And this is why I don’t have enough practice - I don’t starve the chickens before butchering, so I rarely ever find empty crops. I only process small numbers of chickens, and they live with the flock, so being able to see their system in full working order is helpful, a snapshot of the overall...
I actually prefer that they have just eaten when I butcher them. That's because when the crop is empty, it is really hard to find - it flattens out and practically disappears in there, and it's annoying to have to hunt for it. I never starve my chickens for any amount of time before processing...