Empty Crop

[Peneliva]

How should the crop feel? My EE always has minimal amount in her crop? Is that a grit issue? She's always eating!!!!! But very light. So tiny.

My Marans always has a nice round feeling crop.
My Pencil Rock has a bit in her crop. Like medium amount, but she is newest (just got her yesterday.)

I'm worried. All of them act healthy! But my EE is so tiny... And never full. She is my baby. So sweet and loves me. She comes running to me for a treat and sits on my feet.

Please help me!

 

[Peneliva]

Bump

 

[Peneliva]

Bump

 

[Cole102]

i am not 100% sure what the problem could have been caused by.... these are some tips that could help. hope it gets better!

Tips~
~Be sure your chickens have access to grit at all times.
~Avoid feeding your chicken large hard, to digest foods.
~Clean up your yard from any foreign objects that chickens could potential ingest.
~Add apple cider vinegar (1 tablespoon per gallon) to their water supply. This helps to keep yeast levels balanced. (use plastic
waterers, this will cause metal ones to rust.)
~Feed your flock plain yogurt with live and active cultures to help promote the good gut bacteria.
~Adding probiotics in feed. (only if neccissary)
~Avoid feeding your flock sugary human food. (chocolate, candy)
~Inspect your flock's crops now and then.
~Keep grasses short where the chickens free range (2 inches max)
~If your chickens eat straw and hay, avoid giving it to them.

 

[Peneliva]

Using medicated feed, probiotics in water and apple cider vinegar, they are free range, grass is short. Gettin only a cup of scratch a day.

I can't determine if she is very friendly or just sick. Her poop is sorta loose and brown/red/orange tinted. Never anything in her crop. Always eating.and pecking around.

 

[veggiecanner]

I had one like that, I fixed her with Probitics, canned fish in oil and boiled eggs for a few days. chick starter and grit were mixed with these and fed twice a day.

 

[Noobchick]

It could be that the others aren't letting her eat for a long period of time. Do you mean you litterally see her at the feeder all the time? Or are you watching them only at a certain time of day everyday?

Do the others peck at her? Does she seem meek compared to them? How many feeders do you have? If you only have one, try adding another. It could be as simple as them bullying her away from the food for most of the day, then she tries to make up for it when they're occupied with other stuff.

Try feeling her crop right before sundown- that's when it's at its fullest. That level should give you a good indication of how much she's getting to eat.

I've noticed that the head hen at the top of the pecking order has a crop completely stuffed at that time of day, and the crops get a little less stuffed the farther you go down the line. (In a small, confined flock, anyway. Since my 5 hens have been free ranging at our new home, they all have very full crops at the end of the day-- they're busy foraging, not playing pecking order games.)

Her poops: are they bright red or brownish red?

Hope that helps.

Edited to add: Whoa. Just noticed you said they're getting a cup of scratch a day. How many birds do you have? Do you mean a literal measuring cup full? For just a few birds, that's way too much scratch. Scratch is like potato chips and ice cream. They should be getting most of their nutrition from their feed.