six chicks 3-5 weeks old - slightly distended crop area on all-??

[jcabanis]

I have two Cuckoo Maran hens raising chicks: one has five 5-wk olds, the other just one hen chick 3 weeks old (we had a sad time with her clutch).

I noticed tonight one of my 5-wk old hens had a slightly puffed out right side on the breast-crop area. I caught her and smoothed down her feathers and felt the area, and it didn't seem abnormally distended, but it is noticeable when she is running around ... I started to separate her and feed her yogurt, etc. as advised elsewhere when I noticed that ALL the chicks look like this - including the 3-week old one. I don't remember the other hen chick my broody raised earlier this summer looking like this. Have they ALL got a problem? They seem perky, eating, running around, bright-eyed. It seemed like it would be more stress on the chick (and on her mother) to keep her apart so I let her out again and gave them all a little yogurt.

My other, very dependable, hens haven't been laying much at all this week. The 19-week old hen is starting to lay, but no good shells. They get primo organic layer mash, and I have chick grower for the little ones, and organic broiler feed for extra protein for the mothering hens.
It rained all week, buckets, and I was away for 4 days and I know my husband doesnt take the care of their litter, yard, and food that I do. I hope they are not all coming down with something. But, they free range most of the day, unless it's pouring and they go inside the coop or the greenhouse for shelter.The chicks had obviously grown quite a bit from Monday to Saturday.

Any advice or insight will be appreciated.

 

[hinkjc]

For the first part of your post, the chick's crops are perfectly normal. They should be quite full at the end of the day. They'll digest this throughout the night and it will appear pretty empty by morning. Then they start that process all over again.

Offer some oyster shell for your layers, free choice. At 19 weeks, irregular eggs is pretty normal, as they're reproductive system is just learning how to work. It should improve over time. Keep an eye for other symptoms and report back if you're still concerned.

 

[jcabanis]

Thanks, that sets my mind at rest. I was coming to that conclusion from reading other posts, but still a little concerned.

I think they didn't get as much to eat as usual while I was gone, because I moisten their crumbles (which they love) and give them treats--bread and any tomatoes that have bad spots, and any insects I find in the garden-- which didn't happen while I was away. Now they are just gorging themselves to make up for lost time.