# Right Breast enlarged?



## Happeesupermom (Aug 29, 2012)

It seems that several of my pullets (I think they're all about a month old) have their right "breast" a little larger than their left. At first, I thought they just had their feathers "fluffed" a little on one side, but as I took a closer look and started feeling them, I realized it is actually enlarged.

Is this normal?? Several of my girls have this. I wondered if it might be their crop was enlarged? (I still haven't learned enough about chicken anatomy to know for sure!) So, I've started to crush dried egg shells and add a little to their feed. Is this OK? Any ideas or suggestions? Is this normal? Am I just overreacting?

I'm still new to this Chicken World, so any help is appreciated.


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## oakwood (Aug 21, 2012)

It is their crops , they are full of food . 
Look at them first thing in the morning you will see the bump gone down because they would have digested their food .


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## Happeesupermom (Aug 29, 2012)

Could it be that I'm OVER-feeding them? I thought I'm supposed to keep food & water available to them all the time. Should I limit their food supply to times of day? (Actually, I THOUGHT they were going through their feed pretty quickly! Yikes!


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## oakwood (Aug 21, 2012)

No , they should have access to water and food at all times , they are growing girls .
They will soon be in lay and need plenty of feed to produce good quality eggs . 
If they were full grown and laying ,i would worm them .


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## Happeesupermom (Aug 29, 2012)

So then, it's NORMAL for their crop to be full? I've only usually checked them during the day (late afternoon, mostly), so I haven't noticed that their crop is NOT full.


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## patlet (Oct 4, 2012)

Happeesupermom said:


> So then, it's NORMAL for their crop to be full? I've only usually checked them during the day (late afternoon, mostly), so I haven't noticed that their crop is NOT full.


A happy chicken has a full crop. Chicks and pullets should especially pack it in. In the crop is not full, put food in front of the bird to see if she still has an appetite. A bird that doesn't eat is not feeling well. An uninterested bird is ailing. A bird is seriously ill if she doesn't eat by the end of 24 hrs. Rule of thumb: a bird that doesn't eat is a dead bird.


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## Happeesupermom (Aug 29, 2012)

Good to know. Thank you all for your help and interest.


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## patlet (Oct 4, 2012)

I wish this forum had been around when I first started. We lost a lot of birds along the way. We hope to prevent our mistakes from happening again. This is a great idea. Especially with all the recent interest in poultry! May all your birds be as happy and as healthy as possible!


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## ChickenAddiction (Sep 10, 2012)

Happeesupermom!! When I saw this post, I had serious Déjà vu because I knew exactly what you were going through when you submitted this post!! When we hatched out our first babies, I noticed the same thing and called my hubby in to look at them. I was hysterical and so worried about them thinking that Every Last One Of Them had tumors!! But we googled it and learned about their crop! I'm so glad to have found this site because I think I can find the answers to any question I could possibly have here. I'm glad your youngins' are all ok. I felt that "freaked out" feeling all over again when I saw your post but it was pretty funny and also relieving to know that someone else went through what I did lol. 
Take Care, ChickenAddiction/Jenn


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