My young'ins are having problems! Help

[Firefly89]

So I was given two chicks (about three weeks old) and soon after bringing them home I noticed lumps on their necks. I figured they just needed some grit in their crops but kept them separated. Now I'm noticing my other chicks who are much younger have lumps too. The lumps go away when I pull their feed. I'm pretty new to this chicken thing and was wondering if this was a common thing or if anyone knew of anything I can do. I'm really getting worried

 

[Baymule]

Give them their feed back. Their lumps are their feed that they have eaten. Chickens food goes into their crop, which for lack of a better description is like a pouch. From their crop, the feed goes into their gizzard which is a powerful muscle that grinds their food so their stomach can digest it. After that, it is all poo.

Good luck with your chicks, if you have any more questions, please ask and someone will be glad to help.

 

[WhiteMountainsRanch]

It's probably just their "Crops" chickens have a thing they store food in while it's getting ready to be digested (in the simplest terms) and it will sit there in a lump at the bottom (right usually) of their necks. When you pull the feed the crop empties and they are hungry! All chickens have it.

Please free feed chicks all they will eat.

Hope this helps!

 

[BrattishTaz]

I remember finding a huge lump on my favorite little chick a few days after I got him. (My first chicks) I called my mom over and my teen daughters ran over to see what was wrong. I was sooo upset because I was convinced my chick had cancer.

It was his crop.

Edited to say:

 

[Firefly89]

So I am all worried over very little? Oh dear will it always look like this? I thot it was weird that someone didn't want the chicks then I find the lump and the next day everything else has lumps too! I guess I panicked a bit. Is there anything I can do to help them digest easier? From advise I put oil in the older chicks feed and I did pick up some grit.

 

[BrattishTaz]

Quote:
Don't help. An impacted crop will STAY full and have a sour smell to it. Otherwise the "lump" is perfectly normal and you should do nothing. As long as the chicks are on chick starter only (a few soft treats like egg yolk or yogurt are ok), they do not need grit.