Is this a normal crop?!?!

[Blondi27]

New chicken owner here. I have an 11 day old chick with a very full crop. When I looked at her yesterday I noticed it was very large and rock hard. When I checked on her this morning it was still large, but It was squishy and I could move things around. Could it be that she is being a pig and won’t stop eating so it’s just taking her longer to digest everything through? She is eating, pooping and drinking like normal. I know how to treat her if it is impacted, but I’m not sure if she needs it or not. Thanks!

 

[rkapfen]

With baby chicks it’s hard to do the “feel the crop in the morning” thing cause they usually eat throughout the night. Some chicks just have larger crops for some reason. Are you feeding them anything other than chick feed? I like to massage my chicks large crops and they tend to like that. Also introduce chick grit if you haven’t yet. That can help them digest anything they’re having a hard time with

 

[rebrascora]

Normal in my opinion, even being hard can be normal. At that age their crop appears disproportionately large, partly because they only have fluff to cover it and also because they are eating a larger proportion of food for their size than at any other time in their life.

Did you remove access to food at night before checking her crop in the morning. Since you have a heat lamp the chicks will eat through the night as well as during the day, so unless you removed the feeder when you checked it's crop at night, checking in the morning tells you nothing.

 

[Eggcessive]

She is probably a pig, but keep an eye on her. I would not vomit a chick. That can make them choke to death. Make sure that she is drinking water and eating. Some will much on the pine shavings and get impacted, but most chicks can normally have a prominent crop.

 

[Blondi27]

With baby chicks it’s hard to do the “feel the crop in the morning” thing cause they usually eat throughout the night. Some chicks just have larger crops for some reason. Are you feeding them anything other than chick feed? I like to massage my chicks large crops and they tend to like that. Also introduce chick grit if you haven’t yet. That can help them digest anything they’re having a hard time with

I am giving them chick grit other than the feed, but that’s it.

 

[Skipper81]

I wouldn’t use styrofoam with chickens because they love to eat it

 

[Blondi27]

Normal in my opinion, even being hard can be normal. At that age their crop appears disproportionately large, partly because they only have fluff to cover it and also because they are eating a larger proportion of food for their size than at any other time in their life.

Did you remove access to food at night before checking her crop in the morning. Since you have a heat lamp the chicks will eat through the night as well as during the day, so unless you removed the feeder when you checked it's crop at night, checking in the morning tells you nothing.

I did think about removing the feed at night. Is it ok to do that with the other chicks in there as well? I didn’t want to separate her by herself being so young.

 

[Skipper81]

They need food all the time

 

[Blondi27]

I did add some apple cider Vinegar to their water today as well. I read that It can help aid in digestion, also chicks like the taste and it will help them drink more water apparently.

 

[rebrascora]

They need food all the time

Actually this is untrue. They do not need access to food 24/7. Chicks being reared by broody hens do not eat during the night at all nor do chicks reared using a MHP or heat plate. It is actually more normal for them not to eat at night..... it is the reason they have a crop in the first place because the purpose of it is to hold food so that it can be digested at night whilst it is dark and then be filled during the day ready for the next night. Rearing chicks under heat lamps and giving them access to food 24/7 is not natural. They may however get hungry if you withhold food during the night when they are used to eating all the time because they are not used to it and may cheep through the night if they get hungry, particularly the chicks that do not have large well packed crops when you remove the feeder, but it will not hurt them for one night. They should have access to cool water all the time though.