If you keep chickens in your backyard, you need to know how their bodies work and how their digestive systems work so that your chickens stay healthy and happy. The crop is an area of a chicken’s body that many new chicken owners don’t understand. This whole guide will tell you everything you need to know about the strange chicken crop. What is it? What does it do? Why is it important?
What is the Chicken Crop?
The crop is an expandable pouch located in the esophagus of a chicken. Its purpose is to store food after the chicken has swallowed it but before it passes further down into the digestive tract. When a chicken eats, it swallows food whole because chickens do not have teeth. The food gets temporarily held in the crop where it begins to soften and break down. From the crop, the food then moves slowly into the stomach organ known as the proventriculus.
They can eat quickly and store a lot of food to digest slowly later thanks to the chicken crop. This is an evolutionary trait that helped wild chickens make the most of their few food sources while keeping them safer from predators. Domestic chickens still have this trait.
Where is the Chicken Crop Located?
On a chicken, the crop is on the right side of the neck, close to where the neck meets the body. It sits between the esophagus and the proventriculus. When full, the crop may protrude slightly and appear swollen. An empty crop is typically not visible.
To find the crop on your chicken, pick it up facing away from you and reach around to the front of its neck on the right side. Gently feel for a soft, pliable pouch in this area. The skin covering the crop is loose so you can press the crop pouch in and out.
What Does the Chicken Crop Do?
The main functions of the chicken crop are:
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Food storage: It gives the body a place to hold water and food that have been swallowed until they can be digested in the stomach. This allows chickens to eat hastily without choking.
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Softening and breaking down food – Food begins to soften and break down in the crop as saliva and enzymes start digesting it. This makes it easier for the stomach to process.
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Feeding rhythm regulation – The filling and emptying of the crop regulates a chicken’s desire to eat. An empty crop stimulates appetite. A full crop signals satiety.
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Hydration – The crop stores both food and water. The water helps soften and move the food contents along.
Signs of a Healthy Crop
It’s helpful to know what a normal healthy crop looks and feels like in order to identify potential problems. Here are signs of crop health:
- Crop is flat and not visible when empty
- Crop swelling after eating, feeling soft and pliable
- Overnight crop emptying – crop should feel flat and deflated in the morning
- No sour odor from mouth or crop contents
- No unusual swelling that persists over 24 hours
Common Crop Problems in Chickens
Some common crop issues chickens can experience include:
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Impacted crop – When fibrous materials like grass or straw get lodged in the crop and cannot pass, causing a blockage. The crop will feel very firm and swollen.
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Pendulous crop – When the crop stretches out permanently and hangs down. The crop loses muscle tone and cannot fully empty.
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Sour crop – A fungal or yeast infection in the crop causing foul odors. The crop feels mushy.
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Foreign bodies – Chickens intentionally or accidentally consuming foreign objects that become stuck in the crop.
Caring for Chicken Crop Health
Here are some tips for keeping your chickens’ crops healthy:
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Provide insoluble grit – This helps chickens grind and pass fibrous foods to prevent crop impactions.
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Check for crop emptying daily – Ensure crops are emptying overnight; persistent fullness indicates a problem.
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Isolate chickens with crop issues – Keep them separate to prevent disease spread.
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Control fungi and yeast – Keep coops clean and dry; treat sour crop topically and orally.
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Avoid foreign bodies – Ensure chickens don’t have access to things like rubber bands, string, or hardware they could eat.
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Add apple cider vinegar – This creates an acidic crop environment discouraging fungal and yeast growth.
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Flush with Epsom salts – For impactions or sour crop, flush the crop with an Epsom salt solution.
When to Seek Veterinary Help
In most cases, minor crop issues can be treated at home with some basic crop care. However, if you notice any of the following, contact an avian vet right away:
- Persistent blockages that won’t clear with flushing
- Pendulous crop that won’t return to normal
- Cheesy smelly contents or cheesy plaque in the crop
- Evidence of a foreign body or puncture in the crop
- Lethargy, loss of appetite or other signs of illness related to a crop problem
Surgery or prescribed antifungal medications may be needed for severe or stubborn cases of crop infections and impactions. Don’t delay getting veterinary help when needed.
In Summary
The mysterious chicken crop serves an important role in collecting and breaking down chickens’ swallowed food. Paying attention to your chickens’ crops and knowing what to look for will help you identify issues early and take action. With prompt care and crop health management, chickens can continue living a happy, well-fed life even when crop problems occur. Your flock depends on you to keep a close eye on their crops!
Pendulous Crop is Enlarged and Distended
A pendulous crop hangs down in the front of the bird. Because of this, the crop can’t empty properly, which can cause other issues, such as sour crop (see below). Affected birds continue to eat but they lose weight and eventually become emaciated and may die.
The exact cause of pendulous crop is unknown, but it often happens after people eat too much, drink too much water, or eat a lot of fibrous or hard-to-digest things like grasses, rocks, or sand. Chicks brooded at very high temperatures can also develop this condition as they will drink excessive amounts of water. Crop washes will not recover any fungal elements, only foul-smelling liquid. Because the muscles and ligaments have been damaged, no treatment is available. Owners wishing to maintain their birds can try using a “crop bra. ” This is a type of bandage that gently places pressure on the crop to help the contents empty into the stomach and hold the crop in place. It has to be worn all the time because if you take off the crop bra, the crop will go back to hanging down. Birds that develop a pendulous crop should not be used as breeders since the condition can pass from generation to generation.
Common Crop Issues in Backyard Chickens
Chickens, as well as other birds, have a unique digestive system, which allows them to feed very quickly and digest it later at a safer location. They do not have teeth, so feed is swallowed whole. The crop is part of their digestive system (Figure 1).
The crop is a storage sack that holds the feed and slowly releases it to the gizzard where it is ground into smaller pieces. When the crop is full, it is visible as a small protrusion at the base of the neck in front of the chest.
The crop is easy to locate after a bird has just eaten. Many times, the texture of the feed can be felt by gently massaging the crop, especially if the feed contains larger pieces such as whole corn. While problems with the crop are rare, when they do occur, timely action will lead to better results.
The best time to check your flock for crop issues is first thing in the morning before the birds have time to eat. A normal crop will be empty and hard to find at that time. When you locate it, you can move it around with your fingers. If a bird has a crop that feels full and hard despite not having eaten for a long time, it may indicate a problem (Figure 2).
Sour Crop in Chickens What is it And How to Treat it
FAQ
What are chicken crop symptoms?
These are called impacted crop, sour crop and pendulous crop. If a chicken has a crop problem, it might lose weight, be tired, have trouble turning its head from side to side, and feel alone, among other things.
How do you treat crop problems in chickens?
Impacted crops can be treated by massaging the crop with vegetable oil from an eyedropper through the mouth to try to break up the blockage, or in the worst cases, the blockage can be removed by cutting the crop open with a scalpel.