TINY 2 Week Old Chick w/ Enlarged Crop

[KCChick12]

I have a two week old chick who is about half the size of the other chicks that hatched with her. She has an enlarged crop that is very soft. It goes down sometimes, but can get so big that it looks like it is going bald. She is up and pretty active, but does get bumped down a lot if the other chicks get excited. I've noticed that when I put new food in (chick starter) she is right there and eat, eat, eats. I haven't been able to catch her pooping, so I'm not sure what it looks like. As for drinking, when we take her out to hold her and massage her crop, we make sure she drinks, but I'm not sure if she's getting any outside of that. I would assume she is.
I'm concerned about her size. Is she not digesting right and maybe that's why she's not growing? Or could she just be a tiny thing?

Anyway, tomorrow we are moving the bigger ones to a different set-up, but I'll be keeping her and another one that is a little on the smaller side so I can keep an eye on them until they're bigger. I just want to make sure that I'm not missing something important - we've gotten pretty attached to our little "Tiny."

 

[ButteCA]

What do you feed them? I’ve heard chickens need grit although I have never given it to mine I give the scratch grains regularly.

 

[chickens really]

If feeding anything other than just Chick starter they require Chick Grit it help break down food in the crop..

 

[le_bwah]

I dealt with a quail chick whose crop was abnormally large, but was able to massage it down over a few days. I suspect it was wood chips. It is now smaller than its hatchmates, but otherwise normal. If all you're giving them is starter, and there's nothing in the brooder they might have swallowed, I don't see what could be plugging them up. A picture of their crop might give people here a better idea of what you're dealing with.

 

[alexa009]

Chick grit is necessary in baby chicks, if you don't think they are getting enough, increase it.

 

[cawatts]

Hi Everyone!
I just got two new baby chicks from my daughters school and I'm worried about their "crop" it goes down like everyone says after a night of no eating and its soft but it just gets so large that again it looks bald on the area. I've been reading a lot of the comments on here and it sounds like I don't have to worry but I am. The size is what gets me!! Also it didn't start happening until after a week of having them..... is that normal? I'm going to post pics to hopefully help! Also I've read that they need grit to go with their chick food....what is that? Also their crop hangs to the right on the both of them....its not center is that normal? I did a few pictures from several angles so you can see the full picture - any advise would be greatly appreciated!!

 

[ButteCA]

For babies I would just try to keep their food stocked and available. The only time I have ever had that happen to mine is when I had to leave and go to town and fed them late enough for them to be super hungry and then the eat really fast and then yes it normally goes back down by the next day. If you don’t have automatic feeders maybe try that if you do have automatic feeders there are plenty of chicken experts on here and someone probably knows exactly what’s going on with these little chicks.

 

[CannedMonster]

I have a two week old chick who is about half the size of the other chicks that hatched with her. She has an enlarged crop that is very soft. It goes down sometimes, but can get so big that it looks like it is going bald. She is up and pretty active, but does get bumped down a lot if the other chicks get excited. I've noticed that when I put new food in (chick starter) she is right there and eat, eat, eats. I haven't been able to catch her pooping, so I'm not sure what it looks like. As for drinking, when we take her out to hold her and massage her crop, we make sure she drinks, but I'm not sure if she's getting any outside of that. I would assume she is.
I'm concerned about her size. Is she not digesting right and maybe that's why she's not growing? Or could she just be a tiny thing?

Anyway, tomorrow we are moving the bigger ones to a different set-up, but I'll be keeping her and another one that is a little on the smaller side so I can keep an eye on them until they're bigger. I just want to make sure that I'm not missing something important - we've gotten pretty attached to our little "Tiny."

I don’t want to scare you but I’m concerned that your chick is smaller now.
I had this problem with one of mine.
I didn’t grasp the severity of her problem until it was too late.
Sadly we had to cull her.
She was half the size of the other chicks at 4 weeks.
She was thin and slowly starving
Looking back at photos I realized she had an enlarged crop the day I brought them home from the feed store.
Her crop would never go down even after withholding food overnight.
I would massage it and make her regurgitate some of the contents, trying to get the blockage to pass.
I believe she probably ate some bedding and had an impacted crop.
At the end I could feel a large piece of square shaped material in there.
She was losing energy and would just move around slowly peeping to herself.
I don’t believe there’s anything we could’ve done for her.
If we had an avian vet here I would’ve taken her.

Grit is fine for them but get the chick size.
After about 8 weeks they can have adult sized grit.
OP, please withhold food overnight and see if the crop gets smaller!
Do searches on crop problems with chicks and you should find instructions from more experienced members.
Good luck!

 

[CannedMonster]

Hi Everyone!
I just got two new baby chicks from my daughters school and I'm worried about their "crop" it goes down like everyone says after a night of no eating and its soft but it just gets so large that again it looks bald on the area. I've been reading a lot of the comments on here and it sounds like I don't have to worry but I am. The size is what gets me!! Also it didn't start happening until after a week of having them..... is that normal? I'm going to post pics to hopefully help! Also I've read that they need grit to go with their chick food....what is that? Also their crop hangs to the right on the both of them....its not center is that normal? I did a few pictures from several angles so you can see the full picture - any advise would be greatly appreciated!! View attachment 1422701 View attachment 1422696 View attachment 1422697

That is completely normal.
If the crop goes down overnight when they haven’t eaten then it’s functioning normally.
The crop can get quite large, sometimes comically so
It’s supposed to hang to the right- also normal.
Grit is tiny rocks.
There are 2 sizes available commercially (usually granite):chick and regular adult grit (after 8 weeks). It’s not expensive. Most feed stores carry it as well as Amazon.
Chickens do not have teeth.
They pick up tiny rocks with their food when foraging which are used in their stomach to grind course fibrous foods like grass, etc.
Chicks raised outside by a broody hen would be doing this naturally.
If your chicks are eating chick starter only, they don’t need grit because they don’t need to grind.
However, it doesn’t hurt them in any way to give them some as long as it’s the chick size.
If you feed them treats they do need it.
Some people even feel that giving chicks grit helps their crop muscles.
I agree with that.

 

[cawatts]

That is completely normal.
If the crop goes down overnight when they haven’t eaten then it’s functioning normally.
The crop can get quite large, sometimes comically so
It’s supposed to hang to the right- also normal.
Grit is tiny rocks.
There are 2 sizes available commercially (usually granite):chick and regular adult grit (after 8 weeks). It’s not expensive. Most feed stores carry it as well as Amazon.
Chickens do not have teeth.
They pick up tiny rocks with their food when foraging which are used in their stomach to grind course fibrous foods like grass, etc.
Chicks raised outside by a broody hen would be doing this naturally.
If your chicks are eating chick starter only, they don’t need grit because they don’t need to grind.
However, it doesn’t hurt them in any way to give them some as long as it’s the chick size.
If you feed them treats they do need it.
Some people even feel that giving chicks grit helps their crop muscles.
I agree with that.

Thank you SO much for replying!!
What are good treats to give them??