3 day old chick with HUGE crop

[PandoraChick]

Hello all,

This is my 2nd year raising chicks. We currently have 12 3-5 day olds in one brooder, all doing well except the 3 that came from one place. These 3 all have large crops, but one in particular has a VERY large crop. It is not hard, and the chicks all seem to be eating, drinking and pooping fine, as well as being active...however this does not feel normal to me. I am wondering because its the same 3 that came from one place if they ate something bad before they came to me?
I have never dealt with this before so I am unsure though.
The one chick in question is MUCH larger then the others...but the lump is probably the size of a ping-pong ball. I can massage it and it does not bother her/him. Is there anything I can do? Is greek plain yogurt ok> some small grit? Should I separate it and withhold food?
I have raised 35 chicks to date and have never lost one..I do not want to start now, plus I am really attached to this one. I have attached a pic...you can kinda see the size of the lump by just looking. I monitor them closely and have never seen them eat the large, premium pine chip bedding...but if I did see them do that, what is a better alternative to use?

Please help!

 

[rbaker0345]

Can you take a closer picture and describe how the lump feels? Is it hard, is it fixed or can you move it around, do you feel like its a lump of little particles all squished together or is it one single object?

 

[PandoraChick]

You can see the lump right above my thumb here.
It is the size of a ping pong ball and can be moved around...its not hard. I dont feel anything in it...I can squish it, and when I do I hear a soft noise. The other chicks also have this, it just doesn't seem as large...but I felt my other 3-5 day olds and did not feel anything like this.
Thank you for replying!

 

[PandoraChick]

Just bumping this up, hoping someone can offer some insight.
Today the "sac" still fills "full"..chicks are acting ok. I have tried gently holding upside down and massaging, but nothing comes out. I am worried if I do not act now, it will turn into a bigger problem.
Has anyone dealt with this before?

 

[jak2002003]

I think that chick look normal.

It may just be the shape of that breed of chick.

It they are acting lively, growing, eating drinking and pooping normally I would now worry.

If they act sick or are not eating then there might be something wrong.

 

[PandoraChick]

It's just weird becasue it feel like a bag of air and if I massage it, you can hear it "squeak" a little. The other chicks dont have this...and the one in particular its huge..he/she almost looks lopsided this morning. I will keep an eye and try not to worry. This morning I went to my local feed store to pick up some chick sized grit, just in case. While I was there I was talking to Ed(the guy who works by chicks)...He told me they got in a new batch and two were struggling. I asked if I could take a look(im a regular there) and he let me back in...These chicks had the same full crop, but were extremely lethargic. I held one upside down and milked out a bunch of nasty yellow stuff. within a minute or so of doing that the chick "came to life"...it went and took a drink, although it was still sluggish. The one that I didn't do, had bright red blood on the bedding next to it....these were meat birds, but I still wanted to save them...I have been trying to save all types of animals since I was 5...I just can;t stop. Now my daughter is the same way. I walk in a shelter, and I immediately gravitate toward the sickest, most "un-savble" pet there.

 

[countrygirl74]

Could be air in the crop. I had several with my last batch that had this issue. It usually resolves itself on its own. If you see big "air bubbles" somewhere other than the crop area, then it could be a ruptured air sac, which also usually resolves on its own. Some people have poked a small hole to relieve the air but I found in my situation it wasn't necessary. As long as the chick is acting fine, eating, drinking, pooping, etc. I would just avoid putting pressure on it for now and see if it disappears. I had a couple that took over a week for it to finally go away. It always seemed much worse after they ate and would go up and down like that throughout the day depending on how full their crop was of food.
It is interesting that they all came from the same place and seems like there might be more issues going on with the ones at the store, but all my new chicks had come from the same feed store and out of 13, I think I had 4 that had this. I hope this helps and I hope your babies are ok!
Do you put ACV in their water? Plain yogurt is always good for the babies and I don't think it would hurt anything in this case.

 

[PandoraChick]

Thank you!!! I will put raw ACV in the water..right now they are getting the vital-mix in there. I will also go feed some yogurt. These chicks did not come from this particular store where the sick meat chicks were...sorry fro the confusion. But all of them that have this "bubble" did come from the same place. At first I thought maybe the hatchery injected them with something before shipping??? Since they are acting normal otherwise I will try not to freak out...I just really like these little ones...always wanted the sliver-laced wynadottes. Now the leghorns...oh my word. I would compare them to ducks at this point, only not as cute

 

[rbaker0345]

Probiotics definitely sound like a good idea. I get a supplement for my horse called G.U.T. which also contains l-glutamine and magnesium sulfate. Its really palatable, doesn't contain any milk products and it works like a charm for crop issues too.

 

[pwand]

If there is a crop issue, check in the morning before they feed and drink, it should be flat.