3 day old chick with HUGE crop

[PandoraChick]

Ok, something is seriously off with these chicks....all of the wyandottes that came from the same place have this lump...it seems larger today on all of them..It reminds me of when I used to vaccinate pets (former vet tech), the lump they'd get at the vaccination site. None of the lumps seem to be hard on any of them...if I hold them upside down and gently massage, nothing comes out. The thing is they are eating, drinking and pooping fine. The one with the largest lump may be a little less active, or it may be that he just doesn't mind being held.

I leave food out all the time, so its hard to check in the morning..should I take away food at night?

 

[pwand]

Take the food and water away at night

 

[missnu01]

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!

Mine do this all the time..they just eat like little pigs and it makes them look like they have a shoulder sticking our of their chest...the first time I saw a chick like that I thought something was out of place, because I noticed it sort of from the side and behind it...anyway it's totally alright...
Heck we had a duck eat so much and get so full it looked like it had a shelf under it's feathers...Just keep an eye on it, and make sure the particular chicks in question are pooping and acting normally. Also try to check the crop at regular intervals..or take away the food for a bit and see if it goes down..we just kept an eye on our first ones like this, and nothing ever came of it...hard to catch them with an empty crop though...I find that if they eat enough to balloon up like this, they are prone to staying pretty full more often than not.

 

[missnu01]

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!

I am 100% that this protrusion is nothing to worry about...I can't say I am 100% that the chick is alright, because hey, things happen..but the bulging crop is not an issue. when you feel it, it should feel like a very thin latex balloon full of chicken food...try to imagine very thin latex filled with birdseed...that is totally normal...just a Fatty McFatt Fat.

 

[PandoraChick]

Thank you! I have been reading the ER section here for the last 2 days going a little crazy. Last year when we started the original 17, we did not have a single issue and it has stayed that way..none of them have ever been sick or had problems and they lay almost daily, even through winter. Now after reading this section, worrying about the chicks...I am thinking what did I do getting 20 more? I get way too attached to them. I hope it is nothing..I am going to take away the little oinkers food for the night and stop checking them so much. Thank you again!

 

[coopncottage]

I was curious toread this thread... we have a two-week old Welsummer chick who looks much like this. Her crop generally is very big, but kind of off to the side--more on the right than the left. Because she's eating and drinking and seems to feel fine, I've just been keeping an eye on her, but it doesn't look normal compared to the other chicks we've had.

 

[pwand]

I was curious toread this thread... we have a two-week old Welsummer chick who looks much like this. Her crop generally is very big, but kind of off to the side--more on the right than the left. Because she's eating and drinking and seems to feel fine, I've just been keeping an eye on her, but it doesn't look normal compared to the other chicks we've had.

The crops are normally more to right. Generally with crop issues you would see diarrhea often times having green poop or other looking diarrhea. I dealt with this in an adult chicken, not in chicks. These little fellows eat all the time. Harder to tell in a chick. Is yours on chick starter feed, if so your chick is probably fine, there's always a chance if they are outside with mom, then they sometimes get into trouble.

 

[Helenasmom1999]

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

I came here looking for advice and it's also my silver laced w that has a swollen crop! 3 days old too!