Sour Crop?

[Glenda Heywoodo]

WELL WHEN ANIMALS CHICKENS AND DUCKS EAT NATURAL GROWING GRASS THEY BITE IT OFF SHORT.
It Is when one pulls the grass and feeds it to them that they can get the impacted crop issue. AS THE GRASS IS IN LONGER LENGTHS.
As the grass does not get digested or then is not given to the grit helping to cut it up.
So I would think it okay to let the grass grow
AND FEED GRIT in a feeder IN THE DUCK OR CHICKEN HOUSE FREE CHOICE.
This is a must as you feed grains to ducks whole and that needs grit at all ties.
The ducks will come to the house where the grit is and eat It naturally.

 

[Magepalm]

Is there a way for me to private message you I really don't want to take over this guys thread I'm new to all this though

 

[Magepalm]

And I have only about a million questions for anyone willing to answer

 

[Glenda Heywoodo]

yes come to face book
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Also on my site called Glenda Heywood

 

[Magepalm]

ok mine is gonna sound weird but it's me I'm magepalm gaming. LOL. but that'll be me

 

[Wyorp Rock]

They are outside and they do not have a light in the hen-house but we have a dusk to dawn light that is on and allows them to see around and me to see the chicken house form my house.
thank you for the "ACV" explanation.

If they can see and move around at night, they are probably eating/drinking during the night as well, this would explain why they have food in the crop in the mornings. Having light makes it hard to tell if there really is a crop issue or not.

Take out the food/water one night when they go to roost - check each chick's crop (should be full), then first thing in the morning check again (should be flat/empty). If any of the chicks still has food in the crop after a full night of not eating/drinking, then do some reading on crop issues and treatment options.

 

[RoosterCogburn7]

They are outside and they do not have a light in the hen-house but we have a dusk to dawn light that is on and allows them to see around and me to see the chicken house form my house.
thank you for the "ACV" explanation.

I try to let chickens do what they do naturally, while trying to protect them from predators. There has been arguments on both sides about lighting. One says that constant lighting in winter months can cause over production and potential cancer in the reproductive organs of the hens, others say it doesn't make a difference. One thing about chickens, is they have taste buds, but they are limited. For instance, if you put cyan pepper in your food, it might be unpalatable to you, but the chicken's tongue is not as sophisticated as the human tongue. We have found to try to get an better egg production in the darker months is cyan pepper in their food naturally warms their body and though may not make as much as they do in Spring or Summer, but they don't shut down completely.

 

[RoosterCogburn7]

If they can see and move around at night, they are probably eating/drinking during the night as well, this would explain why they have food in the crop in the mornings. Having light makes it hard to tell if there really is a crop issue or not.

Take out the food/water one night when they go to roost - check each chick's crop (should be full), then first thing in the morning check again (should be flat/empty). If any of the chicks still has food in the crop after a full night of not eating/drinking, then do some reading on crop issues and treatment options.

Some breeds will eat all the time if you let them like the meat production birds that grow out within a month. They will eat until they have a heart attack, or break a leg. Other times night eating can deal with pecking order issues, and less about getting the munchies. Since I am disabled, my wife does the mowing. I had to nearly reboot most of my FBC last summer, because my wife disconnected the hose to their constant drip system and forgot about it. We tried to save lives, but the more submissive birds died, where as the dominants made use of the two gallons of water stored in the tube at any given time. So, more submissive hens died, including at the time, my Black Americuana. Chickens must see color, because the Blues rejected her violently, but she thrived among the FBC, but died in the tragedy because she had a submissive personality. Now I have her OE offspring in there, and managed to get another BA to replace her.

 

[RoosterCogburn7]

WELL WHEN ANIMALS CHICKENS AND DUCKS EAT NATURAL GROWING GRASS THEY BITE IT OFF SHORT.
It Is when one pulls the grass and feeds it to them that they can get the impacted crop issue. AS THE GRASS IS IN LONGER LENGTHS.
As the grass does not get digested or then is not given to the grit helping to cut it up.
So I would think it okay to let the grass grow
AND FEED GRIT in a feeder IN THE DUCK OR CHICKEN HOUSE FREE CHOICE.
This is a must as you feed grains to ducks whole and that needs grit at all ties.
The ducks will come to the house where the grit is and eat It naturally.

Grit should always be used. But, that doesn't often solve the balloon crop. All my birds, including the chicks get grit. Granted it is chick grit, but when they mature they get the large pieces. I had one hen that had it regardless, and she had to be put down rather than let her suffer.

 

[RoosterCogburn7]

Is there a way for me to private message you I really don't want to take over this guys thread I'm new to all this though

Don't feel embarrassed about asking questions. This place may be a clearing house of varying opinions; however, there is a great wealth of knowledge on this board.