What should a crop feel like?

What feed are they on? Mine have grainy crops but they are on layers pellets and mixed corn. If yours are on mainly mash and veggies then perhaps it won't feel so grainy/gritty. Are their crops smaller in the morning?

No probs Amanda, the more the merrier

They are ex batts, just 1 week with me.  I was told that they would have been eating dry mash, so I'm making up my own mix for them to give them what they are used to, and to start introducting them to pellets.

So, Joyful, the menu consists:-

Mix of 3 parts dry mash, 3 parts ex-batt crum, 2 parts ex-batt pallets, plus mix in at the moment garlic powder, poultry spice and fine crushed oystershell. They have access to this all day.

In the afternoon a  scoop of mixed corn, with whatever I have to hand, eg tomato, strawberry, shredded lettuce, etc.... but not too much, they're not used to food looking like that!  Thinking about it, when I was feeling the crops yesterday, it would have been just after I put the corn down, so they hardly had time to eat it, therefore would have been a fairly soft mix of food in the crop even with pallets.  Hadn't thought about that.

They have access and seem to be eating grit, also scratching and eating small worms, grubs etc.

I'm trying to get to them before they start the daily feast, but they're up well before me with their auto pophole, so can't be sure crops are flat to start with......will have to try harder as realise this is fairly important?

Re handling, have been sitting with them for hours on end, and sneaking the occasional stroke.  Mid week had to catch each one of them to put leg ring on, some were easy, others not.  Pearl had to be caught in a net, and was so cross!    I'm picking them up when I have the opportunity, just calm, don't want them stressed.  Some are OK, others run off flapping.  It will take time and patience and temptation through food.

DizzieLizzie's are the most advanced.........sitting on knees, walking up arms........a right flightly gang of ladies   But she practically lives with them in the run, so I think it's just a matter of them getting used to you and building up conifidence.  Early days.

Would recommend coloured leg rings, it's made observing them so much more itneresting, now that I know for sure who I'm looking at!  Was having problems before sorting out who was who.

Hi flowerpot....well first of all they should be a lot smaller in the morning....sometimes i have felt a little bit in the morning, but i wonder if thats because they are sooo thin, and if they had a bit of fat and muscle on them it wouldnt be so noticeable? anyway, mine feel like ballons i suppose, if you massage them you can feel a bit of grity stuff, but i think it depends what they eat. they are supposed to eat grit to help with breaking stuff down in the crop so i would suppose you would expect to feel some there.you are right about mine being cheeky....henrietta talks down the phone to people....if im in the run with them and my phone rings, she jumps onto my knee and bok bok boks at the phone....she talked to sarah and hazel . they are very cheeky tho, dorey will jump on anyone's knee...she has no loyalty  , and cornflake just loves sitting on your armlike a parrot. you are right tho, we have lived in there. i think dorey has an attachment disorder, everytime we leave the run she stands at the door bokkkkkkkkkkkking after us . anyway-going off thread-sorry
if you think they have an inpacted crop, give her a little bit of olive oil and massage her crop gently