Crop Problems
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Text and photos: Monique de Vrijer Translation: Diana Hedrick CROP PROBLEMS The crop serves as a temporary ‘storage bin’ for the feed the chicken eats. It is often full during and at the end of the day and should normally be empty when the bird starts its day in the morning. Unfortunately ‘crop prob- lems’ are not an uncommon occurrence and presents as symptomatic with many dif- ferent illnesses and condi- tions. The Crop The crop is part of the digestive system and is an enlarged part of the esophagus at the foot of the neck where feed is (temporarily) stored and "moistened" with mucous and saliva from the mouth until the contents are moved into the stomach. A chicken has two stomachs, the proventriculus (the glandular stomach) and the gizzard or ventriculus (also called the muscular stomach). The feed is transported from the crop into the the glandular stomach which, as the name implies, is where secretory enzymes are added to the feed mass to aid in digestion; one of which is pepsin which in turn activates the stomach to produce hydrochloric (stomach) acid lowering the PH to aid in digestion and absorption of nutrients and also helps to dissolve the calcium grit (usually oyster shell) releasing the calcium in it. These enzyme-filled gastric juices infuse the feed as it moves onwards towards the gizzard (ventriculus or muscular stomach). The gizzard is a small organ and not able to deal with large quantities of feed. It is composed of two oval shaped and thick walled powerful muscles with a tough horny lining. The gizzard retains the grit/small stones that the bird has eaten, which helps it to ‘grind’ and breakdown the feed. Once the feed has gone through the grinding process of the gizzard it enters the intestines where most of the true digestion and absorption of nutrients takes place. When crop problems arise this is mainly due to the crop being unable to empty the contents and move them through into the proventriculus and the feed remains too long in the crop. In addition to malnutrition, the crop will become distended (sometimes enormous) and the bird will often stop eating and drinking and become very ill. Balance is often disturbed (you will notice problems when attempting to roost) and they will often swerve their head and neck back and forth and gape; sometimes behaving as though they are choking on something and shaking their head. The distended crop can feel hard or alternately very soft and swollen. With the latter, you will often notice a distinct smell coming from their mouth which originates from the swollen fermenting contents of the crop. Right: The digestive system of a chicken. Drawing: Monique de Vrijer. 1. Oesophogus 2. Crop 3. Proventriculus and Gizzard 4. Liver and Gall Bladder 5. Small Intestine 6. Caeca 7. Large Intestine 8. Cloaca There are many causes of crop pro- blems and the follo- wing is a review of the most common: Fibre Fibre is important to digestion (found in ‘green’ food (forage) and grains) and just as with humans, the fibre content (and type) is very important to poultry health and digestion. When the bird has insufficient fibre in its feed then there will be insufficient stimulation within the intestines hampering the digestive process which often results in crop stasis (the crop fails to empty). However, unlike humans, insufficient fibre is rarely a problem whereas too much fibre (this being due to basic physiological differences between the digestive systems of humans and birds) is a common cause of problems within the digestive process, which will in turn cause crop problems. Long fibrous material such as grass, straw or hay (even feathers) are also a source of crop problems in that these will often cause an impaction (blockage) leading to a knotted mass which the crop will be unable to move out of the crop pouch. The impaction or blockage may be massive (all of the contents retained and unable to be moved out of the crop) or partial (allowing some of the contents through), both having the consequence of further complications secondary to the crop stasis. Too much fibre content combined with too little fluid intake can also be devastating, as when the chicken drinks too little and the crop is unable to function properly, then this can lead to a concretion (dehydrated food mass) which will in turn lead to the bird drinking too much and the crop becoming distended and atonic (see below), damaging the musculature so that it is unable to function properly. The clear message is that the fibre content of your bird’s diet needs to be monitored carefully particularly when digestive problems are suspected. If your birds free range, then keep them away from grass clippings which will be longer in length than they would nip off while ranging and if you wish to feed grass, then ensure it is cut in very small pieces and do not give too much at once. Chickens unused to ranging grass or those without an alternative source of feed or deficiencies will also eat fibrous material such as straw, hay or other fibrous bedding material (sometimes simply out of curiosity). Ensure therefore that your birds always have a constant source of feed even when free ranging available at all times. ‘Over’-Eating or Drinking Over-eating or drinking can also cause problems! Especially in excessively hot weather when the chickens may gorge on water. Over-eating can occur when they are offered treats or such that they are particularly fond of when they are already "full" or offered an excessive amount at one time. They will eat it all, storing it as is customary with prey, and when this happens on top of a full crop (or when an excessive amount is offered at once) then this will distend the crop and strain the crop musculature. A distended crop overstretches it muscles ... compare the situation with a balloon; when it is overstretched, one can see when the contents are emptied (be that air or water) that it does not regain its original form. If this happens too often or if the distension is too great then its functional ability to move the feed onwards is compromised and can even result in permanent damage or a tear. This form of damage is not a common occurrence however, it does occur more commonly with meat-type breeds which are known to over eat and need feed restriction measures. Once damage has occurred then there is little that can be done to correct the matter. Intestinal stricture, Impaction and Stasis Tumours and the illness causing them can be involved in crop problems and the underlying cause of stasis and even impaction secondary to a gut/intestinal stasis or intestinal obstruction. Tumours can cause a blockage and obstruction in the intestines which in turn will lead to crop stasis. One common cause of tumours is Mareks disease where (the neurological form) paralysis can cause stasis in the crop and the visceral form of Mareks can cause impaction in the gizzard. There are other forms of oncological (tumour causing) viruses and crop stasis is often associated with them. Intestinal torsion is a rare occurrence but this severe condition will also present with crop stasis where the intestines become knotted or otherwise twisted and causing obstruction. As mentioned earlier, too much fibre can result in an impaction! An acquaintance of mine had this experience with her chicken. The bird had a distended crop and had become very thin during the previous month that she noticed the crop distension... after a time she noticed a distinctly "sour"/yeast-like smell coming from its beak. She tried massaging the distended mass to help pass the contents through but this did not work and the bird continued to get thinner (essentially starving, even though it was eating, as the feed was not getting through to the intestines where digestion of nutrients takes place). When she brought the chicken to the veterinarian it was decided to open the crop (surgically) in order to remove the contents. What they found was a knotted mass of straw, hay and feed. The distension had put such a strain on the musculature of the crop that it had caused tears which had added to the problem and prevented the crop from functioning properly. The veterinarian removed the mass and also part of the damaged (distended and misformed) crop and stitched it back together. Once the bird recovered from the anaesthesia, it received only soft food via a crop tube (this just a few times till the bird was sufficiently recovered to eat on its own) and grain containing feed was avoided at first, as it might damage the healing crop musculature. Thus the bird received only soft feed in the form of a moistened mash/crumble type commercial feed and bread and a small amount of green- food. Antibiotics were administered to deal with bacterial infection and vitamins to prevent deficiencies. The chicken had a complete recovery and is still with her owner at this time. Photos on this page courtesy of: Jacqueline Mansveld. 1. Preparation for the surgical anaesthetic. 2. The crop is opened and contents visible. 3. The contents of the crop. 4. The piece of the crop that has been surgically removed (the breed of the chicken is a bantam Cochin / weight 800-1000 grams). Severe intestinal problems There are several conditions that can impair intestinal health and result in crop stasis... a very common underlying is for instance worms and coccidiosis.