Sour crop? At this age?

[Nicole01]

My GLW newest addition(1.5 weeks old) has had an enlarged crop for a few days. I've been keeping an eye on it and last night it was so big and very hard all the way down her belly. She was acting strange by standing in the corner of the brooder not walking around and not chirping at all. I took her out late last night and gave her a tiny bit of olive oil on some wet feed along with water. This morning she is a whole new chick walking around and chirping away. Her crop is a little big, but it's really squishy.

How the heck did she get this??? I only feed starter feed and I put probios in their water. Do you think she is eating the pine shavings? I tried giving her grit, but she has no intrest. Am I doing something wrong? My Brahma had a big crop too a couple weeks ago, but not nearly as bad as Maples.

 

[galanie]

Yes, she probably ate shavings. I don't know what it is with chickens and wood. Mine love to eat sawdust and rotten wood is really fun to peck at and eat for them. None of them go overboard but I just know that they will eat it. Put some play sand or even dirt in there in a dish. They might not seem to eat it in front of you but they will eat some and walk in it, roll in it, and in general dump it all over the feeder. But it's great fun.

 

[Nicole01]

I thought she might be after the shavings. I will sometimes throw the sand in the bottom of the brooder. I usually have a tub full of sand for them when I take them out to play. My RIR already takes dust baths.

My GLW is doing so much better now. Her crop is even smaller. What a relief. She's a cute little thing.