Is this considered Sour Crop?

[Shell0Opeye]

Hello, first time chicken owner(sort of) and I have a question about one of my chicks, she’s 11 weeks old. The temperature has been in the 90s lately so I come out a lot to check on them. But I noticed one of my chicks who was outside in the run, bent down as if she were going to peck the floor and then it looked like she vomited.

This brown gooey liquid came out of her beak and then pooled on the ground. She pecked at it like nothing and then just walked back in. I basically picked her up and filled up a container with water and then sat her in it. The water wasn’t that deep, just enough to cover her feet and a bit of her legs. I felt around her neck area for that pouch that’s supposed to be a sign of Sour Crop but I didn’t feel anything. She still drinks and eats like normal too.

Does anyone know what this might mean? Is it Sour Crop or like maybe she ate too many shavings and had to throw them up? Does the heat have something to do with this?

 

[Wyorp Rock]

Hello, first time chicken owner(sort of) and I have a question about one of my chicks, she’s 11 weeks old. The temperature has been in the 90s lately so I come out a lot to check on them. But I noticed one of my chicks who was outside in the run, bent down as if she were going to peck the floor and then it looked like she vomited.

This brown gooey liquid came out of her beak and then pooled on the ground. She pecked at it like nothing and then just walked back in. I basically picked her up and filled up a container with water and then sat her in it. The water wasn’t that deep, just enough to cover her feet and a bit of her legs. I felt around her neck area for that pouch that’s supposed to be a sign of Sour Crop but I didn’t feel anything. She still drinks and eats like normal too.

Does anyone know what this might mean? Is it Sour Crop or like maybe she ate too many shavings and had to throw them up? Does the heat have something to do with this?

Welcome To BYC

Do you provide Grit (Crushed Granite) for your chicks?

Sometimes if they have been eating/drinking a lot, fluids or foods can come back up. Chickens have no gag reflex.

What is the reason for putting her in a container of water?

I'd check her crop for a few days to make sure it's emptying. Check her crop when she goes to roost - it should be full at night before roost. Check again, first thing in the morning before she's had anything to eat or drink. The crop should feel empty or flat.
If the crop is emptying that is good.

The crop is like a pouch that holds food/water. During the day when they have been eating/drinking you should be able to see or feel the crop since they are filling up. The crop is located on the right side of the breast.
You may want to feel of her crop periodically and of the other chicks too, this way you can become familiar with how the crop feels at different stages of fullness. It won't hurt to gently feel their crops; they will also become more familiar with you handling them.

 

[Shell0Opeye]

No, I don’t give them grit. I’ve heard about it but didn’t look too much into it because I thought they only just needed the standard food along with a few snacks every now and then like mealworms and fruit.

Does grit need to be a big part of their diet? Like I need to buy it every time I buy their food and mix it all up?

I put her in the water just to cool off, mainly hoped it would cool the rest of her body in case the heat was making her do the whole throwing-up fiasco.

It’s kind of hard to tell with all the feathers but I pressed all around her chest and felt something but I can’t tell for sure if it was a crop. Maybe because she’s only 11 weeks it’s a small crop or something like that because when I picked up another one of my chicks I got the same result.