Sour crop in 1 week old chick?

[Tallgirl17]

Hello all. I'm not sure if I'm being paranoid or not, even after reading past posts I still have questions. I have a 1 week old australorp chick that seems to have a large crop. It's pliable and a little squishy. She also seems to have a little bit of watery poop and is slightly lethargic. Not overly so. Eating chick starter and I provided small amount of clean sand for grit(only a little at a time), as I occasionally give an extra treat, like romane lettuce (only twice) She has been drinking water with ACV since I brought all my chicks home. And the temp is at 95. This morning I offered live culture plain yogurt with no success. I can't seem to get any sour smells coming from her beak but thats hard to do when she won't cooperate! I've also been massaging her crop for a few minutes here and there. I noticed this late yesterday afternoon and have been searching for possible solutions since. Am I being too paranoid or is this a valid concern? Also when do I stop keeping their food filled? For me it's kinda hard to tell if it's a crop issue if they always have access to food. I'm looking forward to any and all input! It's greatly appreciated!

 

[pdsavage]

I havent had any crop proublems so cant help there,but i allway keep food with my chickens unless they was fast growing meat birds....

 

[Gypsy07]

In my last batch of chicks there was one that I was sure had a crop problem. His crop was always gigantic to the point of making him look almost deformed, but apart from that he seemed healthy enough. Someone on here suggested I take the food away overnight to see if his crop was emptying, and sure enough the next morning he had deflated remarkably. Turned out he was just a greedy big piglet that never stopped stuffing himself long enough for his crop to empty and I was worrying about nothing!

Apart from taking their food away that one time, I give all my chicks and chickens free access to their feeders so they can eat as much as they want whenever they want.

 

[rancher hicks]

I apologize but where did you get the idea to give a week old chick romaine lettuce? or sand?

Chicks need only two things. Chick starter and water. NOTHING ELSE.

I realize this doesn't help and I honestly don't know what you should do. But for those who may read this Chicks don't need "treats".

From what I've read you can try to empty the crop but I don't know how.

 

[MotherJean]

I agree with Rancher. No "treats" or grit for chicks for at least the first 3 weeks. I would withhold food from your chick for 24 hours to see if the crop empties. Give plenty of room temp water (not cold) and you can add a 1/2 tsp. of sugar to a quart. If you have the baby on wood shavings, cover that over with a couple layers of paper towels to eliminate the possibility that the chick is eating wood. When you start feeding again, stick with chick crumbles. Once a day I'd add a little warm water to a tiny bowl of chick crumbles to make a mush. They love that. If you really MUST give a "treat" you can give a little plain yogurt (no fruit) or hard boiled egg mashed up fine. No grit. Let the babies be babies for awhile. You wouldn't give your baby table food right away. We shouldn't be doing that with chicks, either.

 

[Tallgirl17]

Thank you all! I will try all the suggestions. The pine shavings are already covered with paper towels, so that's already done. And the water is good. But I've read countless times not to add sugar to the H2O. Would this be the exception? Also so as far as giving grit and treats, it's been very scarce, like the grit is sprinkled on top of their food. It's just what I've read on multiple posts on here doing research on chicks. But I'll stop with that I guess. Let the babies be babies!

I really hope it's a case of just being a pig and nothing else. They are so much fun and I'd hate to lose one. Thank you all so much. It really helps newbies like myself. We can read all we want but it totally changes things once we actually get some!

 

[Gypsy07]

I've read in loads of books and on loads of different chicken websites that once chicks reach a week old you can sprinkle sand on their starter feed just to get their digestive system starting to work properly. I didn't do it with mine cause I didn't have any sand, and they turned out fine, but I also didn't feed them ANYTHING at all other than their starter crumbs for the first six weeks.

 

[MotherJean]

Quote:
Yes, if you decide to take away the crumbles for 24 hours you can make an exception and give them a little sugar in their water. As soon as they're back on feed, return to plain water. Sugar water is often recommended for a sickly or lethargic chick. Healthy chicks simply don't need it. I haven't had any problems introducing treats and grit once the chicks are 3 weeks - but go slowly. Don't give a lot, chop it up real fine, and do just sprinkle a little grit on top. If you put grit in a dish so they can help themselves, some will gobble up grit, get a full crop, and then not eat their nourishing food. By the time they are six weeks old, they seem to be smart enough not to do that, so you can leave a supply of grit out all the time. Once they are out in their run or free-ranging, they will pick up the grit they need from the ground. Really not necessary for you to supply it. Good luck and have fun with your fluffy butt.

 

[MichelleNonCompliant]

Quote:

Yes, if you decide to take away the crumbles for 24 hours you can make an exception and give them a little sugar in their water. As soon as they're back on feed, return to plain water. Sugar water is often recommended for a sickly or lethargic chick. Healthy chicks simply don't need it. I haven't had any problems introducing treats and grit once the chicks are 3 weeks - but go slowly. Don't give a lot, chop it up real fine, and do just sprinkle a little grit on top. If you put grit in a dish so they can help themselves, some will gobble up grit, get a full crop, and then not eat their nourishing food. By the time they are six weeks old, they seem to be smart enough not to do that, so you can leave a supply of grit out all the time. Once they are out in their run or free-ranging, they will pick up the grit they need from the ground. Really not necessary for you to supply it. Good luck and have fun with your fluffy butt.

But if the chick has a sour cop,The Sugar Will feed the yeast, which is never a good idea.