All 11 chicks have swollen crops

[beylabean]

should I take their chick starter up for the night and just leave them with their water? Any suggestions?

 

[ChickenCanoe]

I'd leave them with feed 24/7. The problem usually arises when they've been without feed.
An empty crop signals hunger. That can lead to overeating and distended crop.

 

[beylabean]

I'd leave them with feed 24/7. The problem usually arises when they've been without feed.
An empty crop signals hunger. That can lead to overeating and distended crop.

They've had access to food and water 24/7 since coming home last week. :/

 

[azygous]

Tiny chicks can have alarmingly large, full crops. There's not necessarily any problems usually associated with it. It sounds like your chicks are normal eaters with vigorous appetites.

They say, "If it ain't broke, don't try to fix it".

I differ from Canoe in my opinion about food 24/7 for baby chicks. I give my chicks natural day/night light patterns so they sleep when it gets dark instead of eating all night long. If you want to try that, I promise you it won't hurt them at all. They will consume all the food they need for normal development during the daytime hours. Their crops will empty during the night, fill up during the day, and I've never had any crop problems because of this.

 

[ChickenCanoe]

Tiny chicks can have alarmingly large, full crops. There's not necessarily any problems usually associated with it. It sounds like your chicks are normal eaters with vigorous appetites.

They say, "If it ain't broke, don't try to fix it".

I differ from Canoe in my opinion about food 24/7 for baby chicks. I give my chicks natural day/night light patterns so they sleep when it gets dark instead of eating all night long. If you want to try that, I promise you it won't hurt them at all. They will consume all the food they need for normal development during the daytime hours. Their crops will empty during the night, fill up during the day, and I've never had any crop problems because of this.

I really don't think we differ. I tend to oversimplify my answers. I do give feed 24/7. However after day 3 I do provide 8 hours of dark. (when they won't eat). After a few weeks, they are gradually cut back to 8 hours of light.

It's just that most people use heat lamps in the brooder and if they have feed available at all hours, they won't be inclined to eat bedding, feces, etc..

 

[beylabean]

Ok. Well I took the food out for the night and I will see how they are in the morning. They don't have a heat lamp. We use a heat pad. And run a 'normal' day light cycle with light on in brooding are.
If they are ok in the morning I will stop panicking. If they are not empty, any tips?

 

[azygous]

Yeah, those 24/7 lights in the brooder really leave much to be desired. If only people would treat conventional "guidelines" more skeptically, use their imaginations, put themselves in the place of baby chicks and try to think how it feels to have bright light shining on them day and night with no relief. In fact, when used on POAs, it's considered a war crime under international law.

When I used to brood indoors with a heat lamp, I would stretch a dark cloth over the brooder between the chicks and the red light to give them "night". It really cut down on their stress and the chicks were much calmer for it.

If they are sleeping at night, then they aren't eating anything, including shavings.

After I went to brooding outdoors in my run under a heating pad, the chicks had natural day and night from day one. They certainly had no problems knowing when to be awake and eat and when to quit eating and go to sleep. I feel that establishing good day/night patterns in chicks early on helps them to become more in tune with the natural light of the changing seasons which plays a huge role in regulating their body functions such as molting and laying.

 

[Johnhutch]

OMG, this makes great sense... I've had my chicks indoor with heating light an they seem to never sleep and eat constantly, so now that I'm more confronted that they can survive the night air, they are moving to the coop as soon as I can build a brooder box big enough for them an protected from my Junior girls. Thank you

 

[beylabean]

So all crops were normal this morning. Put food back in and they seemed normal. All have lots of energy and are alert. So I guess I just panicked cuz I never noticed the crops that large before.

Thanks for the help
~first time chick mama