chest pouch for a better word

[Coke]

I have 3 Black Australops. we lost one to a fox a few weeks back. One of them has what looks like a water balloon on her chest. it is filled with air i believe. the other 2 hens do not have this. does anyone know what this is? is it normal. cant seem to find anything about it in the breed magazine i purchased.

 

[Judy]

I hope it is her crop. The crop holds food. It should be larger and obvious at the end of the day, and empty first thing in the morning as they don't eat at night.

 

[Coke]

Judy i read a few posts about sour crop. i went out and made her vomit and i must say it was the most disgusting thing i have ever done. I was an EMT for 20 years and that was the worst smell i ever smelt. i guess she has sour crop. i got a lot of fluid out of her crop but nothing solid. i am giving her yogurt. she has never lost any weight but she does do that tossing head thing mentioned in the post i read. thanks for all your help. I think she will be fine. I will do it every day if I have to for a while. The good thing is my neighbor is a Vet and she has chickens also so i can ask her if she shows any signs of distress.

 

[downsm75]

I had one with the same issue and now give them chick grit. It helped