Chick with soft, swollen crop?!

[Lee G]

At least I think it’s the crop that’s swollen…but there is definitely something else (air?) under the skin. 



Slight swelling under the right wing as well...




The chick is 5 weeks old and acts completely normal otherwise, eating and drinking and running around. Everyone else in the group is fed the same feed (both dry and fermented) and have access to grit as well. Could it be an internal injury of some kind? I checked the chick over, but couldn’t find any kind of outside wound...

So weird. I’ve just never seen anything like this before. I'm debating whether or not to cull...and of course it's one of my import chicks.

Any advice/opinions would be most appreciated, thank you!

[Sharon Yorks]

Have you noticed whether or not it is (or has) eaten any shavings? I had a young pullet eat a bunch of shavings earlier this year and did the same thing. You may want to put it on wire for a little while to see if it goes down. And mine was full of air, too. Not sure why. I've also dealt with a few sour crop issues that looked similar to this. There may be a different reason for why this happens, and if so, maybe someone else will chime in.

What I would do if it were mine... (especially if you are considering to cull it) I'd take a small syringe and "slowly" squirt/drip some water into it's mouth (about 3 ml total) but not all in just one squirt. You have to give them water slowly or you may drown them or get air in their lungs through that little slit in the top of their mouth. After you have given it the water, massage the lump a lot to help break up any clumps of stuff that might be clogging up things. Can you feel anything in there now? And does it smell sour at all when you mess with it now?

Once you've gotten the water in it and have massaged the lump quite a bit, tip the bird forward to about 4:00-5:00 (120 degrees) Hopefully that makes sense...just don't turn it totally upside down...the slowly mash and squeeze on the lump and the bird will/should throw up. The bird will lift its head up to keep from choking. That's okay! Once it starts throwing up, the stuff will keep coming out as long as you keep squeezing the lump. Don't over do it, though, especially if the bird struggles when it throws up. I've had to do this to about 5-6 birds over the past 3-4 years and 2 fought it and would shake their heads and make a mess, throwing the yuck all over the place (don't wear your good clothes) Just sayin. The others stayed real calm as though they welcomed the relief it gave them. After it's finished throwing up, you should be able to see whether there is anything like shaving in it. If so, repeat the process another 1 or 2 times, depending on how your bird is taking it. Don't stress it too much.

It may also be helpful to evaluate the lump early in the morning before the bird has a chance to eat or drink anything. The lump may/should be smaller and you may be able to feel if there is a hard mass in there. If this all sounds confusing, feel free to call me and I can maybe explain it better over the phone if you want to try this. There are a few other helpful things I've done that you may want to try when doing all of this. 

[Clif Redden]

The swollen crop looks like its crop is bound, you can Google crop bound and get instructions on how to treat that. The other issue this chick has is an infection between the skin and flesh. I have treated this successfully. You have to release the air, the way I did that is to remove the plunger from a syringe and place it in the puffy area, you may have to push lightly to get the air to escape. You may have to do that 2 or 3 times over the course of treatment. I also gave LA-200 every 3 days until the air sack was gone for good. for a chick this small I would use a diabetic needle and only give a couple units at each treatment.

[Lee G]

Thank you Sharon, Clif, for your help. 

I researched ‘bound crop’, and managed to get the chick to regurgitate. (Sharon, your step by step instructions were invaluable here, thank you so much!) Nothing came up out of the ordinary that I could see…and no sour odour either. I’m not sure I got enough stuff out though, so am going to try again this morning…just need to work up my java courage first.

I also did as Clif advised and let the air out from under the skin with a small needle and syringe. It literally deflated like a punctured balloon! And I think you’re spot on about the chick having an infection Clif, because its skin is quite warm to touch. The only antibiotic I have on hand is Pen-G, so may try that until I can get to town, and the local Agro that carries oxytetracycline. Kicking myself for not having some around!

[Sharon Yorks]

Keep us updated on how the chick is doing. I would still suggest trying to get a good look at it early in the morning. I'm "guessing" that you may be able to evaluate things a little closer. My reasoning would be that if it's crop bound related, the lump would be smaller in the morning (after digesting all night) and you might feel a small mass before the chick has time to fill it back up with food and water. If it's an infection of some kind, I don't "think" the crop/lump would do anything but get larger as time goes by. Just something to think about.

If you try to make it throw up again, just add a little more water and message it a little longer before you try it. And sometimes it seems to help if you do it two times in a row. Kind of like priming the pump, I guess 

But it sound like Clif's thoughts are a little more spot on, especially if it deflated completely. Can you tell if it's in the crop or just under the skin somewhere near the crop?

[Lee G]

I'm happy to report the chick is doing better! The next morning after I posted she passed what appeared to be a long, stringy piece of grass, so that may have been what caused/or attributed to the bound crop issue. Over eating probably didn't help, (the crop seems stretched out to me, hopefully it will shrink back down soon) so I have her separated with a small amount of wet mash to peck at and acv water to drink. I tried fashioning a vet-wrap band to hold the crop area up, but she keeps getting out of it somehow. Gah. Maybe need to break out the duct tape. 

As for the air under the skin, I think the chick may have air sac trauma/emphysema. Because everything seems to fit.

