Chicken has a squishy crop but I am not sure if it is sour crop

[Americauna]

I own 6 chickens, and when I picked up one of them today, I noticed their chest was squishy, almost like a water balloon. I knew this was a symptom for sour crop so I went and felt my other chickens crop, and theirs seemed fairly squishy as well. They live in a large run with no grass, mostly dirt, rocks, and bugs. I put apple cider vinegar in their water but I’m still nervous. Any advice? They all seem lively and exhibit no negative behaviors.

 

[Callender Girl]

I am far from an expert, but in my ONLY experience with sour crop, the telltale sign was that my hen would lean forward, and clear liquid would pour out, like she was a chicken-shaped pitcher. The smell was totally putrid. My vet gave me meds to clear up the infection, and I had to massage the crop several times a day.

Maybe your hens' crops are squishy because they just haven't yet emptied out. Let's hope so!

 

[theoldchick]

Usually with sour crop you can smell the infection on their breath when you squeeze the crop. If the weather is very hot, your chickens will drink a lot of water as a way to keep cool. This will create the 'water balloon' effect. What you need to do is inspect the crop before they start their day. It should be empty in the morning.