278 The Diseases of Animals 



amount of dry indigestible grass. The same condition 

 is often brought on by feeding them grass in large 

 quantities when they are not used to it. This dry grass 

 remains in the chicken's crop as a hard undigested mass 

 that is likely to cause death. 



The best plan is to give the chicken a tablespoonful 

 of sweet oil, or as much as it can be forced to 

 swallow. The gullet must then be held between the 

 fingers to keep the oil from working up, while the mass 

 in the crop is manipulated, broken up and mixed with 

 the oil. This may be repeated two or three times daily 

 until the chicken is relieved. Some of the grass can 

 be removed by working it up the gullet and out of 

 the mouth. Water can be injected with a hypodermic 

 syringe as recommended for choking. 



When it is not possible to relieve the chicken in 

 this manner, the crop may be cut open, the contents 

 removed, and the crop sewed up with catgut, taking 

 the stitches close together. The skin should be closed 

 with a separate set of stitches. After the operation, the 

 chicken should have nothing but milk or other liquid 

 food for a week, or until the crop has healed. Unless 

 the fowl is a valuable one, it is seldom worth the 

 bother of an operation and after-treatment. 



