Constipated Chick, Need Help!!

[oz_sprog]

One of our 2 week old chicks is severely constipated. It's backside is swollen badly and is slightly bleeding (I think). I've isolated it from the rest, who are super healthy and bouncing around like mad and have been applying triple antibiotic to it. I've tried to loosen the stool with a warm damp cloth and it's helped a bit but this fella is much smaller than the rest and not very active.

Does anyone have any advice?

 

[silkiechicken]

Once you make sure the vent is not blocked by wiping it clean, make sure the chick stays hydrated. Beyond that, a bit of olive oil in the diet may help, but it's just going to be wait and see if things can move more slowly. If it is swollen, it could be a blockage or something of the sort.

 

[puckbunny87]

Prune juice.... you can get little tiny bottles of it in the baby food aisle.

Just a little bit though... and olive oil, and make sure she drinks enough water.

 

[oz_sprog]

I think that's the problem, it won't drink. Any advice to encourage it to drink?

 

[Nefertiti]

If the warm cloth doesn't work for it, try a rather warm (not hot) bath. - An old butter tub will work fine for a young chick, we use an old ice chest for grown birds-. Cover bottom part of back with water, you may have to hold bird up once it starts to relax. Let soak 10 mins or more depending on severity. Bird may achieve partial relieve while in the bath, but usually really lets loose when it's out of water and you're trying to get it warm and dry. Yes, that was a warning.
Sore, chapped or raw tissue on poor little baby will appreciate a dab or two of Blitex, (or whatever chapped lip remeday you use).

 

[silkiechicken]

Dip its beak into water and it should pick up on the drinking thing relatively fast.

 

[oz_sprog]

Thanks for all the advice folks, unfortunately the chick didn't make it. Good news is the others are all bouncing off the walls with health.

 

[puckbunny87]

Aww, I'm sorry Oz

 

[johndrean]

I'm sorry to hear this chick didn't make it...

I have 2 Delawares that are going through the same thing. They've been having issues for about a week now... I wanted to post a reply since this is the thread I found when searching for ways to help the little girls.

I've been trying to feed them yogurt mixed with their food and a little bit of sand, but it doesn't seem to make a huge difference. I do notice that when they try to go its a lot dryer than my other 3 chicks. I think that these two haven't been drinking enough water...?

I found a small squeezable bottle with a little spout on it and mixed some olive-oil and water together. If I hold one and place a little droplet of water on the tip of her beak she will drink it, then I can keep getting a little more in her mouth slowly. I held one for about 30mins doing this last night, and lo-and-behold, we had take-off!

I was very relieved that she went without help after that.

I'll be keeping up this treatment as long as I can... but any other suggestions would be welcome for those of us that are trying to manage this problem. I think I'll be picking up some prune juice today to hopefully speed things along as well.

Does anyone know if there is a cause of this problem, or is it simply that they are babies with delicate systems?
We had wood shavings for bedding, and I did feed them some sand. Could I have caused this problem? I'm covering their bedding with paper towels now. I think I read that idea somewhere else here.
Should I avoid giving them anything other than the chick food until they are fully feathered out...?

Thanks again for ideas!

 

[johndrean]

I wanted to post an update on my girls...

I never found a solution that actively seemed to help the problem. I tried to rinse them with water and apply gentle pressure to clear the clogs and that was the best I really could do other than making sure they were drinking. The chicks would just cry when they were plugged up and I would come help as much as I could (by cleaning them up).

They finally both grew out of it, although it took one a lot longer than the other. I was very worried that I would have trouble with egg laying from these two, since the had such a rough go.

Sadly, 2 of my 3 Delawares escaped their coop while I was away at work (I think they were 10 weeks at the time) and my dog played with them too roughly. So they were lost.

But Cindy Lou, who had the worst constipation survived.

She's doing great! She's now a daily layer of beautiful red eggs.