One week chick with large crop in morning

[Nicky S]

Cross posting from raising baby chicks thread as I’m rather concerned:



I have 6 one-week old female chicks (new first time mom here). Yesterday I noticed in the morning that Chicory was spending more time under the heating plate than the others. She’s always been a bit more reserved than the others - I believe she’s a lavender Orpington but I might not have that right. We noticed in the day she had a very large crop, and when weighing everyone she had only gained 1g when everyone else had gained 6-8g. She was still pretty active, though did keep going back to the heating plate when the others were running around. She wanted food and water and I wasn’t sure whether it was ok to remove them from her being so young or how to separate her. I gave her several massages and added ACV to the water. My son said he saw her poop.

They are all on organic starter crumbles, and I am using puppy pads to line their enclosure (I do a full clean twice a day and change water whenever dirty).
They made a short trip outside a few days ago to be on the lawn - grass is short so I don’t think she could have got a long thread. They did go crazy after any bugs they saw. They also go for any bits of anything they find when out inside the house but I remove when I see (usually a piece of woven basket or something like that). They are obsessed with the larger bits of crumble and chase each other after them,

Last night I removed food, but this morning she is the only one with a large crop. It’s soft, not hard, and goes quite a way down. It was a bit ‘squeaky’ when pressed gently yesterday.

At this stage I think I’d like a vet to take a look but I can’t get in touch with an avian specialist because of the holiday weekend. Is it worth taking her somewhere today to see a regular vet? Can it wait until tomorrow when the specialist will be there? Should I remove her food? In which case I’ll need another heat plate I guess? Anything else I can try in the meantime? I’m super nervous about doing anything to hurt her. Anyone in CT that can recommend a chick vet? Thanks

 

[FeatherTay]

@DobieLover

 

[DobieLover]

What do her poops look like?
I would freeze some coconut oil and give that to her in little pieces in her beak. Try to get 1/2 tsp worth in her then gently massage the crop. I would pull her feed from her (create a little caged area for her in the brooder near the heat and other chicks). Give her water with a little Poultry Nutri-drench in it only. No ACV.
Gently massage her crop every hour. I'd give her another "dose" of coconut oil in 4 hours and again in 8 hours along with the hourly crop massages. See if that doesn't clear her crop and make it go down. If it does, I would change out the chicks feed to a wet mash and put a small container of chick grit in the brooder after she's been eating the mash for awhile (to keep her from eating too much grit because she's hungry). They should have chick grit in their gizzards before you let them eat anything other than chick starter.
She may very well be impacted with something she got outside.

 

[Nicky S]

What do her poops look like?
I would freeze some coconut oil and give that to her in little pieces in her beak. Try to get 1/2 tsp worth in her then gently massage the crop. I would pull her feed from her (create a little caged area for her in the brooder near the heat and other chicks). Give her water with a little Poultry Nutri-drench in it only. No ACV.
Gently massage her crop every hour. I'd give her another "dose" of coconut oil in 4 hours and again in 8 hours along with the hourly crop massages. See if that doesn't clear her crop and make it go down. If it does, I would change out the chicks feed to a wet mash and put a small container of chick grit in the brooder after she's been eating the mash for awhile (to keep her from eating too much grit because she's hungry). They should have chick grit in their gizzards before you let them eat anything other than chick starter.
She may very well be impacted with something she got outside.

Thank you! The poop my son said she did looked like regular poop - but we do have a variety of poops going on in terms of texture and color in general - some regular, some light brown and runnier. I’ll try the coconut oil and separate her out like you say, and increase the massages - she is not a fan of those however. The crop is definitely squishy. I’ll update with progress - thanks again!

 

[DobieLover]

Thank you! The poop my son said she did looked like regular poop - but we do have a variety of poops going on in terms of texture and color in general - some regular, some light brown and runnier. I’ll try the coconut oil and separate her out like you say, and increase the massages - she is not a fan of those however. The crop is definitely squishy. I’ll update with progress - thanks again!

After the massages, lift very gently on the crop too to help it empty.

 

[Nicky S]

After the massages, lift very gently on the crop too to help it empty.

Ok will do - thanks.

 

[Eggcessive]

I agree that grit is needed if outside on grass and eating bugs. Watery chick feed can help to get more water into her, but mix only a small amount so it does not go bad. At her age coccidiosis can be possible, and it can cause the crop to become slow and puffy. Corid in the water for 5-7 days can help if that is a problem.

 

[Nicky S]

I agree that grit is needed if outside on grass and eating bugs. Watery chick feed can help to get more water into her, but mix only a small amount so it does not go bad. At her age coccidiosis can be possible, and it can cause the crop to become slow and puffy. Corid in the water for 5-7 days can help if that is a problem.

Thank you! They were only out for about 10 minutes to get some fresh air, but they also caught a small fly or two inside the house, so I guess that’s enough? I’ll get the corid too, thanks!

 

[Nicky S]

Thank you! They were only out for about 10 minutes to get some fresh air, but they also caught a small fly or two inside the house, so I guess that’s enough? I’ll get the corid too, thanks!

Just saw her poop - brown and liquid. Is this normal?