stimulant to the system, especially to the urinary organs, and is primarily used in kidney and liver disorders.

The root is commonly used as a hepatic. The leaf, taken cool, acts as a diuretic.

and makes my chucks poop really well n clear them selves out .i dont feed anything during this. with pellets being dry food it is essential they get enough water .. put some cider vinegar in the water .. i think i have a feeling of dejavue here lolo

[muntjac]

be nice to see an update on the chooks. did they get beter cristian?