HELP! 12 day old chick with dry huge crop

[flynntheduck]

My 12 day old chick has a huge crop full of DRY chick starter crumble. Her crop is so full I can literally see through her skin to her crop. It is dry crumble. She was fine earlier today but tonight it is huge. I removed the food and the straw from the brooder and left them on towels with just water and a bowl of sand/grit. Is this sufficient? She looks like she could pop. My other chick has a semi full crop but it is wet so I'm not concerned. Can they be left overnight with no food? What do I do if I can't get her to drink? Should I leave the sand in there? Thanks in advance.

 

[flynntheduck]

Well she went without food all night with just water. I took the grit away. She is fine. But I am concerned that her skin is so thin that her crop could pop. Ugh. Is this normal?

 

[sbhkma]

So after the whole night with no food her crop is still distended and hard?

 

[flynntheduck]

No her crop emptied through the night. But her skin is thin so I'm concerned she could burst if she overeats and doesn't drink with it. Know what I mean? The crumble could poke her wrong.

 

[sbhkma]

While I suppose that's possible, it most likely just looked scary because it was so full. Does she have access to fresh water all the time? She has access to chick grit at all times?
I will say this.. my speckled sussex have really huge looking crops at the end of the day. Like "this just ain't right" huge! But they're fine, just filling up before bedtime. When they get distended like that, the skin does look thin but they're designed to be quite flexible.You might consider making a mash of their crumbles. Mine love it when I add aloe juice to their crumbles.

 

[Eggcessive]

You should put the food back in available 24 hours a day along with the water. Remove the grit because they don't need it while just getting chick feed, until they are on grass or other foods. Chicks crops look normally full after eating. As long as the chick is acting fine, there shouldn't be a problem--chicks really shouldn't go without food when they are little. Watch to make sure they aren't eating pine shavings.

 

[flynntheduck]

I removed the grit about 30 minutes after putting it in their brooder. They have water all the time. They have had food all day today. I took it away last night to get her to drink since the food was totally dry in her crop. She is doing good now and her crop is full of wet food. I am thinking of doing mash but I will decide after seeing how she does over the next few days. Thanks!