Help!! Impacted crop??? Why is she not growing?

[gway2008]

I have 3 Frizzle Cochin Bantam chicks that are 9 weeks old now and one of them has always been smaller but she is just not growing... I always just thought she was a runt but is just so tiny... She is now about half the size of the other 2 and I'm starting to really worry.

Also I noticed she has a large bulge on her chest and it feels like there is fluid in it. It is squishy... I am thinking maybe she has an impacted crop, but have no clue what to do to help her.

Any ideas why she isn't growing like the others?

What can I do to help with the bulge on her chest?

Here is a pic, they are all the same age but you can see in the pic that the other 2 are at least twice her size.

 

[Sonoran Silkies]

Are you sure they are all bantams?

Look at her crop before she goes to bed for the night. Take away food and check again in the morning. If it was full or near full at bedtime and still is in hte morning, there is likely an issue, but chances are it will have emptied out overnight. Let us know what you see.

 

[gway2008]

Yeah, I'm pretty sure.. They are all 9 weeks old and about the same size as my Barred rocks and RSLs when they were only about 4 weeks old, The little red one is about the size of a 2-3 week old full size chick. She is tiny...
I will check crop again tomorrow and post.

 

[Preservation Acres]

Don't wait until tomorrow. I lost my best hen to an impacted crop. I learned the day after she died how easy it might have been to save her.

Here's the treatment I found on the net. It might or might not work. If she has a ball of grass too big to cough up, she might need surgery to get it out. But if she's impacted, her health will decline very fast.

From the net:

http://www.browneggblueegg.com/Article/ImpactedCrop_OldWay.html

 

[ranchhand]

Is she getting enough to eat? Judging by the condition of her head I wonder if she isn't lowest in the pecking order and lacking food. Check the crop, but watch as well to make sure she's getting enough nutrition.

 

[Preservation Acres]

I think you have two separate issues. If you're feeling fluid in her crop, it's probably impacted, but I don't think that's why she's not growing.

Get that fluid out before her crop gets infected.

 

[gway2008]

How do i get the fluid out of her crop?

I know she is eating and drinking.. She has plenty of energy and her eyes are bright.

Her head looks funny in the pics but it is just baby fuzz. There are not any feathers missing on her at all. The other two don't pick on her at all that i have seen. They all get along very well and cuddle all the time. They have been raised with each other since they were at the hatchery. I bought them all together when they were a week old and they have never been seperated.

ETA: Please keep in mind that I am new to chickens so if my questions seem stupid, I apologize. I really just don't know what to do. All of my other chickens are very healthy and spoiled rotten, well fed and doing wonderful so this was kind'a a shock to me. I have not lost a single one yet and in fact, I bought a couple that were not in good health and have brought them back to healthy and happy chickens. This little girl is just stumping me though...

 

[tulie13]

I had one little hen with crop issues - she had a "pendulous" crop, the crop hung lower than the exit tube going to the stomach. If this is the case, she may have a chronic fungal infection in the crop, as food will just sit in there and rot.

Does her crop empty overnight? Is it flat in the morning? If not, have you tried to expel anything in there that might be rotting (sour or impacted crop)?

 

[LynneP]

It depends on what is in the crop. I've dealt with only 2 impactions, one from grit, one from fibre here's what I did. Both hens are fine. You need to work hard and for up to 10 days, even two weeks


https://www.backyardchickens.com/web/viewblog.php?id=7693-sick-hen

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