Help! Dead Chick with Gaping Vent!! **WARNING GRAPHIC PIC**

[HarrisBrood]

Woke up to two of my 5 week old chicks dead with gaping vents. I am not sure what happened. They are 2 of 15 in a brooder on my porch since the weather is warming up and they aren't needing a heat lamp. They've been on the porch for a little over a week and it's been fine. They get feed and water every day. Anyone have a clue? The puzzling part about it is that they didn't show any signs of a predator since usually a predator will bite off some part of them. Though, I didn't see any bite marks on them.

 

[HarrisBrood]

Pictures are always helpful.

I uploaded one. Thanks.

 

[azygous]

The most obvious cause of death is overcrowding and brooder boredom and frustration. Chicks confined to a space too small to move around freely and to escape more aggressive individuals will suffer injuries to the vent, which is an enticingly vulnerable part of the body.

Many years ago in the 1950s my uncle ran a commercial chicken farm producing meat birds for a major meat company. I was only ten but I could easily see the overcrowded conditions, and following my uncle around as he gleaned the dead chicks that had died overnight, I could see the wounded vent injuries inflicted by their mates.

At five weeks, chicks should already be living outside in a coop and have a spacious run to move around in. What are the dimensions of your brooder? I bet it's much too small for this stage of chick development.

 

[HarrisBrood]

Is this actually the vent, or the abdomen.

It is the vent.

 

[HarrisBrood]

Is this actually the vent, or the abdomen.

The most obvious cause of death is overcrowding and brooder boredom and frustration. Chicks confined to a space too small to move around freely and to escape more aggressive individuals will suffer injuries to the vent, which is an enticingly vulnerable part of the body.

Many years ago in the 1950s my uncle ran a commercial chicken farm producing meat birds for a major meat company. I was only ten but I could easily see the overcrowded conditions, and following my uncle around as he gleaned the dead chicks that had died overnight, I could see the wounded vent injuries inflicted by their mates.

At five weeks, chicks should already be living outside in a coop and have a spacious run to move around in. What are the dimensions of your brooder? I bet it's much too small for this stage of chick development.

This is a very reasonable explanation. I am in the process of moving them outside to a much larger area.

 

[MysteryChicken]

It is the vent.

It is hard telling for sure with the picture. Reason I was asking.

 

[azygous]

@MysteryChicken has a valid point. Often, when we post a photo here, we neglect to provide context. This means that it helps to include something in the photo besides the subject that helps us understand what we're seeing in relation to the whole chicken or even just to help us judge the size of the subject.

In this case, it helps to not only show a closeup of the wounded body part, but to show another photo of the whole chick in relation to the wounded body part so we can place the wound in the context of the whole chick.

In the case of a small subject like a chicken poop, it helps to show a ruler next to the poop for size, and also try to put the poop on a contrasting background for more clarity.

In other words, our brains need clues as to what we're seeing since we are not able to view the subject in three dimensions. More times than not, extensive word descriptions are necessary in addition to a photo in order for us to understand what were seeing.

 

[MysteryChicken]

Woke up to two of my 5 week old chicks dead with gaping vents. I am not sure what happened. They are 2 of 15 in a brooder on my porch since the weather is warming up and they aren't needing a heat lamp. They've been on the porch for a little over a week and it's been fine. They get feed and water every day. Anyone have a clue? The puzzling part about it is that they didn't show any signs of a predator since usually a predator will bite off some part of them. Though, I didn't see any bite marks on them.

Pictures are always helpful.

 

[azygous]

Can you elaborate on "gaping vent"?

 

[HarrisBrood]

Can you elaborate on "gaping vent"?

I uploaded a picture. I hope it helps explain.