Leghorn Chick Crop Weirdness?

[ci_cyfarth]

Hey all!

I've been noticing that Ginger, my 2-ish wk old White Leghorn chick, seems to have a very full crop -- visible, makes it look like she's sticking her chest out -- more often than she doesn't these past three days. I've attached my week 2 comparison pic of the Nuggets for a visual.

She's energetic, pooping fine, and honestly hitting some feathering benchmarks ahead of the others, which suggests she might be a couple of days older than the other three. I've started occasional gentle crop massages, and am introducing chick grit today (both for this and also so we can start short trips outside to experience grass/sun/etc.), but are there other things I might watch out for/consider adding?

Rosemary, a Leghorn/Rhode Island cross (California Tan), also has a little of this going on, but not to the same extent.

She and the other chicks are currently brooding in a space with a red heat lamp that otherwise gets natural light cycles, have 24/7 access to food, and I'm feeding Purina medicated Start & Grow. Substrate is brown paper with wood chips on top.

 

[WingItRanch]

This is pretty normal when they're babies. At the end of the day when they've been eating, it will look pretty big. Check first thing in the morning and it should be empty. If that's the case, nothing to worry about.

Personally, I would stop massaging the crop. When done improperly, it can cause aspiration and possibly kill the chick. Providing chick grit is good.

Your chicks look very healthy!

 

[ci_cyfarth]

Good to know re: crop massage!

And yeah, I wouldn't normally be concerned except that she's had a bit of a bump going for about 48 hours. It does change consistency, which suggests it's emptying some and that she might just be an extremely hearty eater, but better safe than sorry!

 

[WingItRanch]

Good to know re: crop massage!

And yeah, I wouldn't normally be concerned except that she's had a bit of a bump going for about 48 hours. It does change consistency, which suggests it's emptying some and that she might just be an extremely hearty eater, but better safe than sorry!

Ohh I see. So it hasn't gone done overnight? Hmm. Hopefully the chick grit will help. I wonder if she's waking up periodically to eat.

 

[ci_cyfarth]

That seems likely. They're also not quite on a proper day/night schedule.

I'm tempted to pull food when I go to bed tonight and put it back down when I get up and see what changes.

 

[WingItRanch]

That seems likely. They're also not quite on a proper day/night schedule.

I'm tempted to pull food when I go to bed tonight and put it back down when I get up and see what changes.

Worth a shot! I know that if I turn on a light to check on my chicks, they immediately run to get food and start flapping around as if it's daytime. They quiet down when I turn the light back off.

 

[rosemarythyme]

That seems likely. They're also not quite on a proper day/night schedule.

I'm tempted to pull food when I go to bed tonight and put it back down when I get up and see what changes.

If you're using a heat lamp they should have food available as the light is keeping them up, that's likely why you're not seeing the crop go down.

If you can switch to a heat source that doesn't output light, then they'll "stay in bed" through the night.

 

[ci_cyfarth]

If you're using a heat lamp they should have food available as the light is keeping them up, that's likely why you're not seeing the crop go down.

If you can switch to a heat source that doesn't output light, then they'll "stay in bed" through the night.

If that were the issue I'd think that it'd be all four of them and not just Ginger.

They do go into a more restful state at night as the only light source after dark in there right now is the red lamp.

Introducing grit yesterday and pulling food for part of the night seems to have helped. She still had a bit of a bump this morning, but maybe a third of the size she had at bedtime. I'm taking it as a good sign and will be interested to see how things look tonight.

 

[CheepersPeepers]

If that were the issue I'd think that it'd be all four of them and not just Ginger.

They do go into a more restful state at night as the only light source after dark in there right now is the red lamp.

Introducing grit yesterday and pulling food for part of the night seems to have helped. She still had a bit of a bump this morning, but maybe a third of the size she had at bedtime. I'm taking it as a good sign and will be interested to see how things look tonight.

How is it going with other her progress?

 

[ci_cyfarth]

Good so far! She's still eating/drinking normally, good energy, good poops, feathering up nicely. I think she's either just a VERY robust eater or maybe just has a slightly slower crop than the other three.