Baby chick and sour crop?? or something else?

[acm6912]

Hello I am very new to raising chickens. In fact, less than a week. Last week we got 6 supposedly 3 day old chicks from our local feed and seed. However, you can definitely tell some are older than others. One of my smaller younger ones has a yeasty smell coming from her beak. Not overly smelly but definitely smells different than the others. The problem is that everything I read mentions sour crop and describes it as swollen and squishy. My issue is that sometimes I can find her crop and sometimes I can't and I would never term it swollen. I've felt the older ones when they're full and can tell that but she never gets a really full crop. Any ideas?

 

[newmarch2014]

It sounds like she does not have sour crop to me....normally they get a full crop when they eat, and it feels semi solid, yet pliable if you gently prod it. Then it will feel almost gone in the morning after they have slept and pooped all night, or after a long nap. If the chick is up and moving, clear vent, eating and drinking, moving in our out of the warmth provider to regulate its temp and not sleeping significantly more than the other chicks then I would not worry. Some chicks just smell different with nothing to worry about. You can add a splash of vinegar "with the mother" to their water to help make their water and crop more inhospitable to bacteria and a little yogurt to introduce some probiotics to their system without having to do grit yet.

 

[acm6912]

Thank you! Just worried about her she's very small and not really growing but she's very loud (when's she's upset) and frisky. Still eating and drinking great. I have added some vinegar to the water and she LOVES yogurt! So hopefully she'll pull through!

 

[newmarch2014]

Sounds like she is probably just fine if she eats, drinks and poops normally. She may just be a small chick. Do you know what kind of chicken she is supposed to be? The vinegar needs to be something like Braggs that says "with the mother" on the label to be effective. The yogurt is great (with live active cultures). If you choose to add anything else to the diet don't forget to offer grit.

 

[acm6912]

They are all supposed to be Ameraucana's. I will go get the Bragg's vinegar today. Any specific reason to use this apple cider vinegar rather than another? Yes the yogurt has live active cultures. I wasn't planning on giving them anything else to supplement their diet until about week 3 or 4 and then start adding grit. This is the little girl. She also had a belly button injury but it is healing nicely and that was on Sunday. I'm hoping when it heals completely whatever is left will fall off? I've been disinfecting the area. Thought I was going to lose her on Sunday but she's a fighter! So I just want to make sure she's ok.

 

[newmarch2014]

So Amerecaunas (generically known as Easter Eggers) are a mix breed that usually comes with the blue egg gene in their mix. Because they are mixes they can vary greatly in size. If she was injured that can be the cause of the smaller size, it takes energy to heal. If her poop is semi solid and she seems ok, no worries. Using some old fashion neosporin with no "cain" anything for pain reduction ingredients on the belly button is fine.....it will heal and fall off eventually. The Braggs has live enzymes that are good for their digestive tract and keeping the water from developing as much bacteria.

 

[Donna R Raybon]

She might need some tlc to ensure she gets a place at the feeder. The lower on the pecking order gets less time at the table without harassment. I would sprinkle chick grit on food for all and maybe scramble some egg for the runt. I start for each chick sprinkling a pinch between finger and thumb of cchick granite grit at about a week old. I will do that a couple times a week until about three weeks old, then just provide it in a bowl. You just want to ensure they know what food is versus the grit. Don't ever just put it out in bowl without giving them a chance to figure out what it is and i also make sure they are well fed and not hungry. Naive birds can overeat as they mistake for food.

 

[Donna R Raybon]

She might need some tlc to ensure she gets a place at the feeder. The lower on the pecking order gets less time at the table without harassment. I would sprinkle chick grit on food for all and maybe scramble some egg for the runt. I start for each chick sprinkling a pinch between finger and thumb of cchick granite grit at about a week old. I will do that a couple times a week until about three weeks old, then just provide it in a bowl. You just want to ensure they know what food is versus the grit. Don't ever just put it out in bowl without giving them a chance to figure out what it is and i also make sure they are well fed and not hungry. Naive birds can overeat as they mistake for food.

 

[acm6912]

Oh great! I was worried it might be there forever! I separated her so the others wouldn't peck at it. Yes she is eating, drinking pooping, walking, complaining (she doesn't like being alone, loves being held) and sleeping great! I guess I will start the grit earlier especially since I think three of the six are at least a week older than the other three. Will the scrambled egg help her gain weight and get protein? I'm doing yogurt everyday so I thought that would give her both protein and probiotics. Also this might be a weird question but how do they tell the difference between food and grit if they are mixed together? Is it a texture thing? Thanks for all the help!

 

[newmarch2014]

They eventually learn by sight what the different things are, mine will pick all the mealworms out of treat mix, then the next favorite, on down the line till they leave the things they hate. Yes scrambled eggs are a great source of protein, I feed them to my sickly chickens to tempt them, they love love love them.