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We knew from post 3 that the OP's birds free range in the garden, therefore they can find their own grit. And therefore what forage is in the garden is directly relevant. You are the one who side-tracked the thread and threw in the red herrings.

It's not, as you would know if you read the thread from the beginning or properly. Do you think throwing out random suggestions is helpful to someone who has a problem and has already provided enough info to eliminate your random thought?

A lot depends on how much opportunity the birds have to forage, and the quality of whatever forage is available to them. And on how much the keeper trusts their birds' instincts, and how confident they are about knowing better than the chickens do about chicken food.

I have not seen scratch in general and corn in particular cited as a cause of crop binding, but perhaps Wyorp Rock will come along to clarify.

how are your girls @Amy-Joy ? Did you manage to get the coop cleaned? Find more red mites?

would you care to cite some evidence for this statement? Otherwise it will look like you are scare-mongering.

Don't worry; for a lot of users of BYC, commercial feed is the only acceptable feed. Their views are based on US history and traditions, involving a lot of corn (aka maize), whereas UK traditional feed is wheat based. The main difference is that, because it's homogenized (and usually pelleted)...

OK. Red mites normally live in the coop and feast on the birds while they roost. They are a real pain in the neck and diatomaceous earth won't get rid of them (though it may help with preventing reinfection after you've got rid of them). There are various products for sale that claim to treat...

OK. Can you pick up one of them (probably the blue one as she's less active), wrap an old towel or tea towel around her body not too tight but just enough to keep her wings closed and next to her body, and then, with her facing backwards so her head is under your arm/elbow, part the feathers at...

OK, let's keep working through possibilities. What sort of chicken food do you give them? Have you ever medicated them? If so, with what? Have you seen any parasites on them? What sort of coop have you got and how often do you clean it?

do you feed them anything besides your leftovers? do they have clean fresh water to drink?

hello @Amy-Joy , welcome to BYC :frow and I'm sorry it is not in better circumstances. Both those birds are very poorly. The more information you can give about these birds (how old, how long you've had them, laying? what's their poop like?) and the conditions they live in (from their coop and...