Sour crop in 5-8 week old chicks

[Celcampbell23]

Okay I’m very stumped on this one. I have chicks who are 8 weeks and another group who are 5 weeks. The 8 week old chicks have moved out to the coop and get free ranging time while the 5 week old chicks stay out in an enclosed area during the day and come back in during the night.

Tonight as I brought in the 5 weekers, I noticed that 2-3 of them had soft crops. I don’t feel their crops every night on each chicken but I paid more attention tonight after noticing that.

I then went to my older chicks and picked a few out of the bunch and multiple had a soft/mushy feel to their crop also. Others were hard.

Not one single chick from either group is acting funny, not eating, has the funny smell on their breath, displaying any signs of sickness.

The older ones do have access to some taller grass while free ranging but don’t seem to be eating it. The younger ones however do not have access to even the tall grass. They scratch around in dirt and some leaves in their enclosure and all have full access to food and clean water.

My question is- is there any suitable reason for a soft crop in the evening? Or is this certainly sour crop? I’m majorly panicking right now because I felt like everything was going great. They all seem so happy!

 

[Wyorp Rock]

Not one single chick from either group is acting funny, not eating, has the funny smell on their breath, displaying any signs of sickness.

Crops can feel a lot of different ways.

Re-check crops first thing in the morning before they have had anything to eat/drink, if the crops are empty, then don't worry.