• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
The Big Book Project

The Big Book Project

Agribusiness Training & Startup Tools

  • About
  • Blog
  • eBook
  • Learn

Crop fill: a trusted measure of brooder hospitality

Last updated on July 11, 2025 by Temi Cole Leave a Comment

šŸ„‡Download The eBook

How well are your chicks adapting to life in your brooder? What’s your measure? The trusted yardstick is crop fill.

If you’re familiar with the anatomy of a chick, then the ‘crop‘ needs no introduction. If you’re a newbie – no shame…it’s basically that temporary food storage chamber which the feed sits in before being moved on for digestion.

In a day-old chick (DOC) the crop is particularly pronounced when feeding has just occurred. But for absolute certainty, a gentle but confident feel of the chick’s crop will reveal if they’ve just eaten – and also, just as important, what they’ve eaten.

Now, crop fill or the measure of how full the crop is (according to leading Aviagen poultry veterinarian, Scott Gillingham) is your ticket for assessing how well adjusted your newly placed chicks are becoming to their brooder environment.

In other words, crop fill answers the question…“Are my chicks adequately finding their provision of feed and water?”

And with full knowledge of the rapid growth trajectory that broiler chicks are on within their 1st 7 days after placement, we need not stress the importance of them feeding properly from the get-go.

With so little time to make adjustments once your chicks hit the brooder floor, you need instant confirmation that your production sprint has gotten off to the best start.

Much like weighing, you need to randomly select a cohort to test for crop fill. But critically, you want to time your crop fill assessment to begin at least after a 2hr delay from the time of arrival.

If you assess for crop fill from the instant they land, then you’re not assessing their feeding behaviour in the brooder. You need to give them enough time for crops to empty and to begin being topped up with brooder feed.

Also, ‘what you feel for’ is important. As Scott Gillingham puts it,

“…its like oatmeal or porridge, which is what feed and water is, nice soft pliable feeling, which is good…but if it feels like shavings or it feels like straw, it tells me that the birds are feeding on the litter – so crop fill is a very good indication of chick comfort.”

So with that said, how is your chicks’ crop fill?

  • 75% within 1st 2 hrs
  • 100% within 48 hrs

This is your gauge of brooder hospitality.

Filed Under: Chicken Snippets

Temi Cole
Mr. Temi Cole
šŸ„‡Author, The Big Book Project

Thanks for visiting my website.
"Let's make poultry profitable together!"
Begin by becoming a subscriber to my
newsletter, then when you're ready, join my interactive online course. Also, if you want me to help review & build your investment plans let's meet. Until then, stick around and enjoy this site - in which you'll find 300+ learning resources inc. articles, content hubs, sample plans, data sets, calculators and templates. Take a look around and enjoy the conversation..

My Story Start Here Free eBook LinkedIn

Reader Interactions

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

« Previous Post
Next Post »

Primary Sidebar

Temi Cole
Mr. Temi Cole
Author, The Big Book Project

Thanks for visiting my website.
"Let's make poultry profitable together!"
Begin by becoming a subscriber to my investor newsletter, online courses and consulting . Within this site you'll find 300+ learning resources inc. articles, content hubs, sample plans, data sets, calculators and templates. Take a look around and enjoy the conversation..

My Story Start Here Free eBook

Latest Posts

  • The unrecoverable costs of late-stage broiler mortality
  • Mystery of brooder barn dynamics
  • Flocks don’t tell tales
  • Stockmanship: a poultry farmer’s best friend
  • Crop fill: a trusted measure of brooder hospitality

 

 

Copyright © 2025


Next-level agribusiness training &
startup tools.

Learn


Poultry Learning Center
Blog
Poultry eBook
Poultry Courses Online

Company


Start
About
Contact

Connect


LinkedIn
Twitter
Pinterest


Log in