PLEASE HELP! ALMOST 5 WK. OLD CHICK STRETCHING NECK, HOLDING MOUTH OPEN...CROP PROBLEM??

[HootnHoller8]

Noticed our almost 5 week old chick after eating food started opening mouth (kind of holding open) & sometimes stretching its neck. He shook his head & maybe something came out of mouth (very small bit of mucusy food or something?) My 12 yr. old daughter --main one home & handling in their brooder at the time-- noticed this all. She was holding him when I got home just a few minutes ago & just now put back in brooder. He is not holding mouth open & seemed to almost act like he was getting a drink (as far as motion with mouth & leaning back a little.
Okay now seems a little better now & acting curious.
Should we let it eat--- If it wants to? which he does.
How do we tell if it is crop problem. He is 'cheeping' now at least & he wasn't when my daughter noticed problem while I was gone.
What should we watch for? How do you tell is something is caught in crop and ...okay, how do I know where/when I'm feeling for crop? I just kind of 'massage' front of neck/chest?
(Yes, a newbie obviously.) Can they just eat too quickly sometimes & maybe get a little shavings mixed in to 'mess things up'?

Other: They had grass for first time today & had grit too though.

Thank you!

 

[GitaBooks]

Sometimes birds just eat too much to swallow easily. For minutes on end my chickens will be swallowing over and over, jerking their neck and stretching it out, but it never really causes any problems. If he acts normal and if his crop empties out normally then he should be fine. Makes sure they have grit and water available.

Watch for a full, hard crop. You can try massaging the crop to help if empty if you want.

I hope this helps. Best of luck!

 

[enola]

To check if there is a crop problem, remove the feed for several hours. Shavings can cause an impacted crop. But, you will know his crop is not impacted if it empties after a couple of hours.

 

[HootnHoller8]

Thank you for your help & suggestions~ We really appreciate...but back to the exact crop location or knowing that is what I'm feeling...that's where my question is. And how do you know it's impacted...by feel somehow? I rub finger..follow down neck, so is it right after neck pretty much or a little lower ..or? (Sorry for the dumb question, but even a drawing in a book doesn't exactly help me feel like I know what I'm looking for/feeling when I'm actually holding the bird. (Clear as mud?)

Seems okayright & we did end up letting him/her (probably a cute roo which we were hoping for/ordered pullets) eat as he was fairly insistent.

Thank you all again!

 

[enola]

Take the feed away tonight. Check his crop in the morning BEFORE feeding him. If his crop is empty he is fine. If it is still full in the morning he has a problem.

 

[GitaBooks]

The crop is located on the neck/chest area, on the right of the bird. It bulges out like a tumor when full, and feels like a deflated balloon when empty. If it is impacted it will remain full and often feels hard when touched. If it is just full and healthy then you can feel the individual pieces of food mixed with water.
He is allowed to eat. Its probably not an impaction, but after a good meal you should remove the food for the night, to make sure they are all nice and empty.

Best of luck!

 

[HootnHoller8]

Thank you for the direction. I searched "crops" on this site last evening & found a thorough article to due with impacted & sour crops. It helped with location. So, we took away the food around 11/11:30 ish last night, but left water in. My youngest daughter (just 12) & I went down to check them around 5:45 this morning. I laugh...maybe some of them weren't quite empty yet...we really were just a bit frustrated feeling sure about what we were feeling & how it felt.

I posted about a RIR last week, that I've been watching for a couple weeks that just doesn't seem quite as perky...yet eats,drinks, moves around, poops, etc. I had/still wonder about her crop a a little. I need to see if I think I can tell how it feels. Probably part of the time I was feeling & concerned about it, it was just how a full one feels. I'm already beginning to be slightly stressed with worrying about this & that with them, and think I could be over-analyzing...but on the other hand, I still wonder if there is something a bit off about the RIR. (Here I thought we'd start out with the bit "easier" animal...versus getting dairy goats yet.)

The Barred Rock (likely cockerel) that I posted question about last night acts fine. I'm wondering if some of the grass we fed them (for first time yesterday) was a bit long & some of it was a bit congested/wound up in crop. I read in the 'crop article' about long or stiff grass being a bit difficult for them sometimes & wondered especially since they are still pretty young.

Thanks again for help.
Oh, I should leave water in at night & pretty much always though, correct?

 

[GitaBooks]

I think we all stress over new baby birds more than we need to.

Chickens can be stressful, but they are a lot of fun and one of the easiest farm animals to own. A great hobby, great for meat and eggs, and great pets. They are worth the work.

Yeah, chicks eat and drink a lot, so water should be available at all times. When I feed chicks grass I cut it or twist it into little pieces so it is easier to digest.

Best of luck!

 

[HootnHoller8]

Gita,

I think that the chick I was talking about two evenings ago is doing okay...other than now the kind of bare-ish spot on shoulder that I thought was fine-- just part of developing feathers & maybe naturally bare place -- is now bigger.
The Rhode Island well I guess she is okay. Will maybe watch her a bit more.

I have removed food the past two nights from all of them. When I removed tonight you should have heard the squawking from the whole crowd.

(And they had all pretty much 'wound down' their feeding by that point...just hunting & pecking in bedding. (I've been leaving water in all night, but removing food around 11:00 & then getting up between 5:30-6:30 to put back in ...yawn

Is it necessary to continue removing the food? They are 5 weeks as I mentioned & that is the first I removed at night.
I almost laughed to hear all there seeming protests. The dog...who seems to think she is there mom (or something) ..came running to see what all the commotions was about?

 

[GitaBooks]

If their crops are emptying out, I don't think it would be necessary to take away the food at night any more.

I'm glad they are doing well!