I have a chick that I think is sick.... I need help..... I have no idea how to help her!

[SarniaTricia]

Age: 5 weeks
Breed: Freedom Ranger
Issue: smaller than her sisters, Sits with eyes half closed, Abdomen appears swolen and it is warm, I picked her up and gentley turned her an gently pressed and she screamed and I thought I had killed her (she went limp and seemed dead)

I can't find the cable to post pictures!!!!
ANy help is appreciated PLEASE!

 

[SarniaTricia]

I looked up ... in the search.... I tried the olive oil and q-tip in her vent and fed her some olive oil..... she did poop after I messed with her.... any ideas anyone....

Thanks

 

[klmclain1]

What are you feeding her?

 

[SarniaTricia]

She is on medicated chick starter, I put a little grass in the brooder the other day and I always have a little dish of sand or dirt in there too.
(I would have responded earlier, but my wirless is not reliable)
her crop today seems hard and full.

Any thoughts?
thanks

 

[WI FarmChick]

I am by no means an expert. I never had this happen to me yet. Now I could be very wrong on this....
But from what I have read and what you have said it sounds like an impacted crop. this below was taken from here on BYC from another post. the whole post link below. Good luck

Olive oil, or Vegetable oil should be fine and mineral oil as well(I have used both when out of olive oil). Continue using the oil. Drip about 1/4 tsp down his throat and massage the crop in a downward motion--gentley break up the impacted material with your hand and stroke downward like you're working it out of his crop. If he's pooping, that's good. It means he's clearing his crop. NO food at this time. I have kept a bird with impacted crop off of food up to 48 hours. Just fresh water for now. Give the oil about every 4-6 hours. You can give him yogurt as it has good probiotics and won't cause impaction. Once his crop has cleared, I would only give him chick food for the first day or two, just to make sure everything is cleared out. Good luck and keep us posted!

https://www.backyardchickens.com/t/532667/impacted-crop

 

[SarniaTricia]

well she is still hanging in ..... the crop issue is gone and she seems a bit livelier. she still looks scruffy and her tail is down and she is breathing with her whole body. i guess time will tell...

 

[leadwolf1]

Is she sitting all poofed up? If so, I would start her on Corrid for coccidia right away. You don't have to see diarrhea or blood for coccidia to be the cause.

You can buy corrid at tsc and many other farm stores. Put it in her water. For the first couple doses I would medicate her with an eye dropper to make sure that she is getting some. Just as much as she would normally drink and every 4 hours...or until you notice her drinking on her own.

 

[KimKimWilliamso]

I have four 5 week chicks. At 2 weeks, they all started fluffing up and acting lethargic and having bloody poos. I freaked out thinking it was Coccidia, even though I am feeding them medicated feed. After scrambling to find a solution, a million a internet searches, advice from stupid feed store employees, etc i broke down and called the guy I got the chicks from. He said he doubted it was Coccidia. He said when he sees symptoms like these, he ads a powdered antibiotic to their water for several days or until symptoms clear up. I did this, what I bought was called Tetracycline. Worked wonders!!!

Wel now my chicks are estimated 6 weeks old, and I have one chick of al four displaying these symptoms again. She is still, sleepy, eyes half closed all the time. She still eats and drinks, though significantly less than the others. I have started syringe feeding her the water with anitbiotic. Fingers crossed she perks up. I dont think her issue is crop impaction, but a bacterial infection in her gi tract. Time will tell.

 

[WI FarmChick]

You said she pooped when you messed with her....Is her plumbing plugged up?

 

[Birde]

Sand is not the best thing for their digestion. It's just not the same as chit grit. I swear by it. I have never had any of these problems & just in the past year have raised over 100 birds. Always uses grit & for greens I use alfalfa grass purchased in dried bails from the feed store. I use alfalfa as their bedding. I also use a nutritional supplemental Drench in their water as recommended.