The crop is at the base of the neck over the keel, and slightly off center to the right. It will be full of whatever the chicken is eating/drinking (food/water/objects). Using a syringe (and a needle?) isn't going to help him- all you are doing is poking little holes in him. If he appears to have diarrhea- this may be directly due to a crop that isn't working well. Less or no 'food' making it through, kidney are still working and producing urine/urates. Search the forum and other chicken forums too, and you will find a plethora of info on sour crop and impacted crop. Impacted crop can be a small object plugging the outflow and a bunch of mush and water (soft and squishy), or a hard crop filled with straw/plastic/ect. IF the crop is large and it does not get small after the typical overnight fast, it is not emptying. If it is not emptying it may be blocked because of an object, or it is 'sour' meaning the structure has abnormal bacteria or fungal growth, or another reason- of which there are many less common ones. First thing to do is see if it is the crop- pick up the birds, and figure out exactly where the thing is. If it is his crop, you need to decide whether you are a do-it-your-selfer, or whether you want to work with a vet, then go from there. I can't think of anything jiggly/gurgly/soft on the front of a bird besides a crop.
An afterthought- if he goes over night with no access to food/water- and the crop goes down to normal, and he fills it up again in the morning with water, and is not eating well- he could have a metabolic issue like kidney disease or endocrine like diabetes- these things can happen to any animal. Usually birds with impacted crops are HUNGRY- they are starving- so they eat very well, but lose weight. Drinking is usually normal. If you have a thirsty bird with a functioning crop- you may have something more uncommon than an impacted crop.
Jess
An afterthought- if he goes over night with no access to food/water- and the crop goes down to normal, and he fills it up again in the morning with water, and is not eating well- he could have a metabolic issue like kidney disease or endocrine like diabetes- these things can happen to any animal. Usually birds with impacted crops are HUNGRY- they are starving- so they eat very well, but lose weight. Drinking is usually normal. If you have a thirsty bird with a functioning crop- you may have something more uncommon than an impacted crop.
Jess
