Hello and welcome to BYC!
Crops are supposed to be full during the day and especially at roosting time. Generally they will stuff themselves heavily before bed time so the bird has enough calories to get through the night. So if you feel a crop at roosting time, it should be pretty full. Some birds go to bed with a thick feeling crop, others will feel loose and squishy.
It takes anywhere from 4 to 8 hours for a crop to fully empty, depending on what the bird has eaten and if it needs to stop over in the gizzard to be ground down a bit more. However a crop should be fully empty EVERY morning. If you feel crops first thing in the morning before the birds have eaten or drank any water, the crops should all be flat to the breast. If there is something in them, there is a problem.
So all this being said, you can never judge a crop during the day. Some will be empty, some will be squishy and some may even have a smell depending on what the bird has eaten. The ONLY time you can judge a crop is first thing in the morning, period. The bird needs to eat and drink all day long and crops will feel funky all day long. But they should be completely empty every morning and if your birds are emptying their crops each morning, there isn't much to worry about.
BUT...good crop and intestinal health starts with good bacteria and a healthy immune system. So you might offer up probiotics in the water once a week and some Apple Cider Vinegar once a week as well. Remove and clean out all waterers 24 hours later after offering these up. And always use plastic waterers for either of these. These two practices will help immune systems stay pumped up and good bacteria all throughout to ward off toxins and pathogens that can harm your birds.
And if you do this regular enough, should they still turn up with a crop issue, most likely it is due to some other health issue such as egg binding, internal laying, reproductive cancer or some other internal affair that is slowing the entire digestive system down enough their crops are not emptying.
So keep checking those crops! I am a crop checker...everybody gets a feel first thing in the morning. The faster you catch these things, the more likely you will save the bird.
Good luck and let us know if you are still having issues with your birds!
Welcome to our flock!
