Full Crops?

[classicsredone]

This is kind of silly, but I'm newish to chickens so please be bear with me. I've done the whole 4-H goat, rabbit, horse thing...but never chickens. Anyways, several of my little girls are sporting very full crops most of the time. The Hamburgs are 15 days old now, and the Barred Rocks are 10 days old. I know that they do grow fast. Do chicks hit a growth spurt around two weeks and start gobbling down more food? None of the chicks are acting lethargic, so I'm not too worried about impacted crops. They get treats, but I mix grit into their starter as directed on the package. (about a cup or 11 oz by weight to 5 lbs of food) The treats are just things like yogurt, sprouted wheat grass that is about 1 inch long, (organic) grass from the yard, some boiled egg, etc. I keep the starter food out all the time, and they only get one treat a day so that they don't gorge on the treats. I am reluctant to take the food out during the night to make sure the crops go down, though. We use red brooding lights and shut off the room light at night, so they sleep most of the night.

 

[gritsar]

My three broody raised chicks - 2 weeks old - are sporting the biggest crops I've ever seen on a chick. I don't know what keeps them from toppling over from the weight of them.

I'd say it's perfectly normal. Is there any way you can check their crops either very late at night or very early in the morning. That would give you your answer.

 

[Judy]

At that age they shouldn't be eating much at night, so maybe take it out one night and make sure they have empty crops in the morning. Could be they are having trouble with one of the treats. I wonder about mixing the grit into the food, too. They should be old enough to take what they need if it's offered separately; mine do.