As I was inspecting my flock of 9 33wk old hens (made up of NH Reds, Buff O, Bantums, Wyndotts), I noticed that one of my buffs had a growth on her left breast. More specifically, it was just under the neck and above the breast. I picked her up to ispect her and it is the size of a baseball (she is a big buff). I was very concerned. I then checked all of my girls and they all have the same thing. But different sizes. Is this normal? How come I never noticed it before. We have not changed anything in their diet. They are all on medicated layer pellets, they are all laying normally. They look healthy; they have bright red combs and are very active. What am I missing? Is is gout?
I am pretty sure that you are feeling the crop. This is like a storage tank for all the food they eat. It is normally full at night or after a big snack and empty in the morning. Here's a link with pictures... https://www.backyardchickens.com/forum/viewtopic.php?id=10845 Baseball size is pretty big, but probably fine... I bet she pigged out right before you felt her. Write back if it has not gone down by tomorrow morning.
Yeah...sounds like full crops to me. Not sure why you've never noticed them before...maybe the birds typically stay pretty puffed up, so it just didn't stand out to you before? If you check them first thing in the morning (assuming they haven't had access to food during the night), it should be back to normal (all digested and passed).
Thank you all for your feedback. I don't know why I've never noticed it before. It makes sense though. My belly does the same thing after a big meal.
