Very large soft crop **Pics added**

[Moriah]

I have an 8week old EE roo who has a very large very soft crop. He doesn't act like he feels unwell or anything. My sister who has raised chickens said that it is normal. Yesterday it was the size of a key lime, today it is more the size of an orange. No foul smell from this roo's breath. It is very obvious and when he runs around it swings back and forth.

Any ideas or recommendations?

 

[d.k]

* He's filling it with food, right? Not grass or straw or wood shavings or gravel?? Does it go flat by morning usually?

 

[Moriah]

there is no access to grass in the run (it's sand) there is access to food, gravel and the bedding of the coop (pine shavings)

It didn't seem to go down this morning (I noticed it yesterday) and has seemed to get bigger. It is very "sloshy" and feels like an extremely soft water balloon. When hubby and I caught him to check him out he didn't act like it hurt him at all.

 

[Colored Egg Farmer]

I think you might just be feeling the water inside the crop.

 

[Moriah]

Quote:
That is what my sister said. That's an awful lot of water. I don't have any pics of it:/

I guess I will have to check on him when I get home tomorrow morning at 10am after my 4 hour shift.

 

[Colored Egg Farmer]

Yea just keep an eye on him. As long as it is not huge/hard it should be fine.

 

[d.k]

* You said he's only 8 weeks old, right? Think he's too young to isolate and restrict him from dinner one night to see if it goes down??

 

[Moriah]

Yeah, 8 weeks. I don't know if that is too young to isolate for a night. The only option I have for doing that is to put him in a cat carrier over night, inside the house, with no access to food or water.

 

[d.k]

* I would try that, pull him in just before dinnertime. Is the cat carrier big enough? Mine are full-size, so we have big carriers when we need them. . . . and a whole lot of bins besides.

 

[Moriah]

d.k :

* I would try that, pull him in just before dinnertime. Is the cat carrier big enough? Mine are full-size, so we have big carriers when we need them. . . . and a whole lot of bins besides.

I just checked on him, his crop is no smaller than last night and he is staying in the coop for the most part, possibly because I was trying to catch him. I couldn't catch him, so this evening I will have hubby help me catch him and we will put him in a carrier tonight. The carrier is large enough that he will be able to stand fully upright and turn around and such. Probably wouldn't be able to complete extend his wings out...but it is only for one night.​