Chick with obstructed crop!!

Amsasa

In the Brooder
Nov 8, 2018
15
11
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my 4 day old chick was kinda lethargic lately, assuming it was sick i gave it some sugar water and put some hard boiled egg for them,, i examined the chick today to find out it had a pretty obstructed crop, i could feel all the grains moving,, what should i do? i tried massaging it but it did pretty much nothing,, im afraid she wont make the night, any advice??
 
i examined the chick today to find out it had a pretty obstructed crop, i could feel all the grains moving
What have you been feeding it apart from the egg and sugar water? I'm hoping you mean crumbles rather than grains or seeds. It is normal for chicks to have a full crop and for it to feel like a mini bean bag. The purpose of the crop is to hold food until the body processes it, so it should be full. I would be more concerned that it is not drinking enough or perhaps needs an electrolyte boost. Some sugar water or better still Save a Chick electrolytes may help give it a boost. I would also check it's vent to make sure it isn't backed up with pasty butt. Usually they will chirp when they are straining to poop if they have pasty butt, but worth checking their back end just to be sure and monitoring poop. I would also be inclined to soak it's crumbles in warm water to make a wet mash as this will improve hydration and dip it's beak in water/electrolytes to ensure it knows where it is and gets some regularly.
 
What have you been feeding it apart from the egg and sugar water? I'm hoping you mean crumbles rather than grains or seeds. It is normal for chicks to have a full crop and for it to feel like a mini bean bag. The purpose of the crop is to hold food until the body processes it, so it should be full. I would be more concerned that it is not drinking enough or perhaps needs an electrolyte boost. Some sugar water or better still Save a Chick electrolytes may help give it a boost. I would also check it's vent to make sure it isn't backed up with pasty butt. Usually they will chirp when they are straining to poop if they have pasty butt, but worth checking their back end just to be sure and monitoring poop. I would also be inclined to soak it's crumbles in warm water to make a wet mash as this will improve hydration and dip it's beak in water/electrolytes to ensure it knows where it is and gets some regularly.
All the other chicks are twice it’s size, and it’s pooping just very little. it does feel like a tiny bean bag but it’s been there for a while I remember reading somewhere where it said the crop should empty and refill every 24 hours, but it looks like it was never empty? I’ll try giving it some more water, thanks for the quick reply!! ^^
 
I had a similar situation. I had a chick who seemed to always have a full crop and just wasn't thriving. NutriDrench helped a lot. I took her feed away for a bit and realized she was emptying her crop after all. The NutriDrench perked her up immediately. She is still a runt compared to the rest of the flock, but she's doing great otherwise at week 12.

You might try keeping it from its feed for a while (but give it access to its water, of course) to make sure it is a crop issue. And I do recommend NutriDrench if you have it or can get it.
 
The crop will only empty if the bird does not have access to food overnight. If you are using a heat lamp, then there is not darkness and they can continue to fill the crop 24/7. Personally I do not think it is the healthiest system for chicks. A broody hen or a system like a heat plate or Mama Heating Pad are better options as they allow the chicks to experience day and night and that allows their crop to empty during the darkness when they would normally be sleeping and then be filled up the next morning. Being able to eat 24/7 enables them to grow quicker but that is not always a good thing either.
I would definitely encourage it to drink fluids be that plain water, electrolytes or sugar water.
 
I had a similar situation. I had a chick who seemed to always have a full crop and just wasn't thriving. NutriDrench helped a lot. I took her feed away for a bit and realized she was emptying her crop after all. The NutriDrench perked her up immediately. She is still a runt compared to the rest of the flock, but she's doing great otherwise at week 12.

You might try keeping it from its feed for a while (but give it access to its water, of course) to make sure it is a crop issue. And I do recommend NutriDrench if you have it or can get it.
I’m not sure if they sell NutriDrench here but I’ll check in the morning, um how do you keep it from the flock exactly? (Please bare with me I’m not so experienced with this;; ) do you keep it in a separate box with its own heat supply and water? I feel like it’ll get cold very fast without the warmth of the others, thanks!
 
The crop will only empty if the bird does not have access to food overnight. If you are using a heat lamp, then there is not darkness and they can continue to fill the crop 24/7. Personally I do not think it is the healthiest system for chicks. A broody hen or a system like a heat plate or Mama Heating Pad are better options as they allow the chicks to experience day and night and that allows their crop to empty during the darkness when they would normally be sleeping and then be filled up the next morning. Being able to eat 24/7 enables them to grow quicker but that is not always a good thing either.
I would definitely encourage it to drink fluids be that plain water, electrolytes or sugar water.
Ah, I don’t really own any heating pads at the moment and I’m not sure where they sell them,, the only heating method I’ve ever used is a heat lamp, can I use a hot water bottle? Also should I feed the chick the water or should I let it drink on it’s own? It doesn’t seem to be eating or drinking all that often, thanks again ^^;
 
I would just continue with your heat lamp if that is what you have because a hot water bottle is not going to maintain a uniform temperature that the chick needs but make sure their water station is in the coolest part of the brooder. Can you post a photo of your brooder? solid sides tend to hold the heat whereas you really just want a small area of heat. You are trying to simulate a broody hen raising chicks where the chicks run about outside with the broody hen in all sorts of weather and just snuggle underneath her to warm up every now and then. If they are in a constantly warm environment were the water becomes warm, it does not encourage them to drink so they can become dehydrated and germs can breed faster in warm water, so it is actually healthier to have a cool brooder with just a small warm spot in it for them to go and recharge. Mesh sides on a brooder make this easier than solid sides.

I agree with the previous poster about Nutri Drench being very useful in such situations. I would not remove the chick from the other chicks unless it is being trampled but keep offering it fluids by dipping it's beak in a small container like a bottle top or carefully dripping fluids onto the side of it's beak with a dropper. It is too risky trying to squirt fluids directly into their mouth as it can easily go down their wind pipe.
 
I just took the feeder out of the brooder at night before I went to sleep. In the morning, I checked all of the chicks' crops.

I used a heading pad, too, and I think it helped because their circadian rhythms weren't affected. I think it helped them get those little cross empty because it got dark at night.

Search the forums for MHP (I don't remember what it stands for exactly... mother hen or heating pad???). That's what helped me dude to ditch the heating lamp for the heating pad.
 

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