Broiler with enlarged crops

[saskmomma4]

Hi so a bunch of my broiler have these goofy looking lumps on their chest when you feel them they feel like a stress ball or like they're filled with grain.. I had one die a few weeks ago with a huge crop but he was sickly and would puke if you touched/massaged the lump. These guys seem totally fine just have these huge bumps. Is this normal?

 

[Wyorp Rock]

What are and how are you feeding them?
Are these Cornish X?

Having a large crop at the end of the day is normal, but you will want to check to see that they have emptied by morning before eating/drinking.

 

[Folly's place]

One of my Freedom Rangers (out of fifty) last year had a large abnormal crop. She didn't grow well, and was half normal weight at slaughter. I didn't notice her problem early on, or would have sacrificed her earlier, poor thing.
There's normal, and totally awful, and sometimes something in between. Hope your birds do well!
Mary

 

[saskmomma4]

What are and how are you feeding them?
Are these Cornish X?

Having a large crop at the end of the day is normal, but you will want to check to see that they have emptied by morning before eating/drinking.

Yes they are Cornish x I have several dual purpose chicks too, various breeds and they aren't having this problem.

They all eat grower crumbles from the feed store I open up the feeder in the morning and shut it over night. They also have been getting some kitchen goodies (watermelon rind, lettuce, etc) here and there. I made a dust bath for them with garden dirt and some sand and gravel and I often see them eating the rocks/sand out.. But I'm starting to think maybe they aren't getting enough grit to digest the goodies. I haven't been able to get them outside yet because we haven't build the fence yet and they aren't fully grown so im nervous to let them free range.

 

[Mrs. K]

I feed mine twice a day, I soaked the feed in water to the consistency of good sand castle material. CX are greedy little buggers and will eat and eat. On the meat board, many people suggested only feeding twice a day. I pulled mine from my layer chicks as the competition was too much for the layer chicks.

 

[Wyorp Rock]

Yes they are Cornish x I have several dual purpose chicks too, various breeds and they aren't having this problem.

They all eat grower crumbles from the feed store I open up the feeder in the morning and shut it over night. They also have been getting some kitchen goodies (watermelon rind, lettuce, etc) here and there. I made a dust bath for them with garden dirt and some sand and gravel and I often see them eating the rocks/sand out.. But I'm starting to think maybe they aren't getting enough grit to digest the goodies. I haven't been able to get them outside yet because we haven't build the fence yet and they aren't fully grown so im nervous to let them free range.

If you think they are not getting suitable grit from your soil, then it's a good idea to provide purchased grit (crushed granite).

Cornish X from what I understand will eat and eat, so limiting their intake may also fix your crop problem. They may simply just be overeating.

 

[saskmomma4]

Thanks for the suggestions. I went out this morning and they had all pretty much gone down from the night before. They eat alot! I'm sure some of them. Just lay there eating all day. I feed 20kg bag almost every day for just a little over 100 chickens. Seems like a lot of feed. I think I'll start closing up their feeder for the afternoon to help them slow down. I wouldn't mind saving some $$ on feed either. This is my first time having chickens (we always had them when i was growing up, just first time on my own). So I'm a fairly new to this. We have a feeder thay you just dump the feed in and it fills on its own.

 

[Folly's place]

Cornishx birds are not like any other chickens, poor things.
Mary

 

[saskmomma4]

Updating... I have been only letting them eat for about 3 hours in the am (till they seem satisfied) and again I the pm same thing, a few hours. They are looking much better and are eating so much less!! I was using a 20kg bag a day and it lasts 2 or 2.5 days now. I think they just looked funny cause they were full. They are sure fighting to get the feed first but I think this is much better than i was doing just continually letting them eat.