Chick overeating

[tsperry88]

I have a brown leghorn 3.5 week old chick that stuffs it's crop until it looks like a tumor. It's flat again in the morning, so I believe it's healthy, but of the 31 chicks I have had, this is the first time I have noticed one like this. Do I let it be a fatty? I'm not sure I have a choice anyhow ...

 

[oldhenlikesdogs]

Some do like to eat more than others. I wouldn't worry about it as long as it's emptying, which you said it was.

 

[tsperry88]

I had a scare when they spilled their water and were out for several hours. They all had fuller looking crops after drinking. I have watched them closer and they are all perfectly empty in the mornings. This little fellow, who I believe is a rooster I ordered, likes to keep his stuffed during the day.

 

[oldhenlikesdogs]

He may just need more calories maybe. Is he just stuffing himself on a ration or other things?

 

[tsperry88]

He is only getting starter feed. I don't feed a lot of treets and none at their age.

 

[Sammi_0411]

My runt seems to be constantly eating every time i look at them shes 4 weeks x

 

[tsperry88]

I’m being mean today and not refilling their trough. There is plenty of food, it’s just more powdery and takes more time to fill up. Mr rooster has less of ballon lookin crop.

 

[NatJ]

I’m being mean today and not refilling their trough. There is plenty of food, it’s just more powdery and takes more time to fill up. Mr rooster has less of ballon lookin crop.

I suggest you dump some of the powdery food into another dish and add some water to it. They usually like it a lot better that way. (And as long as they eat it up within a few hours, you don't have to worry about it spoiling.)

 

[tsperry88]

I may need to do that. I was kind of hoping they didn’t like it too much The feed is good quality, but several seem to have fuller crops than I am used to seeing. Maybe it’s just a Leghorn trait. Their crops seem empty in the mornings though.

 

[NatJ]

In general, full crops are a good thing for chicks to have. They are growing so fast they need a lot of food. And the smaller the chick, the larger the crop will look if they eat the same amount of food.

Leghorns tend to mature early, so they need to get all their growing done even faster than some other breeds.