Has anyone ever seen anything like this?

[chickensioux]

I posted pics of "Pippin" a couple of weeks ago and questions regarding her size. I ended up taking her to the vet to make sure she wasn't suffering. With a clean bill of health I have continued to care for her but...
Has anyone had a duckling, chick, etc. with a crop like this?
She is almost 5 weeks old. In the pics are other ducklings her age (they are call ducks).
I change their water 2-3 times a day alternating between fresh water, ACV water and water with vitamins added.
She is eating gamebird chick starter.
She eats, drinks, poops, swims, plays all normally and actually appears to be the leader. The others follow her!
Look at her crop in the one pic. We know this is her crop and it does not appear to be in her chest but rather in her neck. It gets big like this after she eats and drinks and seems to obstruct her breathing a little. When it is not full, she breathes normally. We think with it in her neck like this, she must not be getting the full benefit of her feed, hence the stunted growth and the vitamins in her water still.
She is a happy little ducking and likes attention. Has anyone ever seen anything like this? I am so attached and want her to make it. If she were suffering, decisions would be made but she is very happy. ??????

 

[chickensioux]

any thoughts?

 

[Gonzo]

some chicks & I would reckon this will apply to ducklings also. Sometimes no matter what we do, or how well they're cared for they just fail to thrive. You may get lucky, and she just may be small, and wil be able to live a long full life.. usually, they don't live as long as the others. Hope this helps!

BTW.. I love your avatar!

 

[wadek2008]

If she's happy, I'd let her be. I had a bunch of Australian Spot teenagers this year and when I put them outside I noticed that the one smaller than the others was always cold and dragging behind so I put her inside. Unfortunately, a coon got his brothers and sisters so I don't have any pics to show the difference but it was much like yours. Anyway, she's feathering out now, slowly but surely. I'm not sure why, but some humans just grow slower than others too. She's always seemed happy and healthy and I expect yours will eventually catch up too.

 

[mom2chicksandpups]

I have 2 bantam Cochin chickens who are like this. They just will not grow. The others that I got with them are the exact same age and are so much bigger and fully feathered now! They seem happy, but just won't grow. They also have very few feathers, despite the fact that they are over 2 months old (just a few wing feathers). I just keep them with younger chicks that are about their size so they don't get picked on. I have a gut feeling they won't live very long lives, but they don't seem to be in pain and they act happy like normal little chicks. As long as they aren't suffering, I will keep them and let them live with whatever chicks we have that are close to their size.

 

[Mahonri]

Bantam ducklings?

Nope, never seen a crop like that. WEIRD!

Hope you can keep her around.

 

[California Ducken]

Maby she needs different feed for now. Some ingredient may be swelling in her crop to much. Try to regulate "her" food intake for a little while.
Good Luck with your CUTE little ducky!!!

 

[007Dawn]

I agree with the food. We had a chick we were told to cull because it looked as if he had a slipped tendon and it would not go back in place.

We changed his food and within three weeks his very swollen ab and leg went back to normal and he grew from that point on as he should and he is right now running around in the yard terriozing the cat.

 

[California Ducken]

Oh did you get her at the same time as the others or is she their sibling?
Because it may be a case of the feed store saying " yeah there all the same age" and they are really 1 or 2 weeks apart and may be a different breed?
We only know what we are told (which is someones view or opinion) when we get our precious little babies. But most of the time people are factual.
Just a thought.

 

[joanie_maine]

Wow,

That almost looks like a birth defect.

A crop that is oversized and seems to wrap around the whole neck area.

If there is a breathing problem when the crop is full, perhaps the crop is crushing the airway from the nose and mouth.

Also, the crop may not be emptying properly into the digestive tract.

I'm just theorizing here...not a vet