OK, here's a random question for those of you that own cochins.
Lacey, our only cochin and oldest pullet (about 22 weeks old), has a big ball on the front of her chest that you feel very prominent when you pick her up. At first I thought that she needed to put on more weight and that I was feeling the top of her breast bone, but now I realize that its actually its own little ball of tissue under the skin.
The other girls have a little bit of softness there, but nothing like hers. Is this something that is breed specific, develops with age, or something (like a tumor) that I should be concerned about?
Thanks!
Cochin Question
-bump-
still curious to hear someone's thoughts...
I have no idea, but have cochins, so when I go feed, I will check ours. where exactly is this ball? Near the breast bone?
Sheila
Could be a tumor i will have to look it up be back soon^_^
Sorry everything i find is about mereks and it's not that............I will look some more.....
Sheila,
Yes, its just below the neck, at the top of the breast bone. I'll see if we can get a picture or something. Its a bit bigger than a golf ball, almost the size of a rubber racket ball.
This is a really sillly point but does she just eat a lot and always have a full crop? Some of mine have crops that get really full and I could swear it is a tumor but then it goes down overnight and I realize it's chicken pellets in their crop!
Could it just be her crop now that Claire brought it up i don't feel quite as silly.
What about and impacted crop?
from the description i thought full crop also.
I have no idea where the crop is even located. Anyone have a good chicken anatomy picture to point me to???
i believe the location u said. it is a sac where the food is stored till it passes to the gizzard where the food is ground up. as they grow from chicks it grows with them. my bantam cochins is about half the size of my fist when full mabe a little bigger but i have small hands, each bird is different and depend on what they eat and digest. the crop is basicly like our bellies.
at least once a day that should comepletely empty. if it has more water in it and more digested it would be softer but if they just eat it would feel harder and sometimes u can feel or see the pellets, corn ect through the skin. especially on my naked neck breeds it is really weir looking,lol.
Try this link it has a picture of a chickens anatomy http://www.backyardchickens.com/forum/viewtopic.php?id=10845
This message was edited Oct 23, 2008 6:51 PM
That looks like exactly where it is, but where is the breast bone in reference to that? Doesn't it seem odd that it hangs out OVER the breast bone? Weird. Well I'll watch it. She does eat a lot. She's my biggest, oldest and only layer. She LOVES to dig up yummies in the yard... particularly worms.
So should I be concerned about it being too full or impacted? What would symptoms be that would lead toward concern.
Harmony,
Haven't you talked on other threads about having to cut one open? Why'd you have to do that and how'd you know you needed to?
THANKS EVERYBODY!
Impacted crop would is a crop that never emptys they eat and eat but it never goes anywhere.
It becomes very inlarged and if not emptied will set up infection and the chicken will die.
It will look bigger than normal and very hard or if it's allready infected could be mushy and smell.
I just noticed mine because it had got so big and it smelled.
This hen had eaten long pieces of grass and they wouldn't digest and it just kept backing up.
Are there less invasive measures to take to help her empty it prior to getting to the "cut it open" route?
Here is a description of the surgery and a possible early intervention. I would make sure it was impacted--the crop can be very large and firm after they eat a lot.
http://www.poultryhelp.com/impactedcrop.html
Well I had a hen with sour crop and it felt all mushy and soft and stuck out really far, so I did what I read online and I held her upside down and she threw up for about 5 minutes in huge amounts of liquid and feed goo. Then she was better. Before that, she wasn't eating any more though, and she was all hunched and sad looking. When I picked her up and just put my hand on her chest, it was all squooshy, and then as I pressed it, liquid came out her mouth. Poor thing. It wasn't very pleasant but it saved her.
So you could try the upside down hold, massage the crop, and see if she throws up.
Yes you can manually empty it but you have to be careful.
Hold the chicken completely upside down (you may need help) then take your fingers like milking a goat put them around the top of the bulge and gently squeeze it towards the head kind of like a tooth paste tube the food should come out of the mouth stick your fingers in the mouth scraping it out as the food comes down remember to let the chicken breath do it a little at a time.
WARNING stop if the comb turns blue this means the chicken isn't getting enough oxygen turn them over immediatly and get them breathing.
The dangers of this is the chicken inhaleing food and suffocateing so you must be careful and take your time and clear all food out of the mouth as it is squeezed out.
I have done this numerous times when my chickens will eat to fast and have a neck stuck full of food it can save thier lives.
OK, so this was clearly not a cochin question.
My coop door was locked last night and the only two girls that could come to me were Lacey and Anya. Talula is not as tame.
I managed to get Talula out this evening and her's is pretty darn big too.
Here are some pics....
Here's Lacey:
Anya's is quite small and what I would assume is more a "normal" size:
Talula's is firm.
Lacey's is kind of spongy feeling.
Anya's is small and firm.
You gals mentioned smell. I smell nothing sour, rotten or infected, but I don't know where'd I'd be smelling. Their mouth?
And they don't seem uncomfortable or acting different. Should I just keep checking this over the next couple of days to see if the size changes or would you act now?
What causes this? Harmony, I think it was you that mentioned long grass. Anything else a common cause you're aware of? Like not enough water, or grit, or...?
I think they are just big eaters and have very full crops check them in the morning and they should be back to normal and there will be alot of poop under the roost.
Chickens tend to gourge themselve right before bed in an attempt to have a full crop of food that will last until the next morning thats why i feed mine right before they go to roost.
I agree with Harmony. They're just chowing down!
Update:
I checked the girls first thing this morning. Lacey's crop was much smaller, maybe half the size, than it was last night. Talula's was just as big, but felt different - I could feel pellets, so I think she just finished chowing down a big morning breakfast. Anya's was just as small as before.
Anyway, I think you all are right. They are just little piggies and have very large crops. Ha! Thanks for all the information. I'm learning so much about these gals!
Kristin