1 week old, VERY large crop, still needs HELP! UPDATE p2

[lceh]

I'm a chick newbie, and I have a 1 week old BR bantam with a VERY enlarged crop. It's so swollen I can see the skin under her down. She kind of jerks her head to the side every once in a while when she walks. I picked her up and massaged her crop downwards for a few minutes. I could hear a sort of "crinkly" sound when I massaged, like there were air bubbles in there or something. I didn't see much if any improvement after this. I just now isolated her and put a dish of yogurt mixed with olive oil, and a dish of water in her box. She is very unhappy to be away from the others. There are no shavings in the brooder (it's a wire floor), and other than starter crumbles the only other thing she may have ingested is chick grit. I put a dish in there today because I want to start giving them treats, but they attacked the grit so ferociously that I panicked and took it out again. I was afraid they might get too much, and now I'm wondering if that's what happened to this chick. What else can I do for her? How often should I massage? Since I isolated her she had a small, dryish poop.

Edited to add:
Also stretches out her neck and jerks it to the side when walking (see post below)
Has picked at the down on her crop and left a bare spot

 

[Chicken03]

I dont think that they would eat so much that it would make them sick. But that could be a possibility.

 

[lceh]

Forgot to mention that her crop felt squishy, not hard.

 

[katrinag]

If you where just feeding there food there is no need for grit. You only add grit when they are getting other things than there food.
You can add a stuffed animal to the cage to help calm her down. I would just offer water for the night. See in the moring how things are. If it is still big I would offer olive oil to help slide things down.

 

[lceh]

I want to start giving the chicks treats (mealworms, crickets,etc.) which is why I decided to start the grit. I put a stuffed animal in the box a little while ago, so I hope she'll calm down a bit.

How do you get olive oil into a 1-week-old bantam? If she doesn't eat the yogurt/olive oil mix I'm not sure what to do. I'm afraid to use a dropper in case I drown her accidentally.

 

[katrinag]

Just drop a couple drops in her beak slowly.
Like I said before give her 24 hours with not food just water and see how her crop is.
I ahve always waited till my chickens where a couple weeks old before I feed treats.
If momma hen raises them she know excatly what to show them to eat. Since I am not momma I wait a bit.

 

[lceh]

Still no improvement this morning. When she walks she stretches her neck out and jerks it to the side a few times, like she's trying to get the kinks out -- is this just because she's uncomfortable? Or does she have some other problem?

How do I get her to open her beak for the olive oil? I tried unsuccessfully this morning, so I mixed more oil into yogurt and put it in dish for her, but I'm not sure she'll eat it. She's so upset to be away from the others. I also gave her a dish of water mixed with AC vinegar. Not sure if she's drinking. She is still pooping just fine.

 

[LynneP]

Your starter crumbles should have grit in it, no need to add.
I'm betting you have an engorged chick, and you're doing the right thing, so remove the grit and wait. If she is unhappy with the others you can try her back with them, or bring a couple of chicks over to keep her company. Your apple cider vinegar in water helps to loose and move grit. ( in her case 1 tsp in gal water). Adults can get more but I wouldn't risk with her. Her droppings are a good sign; to get beak open for a few drops olive oil you hold her gently and press laterally until beak pops open. I don't know if it's safe to 'milk' a week-old crop...

 

[lceh]

Thanks, LynneP! My only reason for isolating her was to keep her from eating more chick food, and to give her vinegar water without all the others getting into it....

 

[LynneP]

Your reasoning is perfect, it's what I would have tried.
The water is fine for the others, though