Four week old “special” chick with crop problem.

[DaytonME]

This chick was different from the get go. I had to show her how to eat and drink while her 10 other companions caught on themselves. She eventually did too but days after. Shes a blue favacauna. She runs in circles a lot and seems the most nervous darting her head around as if seeing something that’s not there. Then her crop swelled up a lot. The other chicks eventually started pecking at her swollen now skin exposed chest and she just took it but I separated her from them at that point. I tried no food for a day and “garlic water” that supposedly would fight sour crop if that’s what it was. The next day the crop was way down! Yay! After another couple days of probiotic yogurt and hard boiled egg it was still down but felt loose and stretched out. First day back in the brooder she gorged and was puffing up again by the next day so back to isolation and yogurt egg diet...after a day of only water again to empty the crop first but alas it didn’t go down this time It’s been constantly somewhat puffy soft since, and feels liquid filled, not hard. I’m not sure what to do. I’ve tried a lot of the home remedy suggestions from other people but it’s staying the same. I’m afraid the crop is impacted or worse impacted deep in the digestive system. Like I said this chick has always been “different” and I’m unsure if she’s intelligent enough to not eat bedding vs food. She sometimes pecks at anything (noticeably compared to her companions). Even if she got better I’m afraid she’ll get herself sick again due to her chaotic behavior. As a note her droppings today were mostly 80% clear and watery with the rest being small brown specks. Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated. She is now noticeably a bit smaller then the rest of her flock.

 

[Smileybans]

I’m no expert, I hope they’ll chime, but from my readings here chicks are only supposed to have chick food. They can be given other food as long as they have grit to help them digest it. So maybe giving her some chick grit will help? Try watering down her chick food as well. That seems to fill them up a bit faster so maybe she won’t eat as much.

As a side note, I’ve had chicks eat all kinds of bedding and still be okay. Only once did I worry about my silkies because they ate all kinds of paper. I couldn’t stick newspaper in with them because they tore it up and devoured it as soon as I did.

 

[DaytonME]

I’m no expert, I hope they’ll chime, but from my readings here chicks are only supposed to have chick food. They can be given other food as long as they have grit to help them digest it. So maybe giving her some chick grit will help? Try watering down her chick food as well. That seems to fill them up a bit faster so maybe she won’t eat as much.

As a side note, I’ve had chicks eat all kinds of bedding and still be okay. Only once did I worry about my silkies because they ate all kinds of paper. I couldn’t stick newspaper in with them because they tore it up and devoured it as soon as I did.

Hi, Thanks for the response. All the chicks are on chick starter and have access to chick grit. It was only after her crop puffed up that I’ve tried the yogurt and egg suggested remedies. It worked for a day but now I’m unsure how to proceed since her crop is just not emptying out even with small 2x day meals and pro biotic water.

 

[turkey girl 0964]

How is your chickie?

 

[Katz222]

This chick was different from the get go. I had to show her how to eat and drink while her 10 other companions caught on themselves. She eventually did too but days after. Shes a blue favacauna. She runs in circles a lot and seems the most nervous darting her head around as if seeing something that’s not there. Then her crop swelled up a lot. The other chicks eventually started pecking at her swollen now skin exposed chest and she just took it but I separated her from them at that point. I tried no food for a day and “garlic water” that supposedly would fight sour crop if that’s what it was. The next day the crop was way down! Yay! After another couple days of probiotic yogurt and hard boiled egg it was still down but felt loose and stretched out. First day back in the brooder she gorged and was puffing up again by the next day so back to isolation and yogurt egg diet...after a day of only water again to empty the crop first but alas it didn’t go down this time It’s been constantly somewhat puffy soft since, and feels liquid filled, not hard. I’m not sure what to do. I’ve tried a lot of the home remedy suggestions from other people but it’s staying the same. I’m afraid the crop is impacted or worse impacted deep in the digestive system. Like I said this chick has always been “different” and I’m unsure if she’s intelligent enough to not eat bedding vs food. She sometimes pecks at anything (noticeably compared to her companions). Even if she got better I’m afraid she’ll get herself sick again due to her chaotic behavior. As a note her droppings today were mostly 80% clear and watery with the rest being small brown specks. Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated. She is now noticeably a bit smaller then the rest of her flock.

Try to put her on newspaper so there's no chance of eating bedding. Then give her very small amounts of food throughout the day. This way she can't gorge herself. Add a little chick grit. Add electrolytes to her water. You can add probiotics to the water as well and stop the yogurt for a day or two. You can add the water to her food to make a mash. Keep her warm. She may need a bit more heat than the others just because she's sick.