I am freaking out just a little!!!! Newbie chicken-owner here with 15 5-week-old chicks. I just came back frim a weeklong trip, and went to check on my chickies. One of them has a SIGNIFICANT bulge on his/her chest!!!! It's not under the neck so I'm not sure if that could be an impacted crop? It's more over the right side of the breast, but it's obviously bothering the little bugger because s/he will walk with head held real high, and occasionally stretch his/her neck up and kind of gag. I picked it ip and softly palpated the area - it triggered the same kind of response and I was scared of injuring the bird, so I quit.
The birds are on starter/grower right now (Sunfresh) and they have a little litterbox with a mixture of sand and Stall-Dri to dustbathe in and provide grit. Their set-up and feed did not change while I was gone, I made any changes/additions about a week before I left so nothing new in their environment. They are in a big brooder with a 1/2" hardware cloth floor. I just can't think what happened to that one chick?
Please help me fix this issue before something bad happens to my little chickie!
The birds are on starter/grower right now (Sunfresh) and they have a little litterbox with a mixture of sand and Stall-Dri to dustbathe in and provide grit. Their set-up and feed did not change while I was gone, I made any changes/additions about a week before I left so nothing new in their environment. They are in a big brooder with a 1/2" hardware cloth floor. I just can't think what happened to that one chick?
Please help me fix this issue before something bad happens to my little chickie!