8 Day Chick - Ugh, Impacted Crop - Updated 3/30 - Day 3

*** UPDATE ***
It IS an impacted crop! I got it to throw up about half of the lump's worth of food/water/mush (more water than anything). What a God awful smell! What should I do for the rest of the mass? It feels so soft, no hard mass and I can feel her neck bone and everything when checking. She's only just over a week old and other than chick starter and hard boiled eggs, hasn't had anything else to eat (unless it ate the shavings). I just added chick grit 2 nights ago when I discovered the problem. I am not anxious to do surgery. Can I keep trying to get it to throw up? I don't know what to massage when there is no large mass that I can feel. Ugh - why can't I be more experienced at all of this?!

*** UPDATE 2 ***
I pulled her back out again to see if her lump went down. I don't know. But, while I had it in the sink (I was digging out the olive oil), it pooped! It's lost a lot of weight in the last 2 days and I feel awful for it. I got a dropper full of olive oil (about .08mg) in it. It actually gobbled it up out of the dropper with no problem! Now, I sure hope it isn't shavings... I massaged the crop both up and down (thought maybe I could get it to throw up again) and I just didn't feel anything blocking the way. Well, I am still watching it and I hope it's out of the woods since it pooped.

*** Update 3 on 2nd Page ***

*** Update 4 ***
(3/30/11)
I cleaned out both brooders since I picked up 10 more chicks (5 BRs and 5 RIRs) for $1 at the Agway. After I cleaned the brooder and put the new chicks in, I watched her make some gagging like motions and decided to take her out and see what I could do with her again. I fed her some more olive oil. She didn't take much. I massaged, and massaged and massaged... I can feel a couple of pieces of grit and possibly some food. I just can't feel anything else squishing in that watery sac of a crop. While I was working with her she had 2 green, grainy, watery poops. The lump is down again, so I definitely worked something through. It isn't gone, but it isn't backing up her throat again. No, I didn't make her throw up either. It went down, not up! Yay! I am hoping this means a good thing. I'll keep massaging every couple of hours. She's still very skinny. I haven't witnessed her eat or drink, but she's still up and relatively active for the state she's in.


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Two nights ago I noticed one of my BA chicks had a large crop. I almost immediately thought it was impacted or sour, so I asked here on the forums if it was possible. Doesn't seem like it's a normal thing for chicks, plus after checking it out, it's soft and pliable. Per forum advice, I started dosing them all with Duramycin 2 nights ago because I personally thought it was an abscess. The chick has 2 scratches on her chest - the pics don't show it, but I had to blu-kote it because the feathers are sparse there. I was also told that if I thought it was an abscess to use a 22 gauge needle to drain it. I don't know if it's an abscess and I am a bit afraid to just go poking about without knowing. Plus, the antibiotic is not working. The lump actually seems to have gotten bigger and spread to the left more.

Pics...



It's still eating, drinking and pooing. It doesn't seem any more lethargic than the rest, but I haven't exactly been hovering over her all day for the last 2 days.
I was thinking maybe someone else would have some insight. Also, would I do any damage to the chick if I did stick her with the needle to see if it drains? I wouldn't put it in far, just enough to puncture the skin and see what comes out. I mean, would I do damage if it itn's an abscess?

Is it hard or soft?
Does it move under the skin?
Also does it feel warmer than the rest of the chick?

Soft, does not move under the skin, does not feel warmer.

If you think its infected I would try and aspirate it with the needle but be very careful. Just under the skin wont catch the abscess so you might have to go in a little more.

Just a warning if it is an abscess you will get a bloody mixture of puss to come out.

best of luck

If it is an abscess, shouldn't it be fevered? And being on antibiotics should have made it smaller, not larger, right? That's why I am holding off on lancing it. I was hoping someone may have seen something like this. And yea, I know what's in an abscess. I have horses that have had hoof abscesses. They usually work through the top of the hoof and take care of themselves. I'm not really so sure this is going to take care of it's self, but I just don't want to be hasty either.

Really? No one else has any ideas?

I checked the chick again and I had thought maybe it was an impacted crop and all the liquid was water she drank. But, shouldn't all that water have turned the food to mush by now? Well, no such luck. It's all fluid and it has no hard mass at all. Although, I did find she has another lump starting, or the other one is expanding to her neck. Now, what the heck is going on? Yes, she is still on Duramycin. She's still active. I am not sure about the eating and drinking now. I've been gone the last 2hrs so I can't say for sure.


I don't want to lose a BA. I waited 4 weeks for them and I am not happy I have a problem with one now.

Updated! Read the first post!

Okay, please read Update 2. Since it pooped, is it out of the woods? Nothing has gone through in the last 2 days and it's lost weight... Well, read Update 2.

Sorry I just got home from work a little bit ago and finally checking in on your baby.

Pooping is good seeing she hasn't done it in a while. But with the poop what did it look like? Normal chick poop?

So there is another lump starting? I don't know what to say about that.

Is she eating at all? if not I would make up some wet mash and use a syringe to feed her some nice warm soggy food.

Maybe give her some sugar water to give her a little pep.


I feel your pain with the whole sick chick issue. I think one of mine is blind. Her eyelids wont open all the way and the smallest eye is cloudy. I just got done feeding her a little bit ago and she is still crying in the cage. I feel so bad for her because I am just at a loss of what to do. I can have a disabled chicken because I don't mind but she is so smaller than the others whom she hatched with. Well not the same day but she isn't growing like they are.

Over half the lump is gone. After it started spreading up the neck, I was pretty sure it was an impaction. I took her to the sink, turned her upside down and started massaging it out her mouth. It was very watery food, so I was baffled. I put her back in with the others after over half the lump was gone (I couldn't get her to throw up anymore). I just checked again and that's update 2 with the poop and the olive oil. Her poop was normal colored, but watery (no white, just green). Which makes sense with all the water in her crop. I'm still watching her and I think I have done all I can - except the surgery. I don't have the stuff to do the surgery (no scalpel). I am watching to see if the lump goes down int he next couple of hours.

I have an EE that's much smaller than the others. She had pasty butt and seemed a bit backed up, so I contribute her size to that.