The Accidental Smallholder Forum
Livestock => Poultry & Waterfowl => Topic started by: Sherbatious border on January 23, 2018, 09:38:05 am
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I keep 3 or 4 hens (currently 4) and have come across sour crop before, but I currently have a 'spent' hen (4 year old hybrid that has not laid in almost a year) that has developed a crop problem and I simply don't know what to do about it. She repeatedly gets a swollen crop. It has not turned into 'sour crop', ie its not full of foul fluid, but neither is it a 'blockage' as such, it's soft when I massage it. Massaging eases the problem for a while but it comes back. She's been eating and drinking voraciously, but she feels thin. She does very liquid poops, it's as if her digestive system is not working properly and this has been going on for some time. There's no sign of infection, all the other hens are fine. She's bright and active, but this morning, though she was eager to escape when I opened the coop, she's not eating, so I'm going to have to chase her around in the mud and massage her crop again. They live in a coop, not free range. My neighbour disposes of her hens as soon as they stop laying and she thinks I'm mad even thinking about treating and keeping a spent hen. I can't help feeling (based on my previous experience with hybrid hens) that this is the beginning of a drawn out end, but I don't feel confident about 'disposing' of hens like my neighbour does, I'm frightened I'd do it badly and cause them more suffering. Thinking of calling the vet to ask if they put down hens, is that mad?
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why don't you just ask your neighbour to do it?
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I know it is not pleasant culling your stock, but could you ask your neighbour to show you how to do it? She may not always be available when you have a serious problem that needs dealing with straight away. I think in your current situation this hen is not getting better, she is probably suffering as she is thin, and perhaps now is the time to let her go.
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Quality of life over quantity of life. Culling is a useful skill to acquire as you don't always have the luxury of time to consider things if, say, you have a badly injured bird. You have made sure the hen had a good life, now it's your job to make sure she has a good death.
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Thank you all for your advice. I did think about asking my neighbour but I wondered if it would seem like a weird thing to ask! You all make it sound like a perfectly sensible part of poultry keeping. I'll do what you suggest. I was shown how to dispatch sickly birds once, but it was many, many years ago, on my Great Aunt's farm, in another lifetime.
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I don't think a 4yr old hen is spent! I have hens that are 8yrs old that still lay a couple of eggs a week. If she hasn't laid for a year I'd think she has underlying health problems. I think the kindest thing to do is cull.
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The vets here in Hertfordshire charge around £14-18 to put a chicken to sleep, little money really, just check they give her the sleeping gas first so she definitely doesn't know anything (had a vet once who claimed the smell of the gas would be upsetting - chickens have no sense of smell, though).
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Four isn't elderly. I have two that are 7 and 8 years old. They both laid a few eggs last year. Your hen has something wrong with her - I don't know what it is, athough I'd suspect long term worms of she eats and drinks 'voraciously' and stays thin.
If you don't want to kill her or ask your neighbour to do it. at least try to make her better by worming her. If you've done that then it's more serious and she deserves an easy death.