**6 day old EE with HUGE crop, lethargic UDPATE-YAY!**

[Brelansmama]

So I have 1 EE, and 2 GLW, all are 6 days old, GLW seem fine, but the EE is lethargic, she lays down a lot, and her crop is 2x the size of the GLW's.
These are my first chicks, this could be normal for all I know, but I am a little scared.
They are house in a very large cardboard box brooder, with unlimited medicated chick starter & water. Bedding is pine shavings.
All 3 have had pasty butts once or twice, but I cleaned them easily, with no problems.
Should I be controlling their food intake? I thought they should have as much as they want for the first 2 weeks, is this correct?
Please tell me what your thoughts on this sweet little EE are.
Thank you!!

 

[Brelansmama]

I forgot to say that she is eating, drinking, and I know for SURE she was pooping fine last night, when I held her and she pooped on me.

 

[MoodyChicken]

Is her crop really hard? She could be crop bound.

http://sites.google.com/site/moodysbantams/poultry-health-1/crop-impaction

 

[Brelansmama]

Quote:
Oh jeeze! I don't think a 6 day old chick will survive home surgery!!!

Her crop is hard, but the article in the above link said they get crop bound from too much fiber, and/or not enough water. She has unlimited access to water, and is only eating chick starter.....

 

[CTChickenMom]

Give a few drops of olive oil or mineral oil and massage in a downward direction. Maybe she ate too much at one sitting.

 

[Brelansmama]

Okay-giving a 6 day old chick olive oil is NOT as easy as it sounds!!!
I did manage to get a few drops down her.
Her crop feels like a water balloon filled with sand, not rock hard, but very big. I would say it is about the size of a rounded table spoon, were the GLW's are the size of a rounded tea spoon.

So I gave her the oil, and massaged her crop for a few minutes, I will keep doing that for a while, every 20-30 minutes....sound good??

 

[Momma_Cluck]

Our turken chick had that-- just mix some olive oil with plain yogurt and feed her a bit.. then do not let her have any food for about 12 hours... just water.... vitamins and electrolytes are good too...
IF her crop is "deflated" then she is good to go-- if not, give more olive oil, or the olive oil/yogurt mix...
Ours liked the oil, and would come to me and sip it out of my fingernail! LOL!

Once they are ok, make sure their food is "the right stuff" and they have chick grit if using anything other than crumbles!

Good Luck hun!

 

[Brelansmama]

Quote:
Okay, well, I feel like an idiot!! I was trying to get a dropper full of oil into her beak, instead of just letting her drink it from a dish!! Duh!!
I gave her the oil/yogurt mix (she liked it), and isolated her in a smaller brooder. She is crying now, because she's all alone!! Poor baby!
Thank you SO much, everyone, for all your suggestions!! I feel so helpless! Hopefully her crop will go down by morning, It is 8:15 pm here, so morning will be about 12 hours.

This is what she was eating: Purina Mills Start & Grow, Medicated
Is that "the right stuff"?

 

[MoodyChicken]

Quote:
Oh jeeze! I don't think a 6 day old chick will survive home surgery!!!

Her crop is hard, but the article in the above link said they get crop bound from too much fiber, and/or not enough water. She has unlimited access to water, and is only eating chick starter.....

Surgery is a last resort! Don't worry, it's pretty easy to fix crop binding with some TLC and patience. Those are the most common causes, but not the only causes. She could have eaten some of the shavings or a piece of paper and that could have clogged her crop. Just mix olive oil and water in an equal mixture and pour that down her throat with a syringe or eye dropper. Then massage very well. Be sure not to overfill the crop! If it's bulging pretty big, I wouldn't give her any more.

 

[MoodyChicken]

Quote:
Yup, that's the right stuff. Sometimes they eat it too quickly or they just don't drink. They may have access to water, but choose not to take advantage of that.