lump???

[blueheaven]

just got home from vacation.
my chicks are seven weeks old.
i noticed a hard "lump" on a few of the chickens right side of their breast bone. it is like a ball. a hard ball. it is very strange.
any ideas? is it normal?

 

[Imp]

Sounds like it's their crop. It is kinda like a pre stomach where food is stored. perfectly normal. It will fill up when they eat, and empty overnight.

Imp

 

[blueheaven]

but is it hard like that?
i was thinking that that is what it could be b/c i just gave them rice. but wow...it was sooo hard and protruding.

 

[hen-thusiast]

My guess is it's a full crop too. We freaked out the first time we found a "lump", it's perfectly normal.

 

[Imp]

Quote:
Rice is OK for chickens. If you mean hard like a stone, that may be a problem. But since you said a few of them, and hard like a ball, I'm pretty sure it's full crop. It is a little freaky though.

Imp-Imagine if people had crops