Swollen crop in 1 week old silkie chick

[Ericadeer]

Hi there! I am ever so thankful to have found this site and all if you!!
I am hoping someone has some more insight for me as I’m a first time chick mommy.
I have a 1 week old silkie who has a pretty big crop. I felt it before lights out last night and then again first thing this morning. Last night it was probably the size of a ping pong ball and soft like a water balloon. It decreased significantly in size overnight down to the size of a marble (basically the size of the other chicks’ crops when full). It’s also doughy feeling, not hard. I felt the other chicks’ crops this morning as well and they were pretty much non existent and empty. So I’m wondering what could be going on with her ‍♀️. She is eating and drinking and I made sure to see her poop last night and it looked normal. This morning I saw her have a loose stool puddle the color of peanut butter, and then a nice big healthy poop after eating. I am treating them with corid right now after losing a baby to what I think was cocci. But none of the others have this going on so I’m wondering what I can do for her! She’s a tad more relaxed/sleepy than the others but still active. Any advice for me? Ideas? Should I try the coconut oil and massage as if it was sour crop?

Thank you guys so much ❤️❤️❤️

 

[Wyorp Rock]

Last night it was probably the size of a ping pong ball and soft like a water balloon. It decreased significantly in size overnight down to the size of a marble (basically the size of the other chicks’ crops when full). It’s also doughy feeling, not hard. I felt the other chicks’ crops this morning as well and they were pretty much non existent and empty.

This morning I saw her have a loose stool puddle the color of peanut butter, and then a nice big healthy poop after eating. I am treating them with corid right now after losing a baby to what I think was cocci.

What do you feed including treats?
Do you provide chick grit free choice?

Yes, I would give her a little coconut oil - refrigerate it and cut into small chunks, see if she will eat that on her own - syringing oil and fluids can be tricky and they can choke.
Lightly massage the crop, the re-check it first thing in the morning.

If you have poop photos those are sometimes helpful. Peanut butter poop sounds like Cecal poop to me which would be normal. Chickens have 2 type of poop (cecal and "normal") https://the-chicken-chick.com/whats-scoop-on-chicken-poop-digestive/

 

[Ericadeer]

Thanks so much for your reply! I only feed medicated chick starter, the corid treatment in the water, and I introduced chick grit just a couple days ago when I started noticing the large crop. I chopped up some coconut oil and she wouldn’t really peck at it but when I would press against her beak she would open and take some in. I massaged for about 5 min so we’ll see what happens! I will watch for another poop and post a pic of it. It definitely could have been just Cecal poop, as the one after it was totally normal. And she’s still eating away! Does it sound like sour crop?

 

[Ericadeer]

This is a picture of her poop just now. Her crop isn’t huge yet today but hard to tell if it’s gone down at all either. It definitely feels squishier than the others.

 

[Wyorp Rock]

Re-check the crop first thing before she eats/drinks and let us know if it's emptied.

 

[Ericadeer]

I withheld food last night and her crop was firm and big still. It wasn’t doughy like it is when she has eaten. Shoot, what next?

 

[Wyorp Rock]

I withheld food last night and her crop was firm and big still. It wasn’t doughy like it is when she has eaten. Shoot, what next?

What are you using for bedding?
What's your brooder setup like - do they have access to food very early - is it possible she ate and drank before you checked her?
I would place her on puppy pads so she doesn't eat any bedding. Provide chick grit free choice, water and give her more coconut oil. Gently massage the crop. Do this a couple of times a day. I would probably limit her food too for the day, she won't starve and if the crop is not emptying, no sense adding to what's in there. If you give any food, make it into a wet mash (feed+water) I would make it fairly watery.

 

[Ericadeer]

I have rice straw on the very bottom, and dust free wood shavings on top of that, and then paper towels and two warming pads covering 90% of the brooder floor. I give chick grit free choice but before bedtime last night I took out food and replaced paper towels so no food or grit was available except possibly a few crumbs hiding somewhere. They did have water last night though. I will separate her today and feed her chick starter mush and coconut oil and water. I read somewhere to feed a scrambled egg drenched in olive or coconut oil... could this be helpful? Since it’s firm when empty does that mean it’s more likely impacted than sour? So hard to figure out when they are so tiny! Thanks SO much!!!!

 

[Wyorp Rock]

I have rice straw on the very bottom, and dust free wood shavings on top of that, and then paper towels and two warming pads covering 90% of the brooder floor.

I read somewhere to feed a scrambled egg drenched in olive or coconut oil... could this be helpful? Since it’s firm when empty does that mean it’s more likely impacted than sour?

Is she pooping?
Here vent is clear, no poop build up?
How warm are the warming pads - essentially chicks only need one warm spot and you let the rest of the brooder be cool or "normal" temps.

You can give a little scrambled egg with the oil on it if you wish - the crop is full and hard so adding food may just not the best idea.

You mention that it's "firm when empty" - what does that mean?

 

[Ericadeer]

Yea she is pooping and it looks normal. Vent is clear. They are in the bottom of a chicken coop so they have a lot of room. The warming pads are just at one end so they are cool/room temp most of the time while eating and pecking around, etc. no I totally don’t need to give scrambled eggs I just wondering if that was helpful. Sorry that’s totally an oxy moron... What I meant by “firm when empty” is that during the day when full of food and water it is doughy feeling, but after removing food all night the crop was smaller and firm in the morning....But obviously not empty because something is in there still as it’s the size of a marble. Did that make sense? Thanks again!!