Potential crop issue??

[Rcorrell]

I have six ISA Browns and two olive eggers that are just about six weeks old. Tonight when I changed their water I noticed a small ball of what looked like wet food. It was about the size of a peach pit, maybe smaller and smelled pretty bad. It reminded me of what hawks regurgitate after ingesting too much fur or feathers from their meal. From what I’ve read chickens can’t regurgitate on their own. I didn’t actually see any of them produce the little ball but I don’t know where else it would have come from or how it would have ended up in their water. Could one of them have emptied their own crop if it was too full due to sour crop? Any suggestions on what I can do for them if one is ill?

 

[LikeTurkeys]

I'm not sure where it came from, but you may want to check their crops in the morning before they've eaten. If any of them is not completely empty, smell their breaths and make note of the consistency (squishy, hard, doughy, etc.). That should be able to tell you if any of them have crop issues. If they all have normal crops, then it could be something else.

 

[Rcorrell]

I checked their crops and I think there might be one that wasn’t completely empty but it’s hard to tell I’ve never done this before. Is there anything I can give her to help her? I also added a picture of what I found in the water dish last night.

 

[Eggcessive]

Are the chickens still under a heat lamp, or they sleeping in the dark at night? It is hard to check crops to see if they are empty in the morning if they are eating around the clock under the light. I would tend to look at how they are behaving, and not worry too much about what the object was. I would make sure that all are drinking enough water, and add a source of probiotics to their food or water.

 

[Rcorrell]

They are still under a heat lamp I’ve been slowly reducing temperatures but I’m worried it’s still a bit too chilly at night. The chicken that I think is the culprit of the strange object has been ruffled up for the past few days. I’m thinking of separating her for a bit to better monitor her and make sure she’s pooping. They’ve been getting hydro hen in their water with probiotics, electrolytes and acidifiers in it. I’ve read that adding apple cider vinegar can help with impacted crop issues. I wasn’t sure if they’re able to have certain things yet since they’re still young.