".....Some of the bones of the avian skeleton are hollow and connected to the air sacs of the respiratory
system ........There are eight air sacs in most species of birds. There are one cervical and one clavicular air sac, and two cranial thoracic, two caudal thoracic, and two abdominal air sacs. Occasionally, an air sac may rupture, and the bird may develop air under the skin (subcutaneous emphysema) or a large swelling of air in the neck region........."

"Subcutaneous Emphysema: This term merely means, "gas under the skin". The gas is usually air, which has penetrated the subcutaneous tissues through a skin wound, or as the result of damage to part of the respiratory system. Some writers have described how air has been pumped into the surrounding tissues by the tongue and other muscular movements associated with swallowing, from a wound caused by something sharp in the pharynx or the throat. The accumulated air then diffuses down the neck and produces a puffiness of the overlying skin.

The mechanism in all cases is similar. Puncture wounds and cuts involving layers of skin and muscles do not stay immediately opposite one another, since the layers slide over each other during movement. If the surface layer is concave and its elasticity allows it to lift, then air is drawn in. The air is then trapped and is pushed on the easiest course, which is along the planes between skin and muscle or between layers of muscles. After moving, the air becomes halted within the fat and connective tissues in the form of bubbles, which crackle when the region is handled. Common sites of emphysema are the groin, the 'armpits', neck, entrance to the chest and over the shoulders. This type of emphysema is harmless but can be alarming to the owner, especially when the bird blows up into a grotesque shape within a few hours.

Once access of air is stopped, however, the gases are slowly absorbed. Part of the air can usually be removed with a hypodermic needle and syringe, but the tissues will refill if the point of entry is not closed. A purse-string suture can be used to close a small external wound, but throat wounds or air sac ruptures without skin wounds, are impossible to repair surgically. Time will slowly heal most of them, but there is always the danger that air, which carries dust and has not been filtered through the respiratory tract will result in inflammation and the formation of exudates which may block the air sacs and lead to pneumonia. Fungi, such as Aspergillus, and numerous bacteria flourish in these warm, moist and aerated wounds.

There is no effective cure for aspergillosis, but for bacterial infections the usual treatments for wounds should be used. Creams and ointments are useful for such lesions as they seal the wound; further protection can be applied by using a plastic skin in a solvent form as an aerosol sprayed on the affected parts. Avian vets today have a few medications they can try, but there is no positive cure.

Emphysema can also arise when certain gas-forming anaerobic bacteria related to those which cause the smell in gangrene, multiply in a deep and therefore airless wound. Such changes are preceded by obvious illness and loss of function of the part concerned, it showing reddish, green or black discoloration associated with coldness and insensitivity. This usually follows upon a very severe and probably painful inflammation. By the time the puffiness is apparent the bird is usually dying or dead. Although injections of penicillin, ampicillin or certain other broad-spectrum antibiotics are likely to be the most effective forms of treatment; they are usually administered too late for any hope of recovery. "

http://dlhunicorn.conforums.com/index.cgi?board=emergencies&action=display&num=1161887881

Sharon, the area deflates, but slowly fills back up again. So I've been deflating the air sac 3x daily and will continue to do so for the next week. Hopefully that will be enough time to give the (internal) rupture a chance to heal, and let the antibiotics kick in. She really is a nice little chick.

Thanks again for your help. 

[Russ]

this may sound harsh but me personally would cull this chick. i always assume everthing is genetic unless proven otherwise. i do not vaccinate any of my chickens either, instead i try to breed for natural resistance and vigor. i do not keep any chicks with health issues of any sort, i feel it is more humane to end misery instead of prolonging it. i learned this when i first got started and my flock was small so i would try and save all my chicks. just to have to cull them later or have them die, or worse yet have there issue come out the following year in hatchlings. i have better results with a smaller flock of decent birds, than with a larger flock of mediocure birds. remember this is just my opinion with MY FLOCK nobody elses, before i ruffle to many feathers 

[Lee G]

No feathers ruffled here Russ. In fact, I appreciate your candor. 

Culling was my first instinct too. When I first got serious about breeding standard-bred poultry, I vowed that nothing weak, unfit, defective or carrying unsavory recessives known to me would ever leave this farm. And I’m happy to say nothing has. I call it selection. I also do not vaccinate and believe in breeding for disease resistance. A fellow fancier once told me the only real medication I’ll ever need is this:
…actually, his was an axe. I just prefer my machete. Same result in the end though….and a much healthier flock for it.

Because this chick is from an unfamiliar strain that is new to me, I thought perhaps the impacted crop was a feed issue on my end, and therefore curable, and preventable. (I use both dry and wet mash). None of my home flock, or their offspring, have ever had crop issues before this. Which could be coincidence…or not. I am not willing to take that chance.


Also, I think the chick may have developed ‘pendulous crop’, which HAS been proven to be heredity in turkeys….so reason follows that it could be in other land fowl as well. The chick is recovering, yet its stretched out crop still hangs low (even when empty) and doesn’t look like it will return to normal any time soon…if ever. I know what I have to do now, and likely what I should have done from the get go….still doesn’t make it any easier though.

Sigh... I knew it was going to be one of those days when I heard it’s snowing in Calgary, 8 hrs west of here.