Normal crop or impacted?

[Breenimmo1]

My random week old chick (meal maker) so I'm not sure what she is. Has a full semi hard crop. She's eating, playing, and pooping normally. Not lethargic. I gave her a few drops of warm water and veg oil and waited 20 mins then messaged her crop. She seemed to enjoy this instead of being in pain. She pooped a lot afterwards but the crop was still full. It feels like a playdoh firmness and a little gritty. I do have chick grit but have not introduced it yet - should I for her and if so how much? I have three other silkies that are 3 days old and are all healthy but much smaller than her. Since i was unaware id get a random bird instead of a similar, could the silkies diet be causing this (they need higher protein). I tried making the chick crumble even smaller with a morter and pestal incase the food was still too large and that was the problem but it was the same today. It has been two days of this that Ive noticed. I removed the food this evening and will check in the AM if it's emptied or not. They are in a room that has a mini heater on low in one corner and a brooder plate in another corner in their larger brooder (its an old baby floor play pin with puppy pads not pine shavings) The room stays around 90* degrees. If it has not decreased tomorrow, should I try apple Cider vinegar? If so, how much? If not, what should I try? Or does this not seem like an issue. I believe that she's a cream legbar but cannot be certain.

Update: This morning it was almost empty but one smal very hard spot was still there. Now I'm thinking she got curious and ate straw on her way over here. I'm going to continue to monitor and do what I'm doing along with adding acv and if that doesn't help soon I'll look into a vet. I'm in an area where vets who take chickens are....sparce.... so if that step is needed I'll have to get creative.

 

[Debbie292d]

A week old chick shouldn't be having any crop issues if they are being fed chick crumbles or all flock only.

That crop was most likely just very full as that happens often with chicks.

I wouldn't introduce anything else to them for a few weeks as they need their nutrition from their feed. If down the road you want to try some other things, then they need grit.

All chicks and chickens, silkies as well, can have chick crumbles. We feed ours Kalmbach's Flockmaker. The chicks get that, as do all the adults. It's lower in calcium than layer feed is so we put oyster shell in a dog dish in the coop for the layers. Whoever needs it eats it.

 

[Breenimmo1]

A week old chick shouldn't be having any crop issues if they are being fed chick crumbles or all flock only.

That crop was most likely just very full as that happens often with chicks.

I wouldn't introduce anything else to them for a few weeks as they need their nutrition from their feed. If down the road you want to try some other things, then they need grit.

All chicks and chickens, silkies as well, can have chick crumbles. We feed ours Kalmbach's Flockmaker. The chicks get that, as do all the adults. It's lower in calcium than layer feed is so we put oyster shell in a dog dish in the coop for the layers. Whoever needs it eats it.

Thanks, so do you think I'm just getting too paranoid? I figure if it was an issue it would've hurt while I was massaging it? What worries me is she was in a Box with hay and may have eaten that. Other than that, there's nothing she has had in my care that would cause it. First time chick mama but long time watcher as both my grandmother's had chickens and raised many on their own and showed me. But this was when I was a kid, I'm in my 20s now, with my own kiddos and trying to do the same for them.

 

[Debbie292d]

The large hard crop on a baby chick scares a lot of new chicken owners as it is rather surprising at first. I've seen it so many times now, so the worst ones I just call them "little piggy". I'm sure it's fine as many chicks hatch under the mother hen who is sitting on straw.

Our bedding is horse bedding pellets and we've never had an issue. Chicks like chickens will usually try everything once, then realize that wasn't very good, and not do it again.

 

[Breenimmo1]

Thank you. This was what I needed to hear.