Liquid paraffin can solve crop problems.

The chickens Crop is a muscular pouch located on the right side of a birds lower neck or upper breast area. The Crop is purely a storage organ and no actual digestion takes place although it does moisten and mix food. Birds have a small digestive system that work continuously and the Crop is needed to fill the gaps in eating like overnight.

A Normal chickens Crop feels like:

1. An empty Crop can almost or not be felt at all.
2. A full Crop can feel huge. A large Crop on it’s own is not an indication that something is wrong.
3. The contents of a normal Crop are mobile and can be manipulated with the fingers.

Abnormal Crop feels like:

1. Hotter than normal.
2. Solid round ball like a golf ball.
3. Pendulous, hanging down like a shopping bag. 
4. Associated bad smell from the mouth.
5. Sloshy liquid filled Crops can indicate a problem.
6. If you can easily feel an empty crop there may well be a problem.
7. Regurgitation. If the contents are regularly coming back up there may a problem.
8. Anything in the crop in the morning.

For anyone who has chicks with crop problems. This may be that their crop is large and full of fluid or it may be hard and compacted.
Often this is a blockage of some sort that often will get infected but read on. There is a cure And please don’t cut open their crops to remove the blockage…there is an easier and kinder way.

After much trial and error with antibiotics, a vet, yoghurt and garlic it was discovered that the easiest way to get rid of a blocked crop is with Liquid paraffin. 

Liquid paraffin is an old remedy used for people as well as animals and empties out any blockages without being absorbed in to the liver. Just remember it empties out their whole system of all food and liquid so dont overdose them, 8 drops is enough.

If your chick wont eat the food with the liquid paraffin you can get a syringe and try to put some in their beaks but be careful you dont tip the liquid that as built up in their crop back in to their lungs as they can die.

Also dont squirt the liquid paraffin in to the back of their throats as the same can happen.

Drop it in slowly one drop at a time. Easier to put on food they like though.

Please try this before resorting to other methods. It may save your chicky’s life.
By the way remember they are only small so only give small doses. You can repeat over two days but it normally isn’t necessary.