Crop Issues in Young Chick

[pondviewfarm]

I'm going to apologize in advance if this turns into a long post; I want to provide as much relevant information as possible.

Yesterday I removed a Cuckoo Maran pullet from the brooder because I noticed a large swollen area on the right side of her neck and when she was eating the chick starter (Purina) she was rotating her head and neck in a circular motion. She is in a crate in the house now and has access to water but I have not allowed her food since pulling her from the brooder.

The brooder has pine pellet bedding that was just changed the other day. There is a dustbath in there where most of the chicks get their grit. I do give them some table scraps and some grass but I tear it up.

I took her outside a few times yesterday and again this morning, turned her upside down, and massaged her crop. She vomited twice yesterday - the first time it seemed like it was mostly water and the second time it was thicker and had a yellow/brown color to it which I am guessing came from the feed. She did not vomit this morning. The swelling does go down a bit after she vomits but it doesn't go away completely and it swells again between vomiting and the next time I massage her crop. The area that I am massaging is soft and I can sometimes hear gurgly noises. I think I feel something hard in there but I'm not sure if maybe that is another internal structure - I'm just really new to this.

On the bright side the chick does seem a little more alert this morning and is making some happy chirps. I've read that I can feed her yogurt or a yogurt/applesauce mixture but not to resume regular feed until we get this issue worked out.

Does this sound like sour crop? I don't notice a bad smell coming from her beak.

I've also read that crop issues can be a symptom associated with Marek's disease. None of my chicks were vaccinated for Marek's at the hatchery so I'm keeping in mind that that may be a possibility. When I turn her upside down, her legs stick straight out and vibrate -- is this normal??

Any help about what to do from here. What I should feed her, what I should look for, etc would be greatly appreciated.

 

[ten chicks]

How old are your chicks? I personally have never given young birds anything other than chick feed,esp grass is this can cause an impact which can turn into sour crop. What are you using as grit? No it does not sound like Marek's,but is probably sour crop if liquid is sitting in her crop,withhold feed(you do not want anything sitting in crop)try plain yogurt w probiotics,keep massaging crop.

Search forum for other suggestions with chicks and sour crop.

 

[pondviewfarm]

She is 4 weeks old.
There is a container of dirt that doubles as a dust bath and grit in the brooder.

 

[ten chicks]

Dirt alone may not be coarse enough to help with food digestion.

 

[pondviewfarm]

Ok, I'm going to pick up some chick grit at the store this afternoon and give them access to it in the brooder. Should I put a small dish of it in with the quarantined chick?

 

[pondviewfarm]

There has been no improvement so far. She has water and chicken grit available 24/7 and I give her a few yogurt meals a day. I put some grit in the yogurt because I don't believe that she is eating the grit on her own. Her crop swells enormously every time she eats but I am able to help her by massaging the crop and having her vomit. I can never get the crop completely empty though.

I picked up some mineral oil today and tried to give her some of that although it was harder than I thought it would be.

I've been doing some research and am trying everything I am reading about. Hopefully something helps soon.