Where exactly is the " CROP " ?? Hen may have a full one. Worried

[ladychicken&Ducklover]

I had just posted a question about my WC BLK POLISH, possibly having a concussion, but I forgot to ask another quick question.

Where exactly is a hens CROP??

I have 2 Barred Rocks that started laying about 3 weeks ago.

All their eggs are great.

Tonight I picked up one of the girls, and felt something " Semi hard, Yet Squishy ", in the Right side, mostly, of her chest..

Kind of under her Wattles but offset.

It felt kind of " Squishy " and seemed to Move around a little.

My other girl has a little smaller version of the same thing.

Could someone advise me on this please ??

Im already so scared about my baby Polish roo, so, Im hoping maybe Im worried for no reason..

Thanks all..

 

[welasharon]

Yes that is the crop. Leave it be. In the morning it should be mostly gone...till she eats again. The more they eat the bigger it gets. If it doesn't go mostly down then there could be a problem....but most likely she ate well.
sharon

 

[real_redhead]

That's the crop!!!

 

[Uniontown Poultry]

Sounds like you are just describing the crop. A chicken's crop is basically a food-bag that hangs just above their breast (sometimes off to the side). It will be smaller or bigger depending on the breed and what is in it. A chicken that's been foraging and eating all day can have a crop like a grainy tennis ball - somewhat hard, but you can squeeze it, like semi-hard play-dough. It may be grainy if she's had access to scratch. Since chickens don't have a true stomach, food stays in the crop until the rest of the digestive system is ready to receive it. A hungry chicken who hasn't eaten has an empty or near-empty crop.

In the morning, you can check the areas on your chickens chests & see if they are smaller - and if they are, then it's the crop you were feeling the night before. Crops can be troublesome in two ways 1) sour crop, and 2) impacted crop. Impacted crop is when the foodstuffs in the crop are not moving into the digestive system (the chicken is said to be "crop bound"). The crop in that case will be big and hard. There is a thread here on impacted crop/being "crop bound" that is very imformative. Sour crop is a squishy, stinky crop that makes a chicken have very foul breath. There is a thread on here for sour crop, too.

If your chickens are acting normally, if the crops get big when the chickens have access to food, and go down when they don't (like at night), then you probably have nothing to worry about. Just normal chicken stuff. Hope this helps!

 

[ladychicken&Ducklover]

OK, thats what I thought..


Thank you..