Where is a chicken's crop when it's roosting?

[Sutremaine]

I'd like to be able to feel their crops at the end of the day, but since this is the first night they've walked into the coop instead of having to be picked up and placed there I don't want to poke at them just as they've settled down. Do I need to reach in between their feathers and the roost, or does the crop overhang the roost entirely? What should I be feeling for? I assume a full crop would be easy to find, but what about one that's not full, or particularly soft?

 

[TheLukeMeister]

sorry this doesn't answer your question but whats a crop?

 

[Sutremaine]

It's the little bag that food gets stored in, and it works something like a hamster's cheeks. Sometimes it's called a craw. The chicken goes out and fills up on food, then digests it in peace. It's good for a chicken to go to bed with a full crop, because they have nothing else to do but sleep.

There are many pictures available (https://www.google.co.uk/search?q=chicken+anatomy), but none of them are for chickens sitting down.

 

[Sutremaine]

Question answered! They stuffed themselves today, so their crops were a visible and almost pointed bulge at roosting time. The full crop does not rest on the perch at all, and was practically a beak rest for one bird. They made some head, neck, and body movements that would have been very alarming if I didn't know that chickens adjust their crops.