Lopsided Chicks (distended crops??)

[Qi Chicken]

Hi, yes, I am still freaking out. We got our chicks Tuesday morning. I have noticed that the right side of their chests pokes out more than the left. Some of them look positively deformed. I think this is their crop. The rooster had a big red marker spot on his tummy to let me know he was the rooster. At first I thought the color was making his chest look strange but his definitely protrudes more than most of the others. Is this a boy thing? My daughter was very sick this morning and I didn't really get to look at them to see if the protrusion went down in the night.

So------

How big is too big?

The bumps feel kind of fleshy, I don't really know how to describe it, kind of like one of those little stress ball things.

When should I worry? Ok, obviously I've already started that. I guess a better question is what other symptoms besides looking deformed should I look for? As of now they are all active and running around. Well as of RIGHT now, they are all sleeping next to eachother in the cutest way possible. I don't know why lemmings get such a bad rap, it should be chickens, if one gets a drink they ALL get a drink. Very cute.

Thanks for your help again.

 

[chicmom]

That would be the crop. Are you feeding them just the chick starter crumbles? When they're very young, that's all they need, plus plenty of fresh clean water. No worries!

 

[Qi Chicken]

Yes, I am feeding them medicated chick starter and plain water. That's it so far. I did put them onto shavings tonight. That may have been a mistake and people said to put paper towels over the shavings. I think I will do it but I feel like the damage has been done. I think they will tear the place up looking for the shavings! They love those.

So when do I know if they have a true crop problem? Is this determined by behavior? If so, what do I look for?

If they look very strange but have no other behavioral problems they are ok?

Just out of curiosity, do roosters have more problems with their crops than hens?

 

[jossanne]

I bet you're fine. I worried about the same thing with my first chicks. I had no idea what those huge bulges were, and thought they were sick. But it is just their crops, and they do that when they eat. You'll even see bulges in a full adult chicken's right side. Hang in there, you can do this, and they'll be fine!

 

[RebeckaK]

My baby chick got one of those bulges right after I realized I was feeding it plaster(search my posts for the ridiculous story). Anyhow. FREAKED out.

So, I got on here and looked and saw it was normal. Every thread like yours makes me less worried.

One of the Ecuadorian women told me to feed the chick oil. I searched on the board and couldn't find any such suggestion- only that the massive bulge is normal.