[lucylou]

hi there!  tonite i had a good feel of each of my 6 little bantam hens' crops & was really surprisd that they varied so much. 2 of them (both laying) had crops that were round and the size of half a lemon (which is normal for those 2 hens) but of the others - 2 had them the size of an egg yolk & the other 2 I could hardly feel at all - more the size of a squeezed out tea bag and not really a defined shape at all. Thye all forage around pecking at this and that and although they have access to pellets arent that keen on them although they will eat a bit of corn in the afternoon and adore scraps. Both seem really spritely and Neither of them seem skinny and are not bottom of the pecking order but shouldnt they have fuller crops? Id love to know as i was surprised and i am now a bit worried.  many thanks, lucylou 

[iwantanallotment]

Hiya lucylou.

Are the 4 whose crops you are worried about also laying, you didn't say?

I'm not an expert on crops, so may well be corrected  but I'd imagine that they're much the same as us? Ie some eat more than others. Also maybe they have differing rates of digestion and some had digested more than the others, or had eaten more digestible foods?

If they're happy & healthy, laying, have no pecking order and there's constant access to suitable food I wouldn't worry. They will eat what they want/need.

Have you tried adding poultry spice to their pellets to make them more appetising? They love the taste of it, and it's good for them too 
Just to be fussy I'd say hold the corn back until teatime, around 6pm....and no scraps before mid-afternoon....just so that they're more likely to dig into the pellets, which are best for them 

[lucylou]

hi iwantanallotment! thanks for your reassuring answer! - no, the 4 in question are not laying but are at POL. the poultry spice idea is a brilliant one which i will definately try. many thanks, lucylou

[iwantanallotment]

Ahhhh, that explains a lot too, lucylou - laying hens eat a lot more than non-laying hens 

Once they start laying, you just watch them eat