Compacted crop. 7 days now :(

[LaDonna2019]

The first pic is after massaging her crop. The 2nd pic is b4.

 

[LaDonna2019]

i posted these 3 videoes on youtube 2 share with yall.
1-

2-

3-

Never done youtube b4 so i hope this works

 

[Henriettamom919]

I agree with @Wyorp Rock about supplements; they can make a world of difference. I'm thinking maybe don't massage the crop for a full day of "normal" eating/drinking and see what happens. I don't think the head jerking is related and a chicken crop should fill over the course of a day and if the chick is eating at night due to a light source/heat lamp it might not ever really empty while she's this young.

It empties overnight because they quit eating for several (8-12) hours. My baby chicks often woke in the night and hit the feeder, especially while they had artificial heat and light.

Edited to add- I watched the video. The head movement does look almost like an attempt to regurgitate How much had she eaten to get that size crop? Just normal chick nibbles? I would definitely do the vit. E and nutridrench. Hopefully as she grows her crop will grow and develop and eventually empty of whatever is in there not allowing food to pass without massage!

 

[Wyorp Rock]

The first antibiotic was for a parasite. The 2nd one for diseases.
Yes they have 24/7 access but the others seem 2 be fine. When her head starting jerking Mon. Evening i thought she was just sleepy then i noticed it was worse on Tues. Thts when i knew something wasn't right.
Thank u for all the info. I haven't had chickens since as child so I'm learning and lots of researching .

That yawn and jerky movement does looks like crop adjusting to me. I think @azygous will agree.
It's hard to monitor a crop properly when they have light and access to food/water overnight. Can you take her out at bedtime, keep her warm overnight, let her sleep in the dark and see if it's empty?
With your massaging it does look like it went down. Chicks are notorious for having full crops and they look like that too, so hard to know unless they just don't eat/drink for several hours.

 

[LaDonna2019]

That yawn and jerky movement does looks like crop adjusting to me. I think [U
It's hard to monitor a crop properly when they have light and access to food/water overnight. Can you take her out at bedtime, keep her warm overnight, let her sleep in the dark and see if it's empty?
With your massaging it does look like it went down. Chicks are notorious for having full crops and they look like that too, so hard to know unless they just don't eat/drink for several hours.

Her crop was squishing when i first noticed. When massaging she always burps or passes gas. The first few days it had a foul smell. Not so bad now but she burps and poops every time. Her poop looks like the others.
Shes slept with me since Tues but i always massage her b4 we lay down and when she wakes me jerking. The jerking isnt as often or as bad after massaging her. The longest she has slept at a time is 4 hrs. Shld i not massage and try it? Also if i don't massage during the day, her crop keeps getting bigger as the day goes by and she isn't active at all . Her crop will get 2 about the diameter of a quarter. While massaging it spasms and she jerks more extreme.
After massaging her she gets all her energy bck and is ready 2 go back 2 her friends... Singing ❤. Eating. Drinking and pecking. My husband said its amazing the difference in her b4 and after the massage.

 

[Henriettamom919]

Bad smell is sour crop and for that you want to get rid of fungal growth/imbalance of yeast!

To do that add some Apple cider vinegar to her water (1 tablespoon to a gallon fresh water) and stop feeding her for a bit. Give her some straight from a unused syringe or clean eye dropper, drop on tip of beak and allow it to roll down into her mouth) No starter feed and no treats! If the ACV doesn't work you can move to over the counter yeast infection cream.

This is making more sense now!

@LaDonna2019

 

[LaDonna2019]

I agree with @Wyorp Rock about supplements; they can make a world of difference. I'm thinking maybe don't massage the crop for a full day of "normal" eating/drinking and see what happens. I don't think the head jerking is related and a chicken crop should fill over the course of a day and if the chick is eating at night due to a light source/heat lamp it might not ever really empty while she's this young.

It empties overnight because they quit eating for several (8-12) hours. My baby chicks often woke in the night and hit the feeder, especially while they had artificial heat and light.

Edited to add- I watched the video. The head movement does look almost like an attempt to regurgitate How much had she eaten to get that size crop? Just normal chick nibbles? I would definitely do the vit. E and nutridrench. Hopefully as she grows her crop will grow and develop and eventually empty of whatever is in there not allowing food to pass without massage!

Right.. She seems 2 eat her share. But we have noticed her eating is so much better from when we got her. I could tell a big difference in her appetite and energy after i started massaging her.
When i first noticed the size difference in her crop was from Sunday to Monday last week. I started research and massage.. Monday evening. She eats, drinks and pecks as much as the others until her crop starts 2 poke out more she starts slowing down.
Shes always been smaller then my other silkies tht i got at the same time. She didnt keep up with them until after i started massaging her. Poor little thing was covered in poop when we first met. I just love her. I'll definitely get those 2 things. Yes i hope it passes or whtever is goin on with her gets better soon. Momma needs some sleep

 

[Henriettamom919]

Try just giving her Apple cider vinegar water for 24 hours and I'd bet it starts to clear up.

Bad smelling breath+full crop+burping means sour crop. The bad smell probably went away because you're messaging her food down for her so it doesn't get the chance to smell bad anymore but I'm very confident she has sour crop.

 

[azygous]

I agree with @Henriettamom919 that your chick is likely fighting a yeast infection. This is rare in chicks but not unheard of. Yeast can colonize a crop when the immune system is low functioning for some reason or there's a chronic obstruction inhibiting the complete emptying of the crop.

Your massaging is keeping her from getting much sicker, and at her young age, eating regularly is crucial. It's too easy for a chick to slip behind in development if it doesn't eat for even one day.

I would test her crop by withholding food and water from sunset tonight to sunrise, check for emptiness or fullness come morning, and if it's full and squishy, I would begin treating immediately with a half teaspoon of coconut oil first with a massage, then miconazole twice a day for the next seven days. Since she's so tiny, I'd say just a pea-size dollop of miconazole cream would be an adequate dose.

 

[Henriettamom919]

@azygous has a great plan! Just buy some over the counter yeast infection medication for women and feed her the cream.

With an adult you can withhold food for a day to allow a supplement/natural remedy to work but with such a young baby you'll want to be aggressive so she can go back to eating ASAP.

@azygous , what's your opinion on plain yogurt as a food option during sour crop?