Baby Chick Won't Eat/Drink; Empty Watery Crop

AccentOnHakes

Songster
10 Years
Oct 2, 2009
1,333
15
151
I got my chicks from the feed store last Sunday. They were all happy and healthy...for a week. This Sunday I noticed one of my EE's wasn't eating or drinking. She had been eating and drinking fine, I would see four(I only have four) chicks eating and drinking. She just wasn't interested. I would dip her beak, and she would drink that, then run away. If I set her down near the feeder or the waterer, no results. She would look down at the food/water, stare for a second, then just run away. She knew the food and water were there, she looked at them, and she just wasn't interested in having any.

Yesterday, I saw her eat a bit from the feeder. She's still doing a little tiny bit of that, didn't see any this afternoon though. She will not drink from the waterer. I fed her drops of water off my finger; she would put her beak up and drink it. Yesterday night I started offering her plain tap water(they all drink tap water, I don't have a filter attached) in a plastic cup I used to offer them mash in as a treat. She drank from that, and today as well. She seems thirsty, as she drank more than the other three chicks(who all have no problem drinking and eating). She won't eat much from the feeder, so I feed her crumbles from my hand. She attacks those, and eats some off the ground. I saw her peck at some pine shavings on Sunday, can't tell if she ate some.

She is pooping; the poops are a bit small but still look normal.

Last night I finally had the idea to feel her crop. It's much smaller than the other chicks', feels soft and squishy. It feels very empty, but with some liquid in there. As I massage it, occasionally I feel a small "gas bubble" that if I press it gently upwards, it will "pop". They haven't been outside before. The only treats they have had are hard boiled egg and yogurt, stopped feeding treats after I noticed this.

She always acts like there is water in her beak. When she eats, she doesn't seem to just peck like the others do. She picks the crumble up with her beak, but in order to get it down she has to kind of jerk her head in a forward/backward motion. It's hard to explain. It has nothing to do with the size of the crumble, she still does it when the crumble is pretty small(which I know because I am hand-feeding her).

She is still active and cheeping away, but sleeping more that normal. She also seems to be growing a bit slower than the other chicks.

1) What type of bird , age and weight.
EE pullet. I'm going to guess the age at around 3 weeks, don't know the weight.
2) What is the behavior, exactly.
Not eating and drinking, sleeping more than usual.
3) How long has the bird been exhibiting symptoms?
Since Sunday.
4) Are other birds exhibiting the same symptoms?
No.
5) Is there any bleeding, injury, broken bones or other sign of trauma.
No.
6) What happened, if anything that you know of, that may have caused the situation.
I thought maybe she ate some pine shavings, but she is pooping.
7) What has the bird been eating and drinking, if at all.
Chick starter(think it's medicated) and tap water.
8) How does the poop look? Normal? Bloody? Runny? etc.
Normal, a bit small.
9) What has been the treatment you have administered so far?
Fed her food and water.
10 ) What is your intent as far as treatment? For example, do you want to treat completely yourself, or do you need help in stabilizing the bird til you can get to a vet?
I think this is a problem that can be solved and home and would prefer to do that.
11) If you have a picture of the wound or condition, please post it. It may help.
12) Describe the housing/bedding in use
Two printer boxes taped together. Waterer and food at the cool side.
The lamp is a table lamp set on the floor of the brooder with a 100w bulb.
The bedding on the bottom is newspaper. However, I have put in two shoe boxes in the brooder underneath the lamp. One has dirt from the garden in it, the other has pine shavings. The pine shavings I covered with a paper towel last night in case she had been eating some.
 
barnie.gif


She pecked and ate some crumbles from the ground, then a little bit more from the feeder. Drank some water from the plastic cup again. Why can't she just drink from the waterer like a good healthy chickie!

I think she poops less often than the other chicks, most likely due to the fact that she eats less? Her crop is still small and emptry--I think the fact that it's empty makes it feel softer than it is.
 
can you try making their crumbles kinda like gruel, that way she is getting some liquid in with her food.. She might just need a little bit of help getting a good start, as for not drinking out of the waterer, I haven't the foggest..
 
Last edited:
Quote:
When I first got my four chicks from the feed store, the other EE would not eat or drink; the RIR would not drink. The EE in question right now and the BR were eating and drinking. I made mush with water and crumbles and then all four were eating and drinking. Then this EE just stopped eating and drinking!
sad.png


Also she will drink sometimes; maybe she just wasn't thirsty when I tried again later.
idunno.gif
 
Last edited:
She kept pecking at the pine shavings on the table when I had her up there again, didn't peck at the food right in front of her, even when I tapped it with my finger.
barnie.gif
I had to feed it to her by hand. She drank more out of the plastic cup, this time I didn't have to hold the cup up--she drank it from ground level, I'm hoping that's a good sign.
 
I'm wondering if she is having problems seeing, have you looked at her eyes, do they appear cloudy or do they look normal.. just trying to think of things that could be causing this.
 
Quote:
Looks fine. Also when she pecks at food from my hand, she definitely knows where the food is. No pasty butt, can't seem to find any problems.
idunno.gif


She is no longer eating from the feeder.
sad.png
When I put the plastic cup with water in it at ground level, she still drinks. I am getting the feeling that she is just following my hand whenever it's there. Again, her eyes look clear so maybe she just sees lots of fuzzy and not very well? But that should not affect her eating and drinking, because they are in standard poultry feeder/waterer and a big red thing shouldn't be too hard to see.
 
well maybe she is just slow, you know it happens in people so I'm sure it can happen in the animal world. what if you just left her to her own devices would she just not eat or drink?
 
Quote:
idunno.gif
This will be my only chicks(they will be my small flock) and so I just really don't want to lose them. Her crop is small and empty when I come back in the afternoon; I feed her in the mornings and when I get back, and sometimes before I go to bed. She seems to be active, so maybe she really is eating and drinking. However, when I look in on them, she's usually just sleeping. She also scratches around in the dirt they have in there sometimes. She used to eat and drink about the same amount as the other chicks, not so anymore. She also doesn't seem to be growing much, if at all.
 
I know you don't want to lose her or any of them, I would feel the same way, but most chicks are either eating or sleeping at this stage of their lives so she must be getting some nourishment other than when you feed her, or she would probably be sick. do you give them chick grit? most say to sprinkle it on the bottom of the brooder instead of putting it in their feed bowl... I wish I could tell you what is wrong and how to fix it, but I just don't know, Have you tried giving her baby vitamins, poly-vi-sol with out iron? sometimes that gives them the boost they need to catch up.. No pasty butt?
 

New posts New threads Active threads

Back
Top Bottom