so i have chicks that are 4 weeks old today and i just switched them to an organic feed 2 days ago. stupid me, i didn't know you had to do it gradually. so yesterday i notice that a few of them are having super loose smelly poo. they also eat their pine shavings, but they go outside every few days in their pen to eat grit because it's phoenix and hot here. i don't feed them any treats, just crumbles. they are acting fine, eating and drinking, but today was the first day i thought to feel for their crops. some of them i couldn't even find it, and some it felt like a firm ball and another it felt like a squishy ball. i posted on another forum about the poo when it was loose and stinky and they told me to give oatmeal. now it has turned into formed poo that looks like it is full of shavings and a bunch of fluid comes out with the poo. i am now giving them grit in their brooder and they are still acting fine. what in the world? this is my first time with chickens and i just got through reading that post about crop surgery. i am hoping no one is going to tell me to do that to these chicks. so any ideas what is going on? why do they tell you to put them on pine shavings if they are just going to eat them? and i bought the big size shavings, but they are finding these tiny pieces that look like strings and eating those. HELP! noel
