Urgent, very large crop of chick

[Lee_Scion]

Hello everyone!
I have a chick who is five days old now who has a very large crop. It's not super hard, however it is a little firmer than I think it should be and gritty.
I first noticed it in the evening last night and it was still big this morning.

That being said over the course of spotting it it has been very large and firm, vary large and soft, and then again large and firm. The size hasn't changed, however the density certainly has.

She was eating and drinking normally last night, however I have only seen her drink today. Otherwise she has mostly been sleeping (though she was cleaning herself for a few minutes while I have been watching her) I have also seen her poop normally this morning.

She is on a bedding of paper towel (though she may have grab a tiny bit of wood bedding from the container I put them in to clean their brooder yesterday morning)

She is getting a medicated starter food, and her four other friends have not shown any issues

I'm not sure if I'm being paranoid, as this is my first batch of chicks, but any help would be appreciated!

 

[rebrascora]

It looks totally normal to me. Chicks do really pack their crops full and because they have down but not feathers you notice it more. The only way to tell if there is a problem is to remove access to food overnigh and then check it in the morning. If they have access 24/7 they will just keep topping it up. The texture of the contents will depend on if/when they had a drink. If you put chick crumb in a small plastic bag and close the bag tightly around it, it will feel quite hard and gritty. If you add some water and leave it for a few minutes and then feel it, it will feel softer and pliable. It will do the same in the chicks crop. I could post some photos of my little buff orp at the moment that is 2 weeks old and it's crop is literally the size of a golf ball on the front of it's chest but nothing to worry about.
Sluggish behaviour is a concern if it is constant, but they will have quiet times, especially if they are feeling full, so observe over the course of the day before you start worrying.

 

[Lee_Scion]

Thank you so much! I thought that might be the case, but I really wanted to be sure.

This little ones crop is so much fuller than the others I thought something may be wrong. However they are also bigger then everyone else, so it's not surprising to learn they may eat more.

 

[Birds of a Feather]

I personally don't see anything wrong with it.