Things just went from bad to worse...malpositioned crop?

[Nambroth]

I'm so sorry for your loss. I think her crop was in a 'normal' position; at a young age chicks skin can look thin, like wet tissue paper. If her crop was very engorged (with food, or water, or air in this case) it is "designed" to swing or move slightly under the skin further to the right. This is so that it does not put extra pressure on the trachea. You may have accidentally inserted the gas during tube feeding.. or, if you suspect Clostridium bacteria, they can cause a lot of gas internally and it may have been built up in her crop as well. Poor thing sounds like she had some other problems that were making her sick. Again, I'm sorry she was so ill that you lost her.

 

[casportpony]

Sorry for you loss...

For those that are curious, 3.5 weeks I would guess that most chicks (egg laying breeds) should weigh between 180 and 250 grams. The amount I would feel comfortable feeding a chick this size is 5-7ml every 6-8 hours (~30ml/kg). Chicks crops have more elasticity than adults, so it's possible that 10-14ml (~30ml/kg) would be fine, too.

http://edis.ifas.ufl.edu/ps046
Table 2.
Example of target body weights during the rearing of replacement pullets.
Age
(weeks)

Body weight
(Pounds)

(Grams)
1

0.14

65
2

0.24

110
3

0.40

180
4

0.55

250
5

0.71

320
6

0.88

400
7

1.10

500
8

1.28

580
9

1.50

680
10

1.70

770
11

1.92

870
12

2.09

950
13

2.27

1030
14

2.43

1100
15

2.56

1160
16

2.67

1210
17

2.76

1250
18

2.82

1280
19

2.89

1310
20

3.00

1360