4 1/2 week old chick in need of help

[jonalisa]

Try boiling an egg and mashing up the yolk super fine, to see if she will eat it, I gave my chicks scrambled eggs with yogurt when they started to get poopy butt...it went away immediately maybe she just needs a little protein boost

I tried she won't eat that or yogurt. She is pecking at the feed, but only if I wet it. Even then, she's only talking tiny amounts. Tried baby food and cat food also.

 

[jonalisa]

This isn’t the post, I can’t find the exact one, but this one has some good pics and descriptions. Mine had the air bubble over or under the shoulder depending how you look at it, it’s such a small space, idk it’s hard to describe but between the wing and the crop on the crop side, and I believe the air was accumulating and preventing the crop from taking in food, and if it got any in, the air bubble pressing would squeeze it back out.

https://www.backyardchickens.com/th...subcutaneous-emphysema.1432594/#post-23641261

@casportpony Do you think my chick could have an air sac issue, judging from the photos? She is puffed up, eyes closed much of the time. I have never felt food in her crop and she has stopped growing. I don't have any avian vets here so I'm on my own.

 

[jonalisa]

@casportpony Do you think my chick could have an air sac issue, judging from the photos? She is puffed up, eyes closed much of the time. I have never felt food in her crop and she has stopped growing. I don't have any avian vets here so I'm on my own.

Sorry, so I went and looked at her chest, belly and under her wings. No bubble that I can feel or see.
I have never felt food in her crop. She is skeletal. She is starving..

 

[Eggcessive]

Sorry that I have not been keeping up with this thread as I should have, but I have only been online every now and thempn lately. I think there is probably some other issue that is going on with her. It might be some organ failure, or she might be a failure to thrive chick. You are doing all you can do. Checking for a ruptured air sac was good to do. Usually when you see a chick with that, there is a large puffy area somewhere on the body that is air. When my 2 week old chick had that, it involved the whole right side. I needled it and deflated it a few rimes, and it helped.

It sounds like there is some improvement today. Mushy, watery feed can be tube fed several times a day. Apart from tube feeding, you can give some liquids done the chick’s right side of the throat that this article shows in the pictures:
https://unitedpeafowlassociation.org/articles/oral-medication-dosing-of-peafowl/

Here is a good video of tube feeding:

 

[jonalisa]

Sorry that I have not been keeping up with this thread as I should have, but I have only been online every now and thempn lately. I think there is probably some other issue that is going on with her. It might be aome organ failure, or she might be a failure to thrive chick. You are doing all you can do. Checking for a ruptured air sac was good to do. Usually when you see a chick with that, there is a large puffy area somewhere on the body that is air. When my 2 week old chick had that, it involved the whole right side. I needled it and deflated it a few rimes, and it helped.

It sounds like there is some improvement today. Mushy, watery feed can be tube fed several times a day. Apart from tube feeding, you can give some liquids done the chick’s right side of the throat that this article shows in the pictures:
https://unitedpeafowlassociation.org/articles/oral-medication-dosing-of-peafowl/

Here is a good video of tube feeding:

Thanks for your post.

I just made an appt with a vet down in MA for tomorrow at 2pm.
She sees all kinds of animals. I'll update when I get back.

 

[Jen1989]

Hi, and thanks so much for posting. She is still drinking water. I haven't seen her poops, partly because of these stupid wood chips that I will never use again, lol.
There was only that one time she "threw up" and I tend to think maybe I picked her up right after she drank.
I asked to speak to someone on MPC about medical issues... They question whether there is a potential Corid overdose. They advised me to stop, switch to clean water, get rid of sod, feed only non-medicated feed. Offer plain yogurt mixed with scrambled egg, which she is not really eating.

hmmm, but she was not well before you started to administer corid right? either way, at this point shes due to finish the corid treatment anyway. The regurgitation would mean her crop would be near full with liquid for some to come back up when you picked her up... I'm wondering if she had some kind of infection and drank a lot of water due to running a temperature (hence the regurgitation) and her body's managed to fight the infection by itself.... chickens can get gastrointestinal infections that would reduce their appetite

 

[ninja333pirate]

you can take a raw egg yolk and use that dropper you were using for the corid and pry open her beak then hold her head from the back with your thumb and index finger holding her beak open and use your arm to and or palm to keep her in place so she doesn't pry her head out of your hands and then drip the egg yolk into her beak don't make her swallow it let her do that on her own. You should be able to force her to eat a whole egg yolk this way it should give her some extra nutrients that she may be missing from not eating, you can also add some yogurt to this to add some probiotics to the mix.

Unfortunately I don't know what is wrong I with her but this way you can force her to get some extra nutrients and calories in her diet. if you can make some chick feed up to be thin enough to not clog up the dropper then you can also force feed her really wet chick feed as well. I would definitely add nutri drench to her water to also increase what she gets from even just drinking water.

 

[jonalisa]

Okay so, went to a vet down in MA who is my cousin's son and his wife. They have a vet practice and see all kinds of animals.
So, will have results of a fecal tomorrow, as Ruby was so kind as to poop during exam.
They didn't find any obvious issues, mechanical or otherwise... They think that tube feeding for a short period of time may jump start her growth and appetite.
Today she did eat very often throughout the day, but very tiny pecks.
They gave me a syringe/tube, showed me how, and I watched the tube feed videos that @Eggcessive suggested.... So tonight I did my first tube feeding of Ruby.
I'll do 2ml twice a day for 2 days. Then work up to 2 syringes full per day.
I am hopeful this is all Ruby needs.

 

[SusanMc]

Hey Girl,

How is you chick doing?

 

[jonalisa]

Hey Girl,

How is you chick doing?

Well, I see her pecking food all day long, but only the wet feed and only small grains. She's still the same size, gah! As someone who is barely 5' tall, I feel her pain.
So I fed her with the tube last night, but only a watery version will fit up the tube.
She has moments where she is joining the flock in scratching the floor or sandbox, but is under the heater often. She's still puffed up and sometimes has her eyes closed whenstanding alone, head down.
Funny, during the 45 min ride to the vet she seemed happy to have sun on her and laid down, looking relaxed.

I think the vet feels that tube feeding will jump start her...but also waiting on a fecal test.
Thanks for checking in!