[Tony H]

Hi Aden not realy shour he openes her mouth wide and put a touch thingy down her throut and said he could see damage, he gave her antibiotic and put her on a strict diet of layers pellets only 

[Chookiechook]

Sounds like a stab in the dark to me..... why would a sore crop (if she has one in the first place) cause a hen to make a strange noise

[joyfull]

her crop could be sore from her swallowing something hard such as a twig (thinking it was perhaps a worm) which could also explain the gaping and strange noise. If that is the case then the antibiotics would help stop any infection from setting in. 

[kegs]

The University of Florida says

http://entnemdept.ufl.edu/creatures/livestock/poultry/lesser_mealworm.htm

Lesser mealworms are important vectors of a number of poultry pathogens and parasites, such as the viruses of leucosis or Marek's disease, Gumboro disease (Falomo 1986), turkey coronavirus (Calibeo 2002, Watson et al. 2000), Newcastle disease, avian influenza (Hosen et al. 2004); bacteria such as Salmonella typhimurium (Loeffler) Escherichia coli (Migula), Aspergillus spp. and Staphylococcus ssp. (Chernaki-Leffer 2002, De Las Casas et al., 1968, Harein et al. 1970, McAllister et al. 1996,); protozoans such as Eimeria spp. that cause coccidiosis (Goodwin and Waltman 1996, Hosen et al. 2004); fungi (De Las Casas et al. 1972, Eugenio et al. 1970); helminths such as the nematode Subulura brumpti Lopes-Neira (Karunamoorthy et al. 1994); and fowl cestodes (Elowni & Elbihari 1979).

Infectious bursal disease (gumboro) in commercial broilers

Both adults and larvae of A. diaperinus can cause intestinal obstruction in poultry for slaughter since these birds lack chitinasis (enzyme to digest chitin) (Elowni & Elbihari 1979). This may eventually cause microscopic lesions along the bird's intestinal wall[/i]

Maybe he wasn't such a poor vet after all? 

[Lost in France]

Our last "hen" that did that turned out to be a cockeril! I guess yours has been laying and has proven herself but I have read that if there isn't a cock bird sometimes a dominant hen will take on the role and change sex!

Judi

[Tony H]

Thanks kegs very interesting reading  since the antibiotic yesterday she seems a bit better and now drinking  wont be feeding mealworms again