3 day Chick with Sore Bottom- UPDATED: My Chick Did Not Make It- what happened

[Elisabeth Rose]

Hi, We got 2 new chicks on Friday. They have both been vigorous until this morning. The RI Red baby had some poo stuck on her bum, so I washed it in warm water. However, her vent is swollen and it seems like she wants to poo but it's stuck. There's a little whitish poo, but nothing else. I put a tiny bit of A&D to lubricate it, but she seems wobbly. When I put her down, she seems to nearly fall on her face and puts her little wings out for balance. WHAT should I DO??
THANKS

 

[Eggcessive]

Her vent is bulging where she is close to having a prolapse. I would feed her a few drops of molasses or castor oil, which will act as a laxative. Dip her beak in water and make sure she is drinking plenty since that is the main cause for constipation and pasty butt in chicks. What is your brooder temperature?

 

[Elisabeth Rose]

Thanks for the help, Eggcessive! I have been feeding her water with a little brown sugar from a dropper, because I remembered that brown sugar helps babies (human). Would you give the molasses straight? Should I get up with her tonight to feed her?
Thanks for more advice!

 

[Elisabeth Rose]

Update: Pip is still alive. I have been feeding her water/molasses in a dropper. I did it every 2 hours overnight and every 1/2 hour to 1 hour today. I used Prep H on her bottom because I read to do that. Her bum looks much better. It still sticks out a little, but it's no longer swollen. She has been able to pass little poops and white liquidy poo. However, she isn't getting her strength back. She hides nestled in the heating pad in her container and isn't taking food or water on her own. She is peeping and alert when I hold her, but wobbly and I'm not sure if that's because her feathers are kind of greasy from the Prep H. The other chick is much bigger than she is, though that one was bigger to start wih . Anything else I can try- how long might it take for her to turn around??

 

[Eggcessive]

Okay, I would stop the molasses and give her electrolytes in her water now. You don't want her to get diarrhea form the molasses, and get dehydrated more now that she is pooping. Try feeding her some raw egg and add some water to a small amount of chick starter. Offer her those. Honey is a good alternative to the Prep H. These chicks don't always make it, but some will, so keep up the good work.

 

[Elisabeth Rose]

Eggcessive- I did not see your last reply until now. I wanted to thank you very much for trying to help. My little Pip did not make it. I fed her through the night for 2 nights with the dropper and I kept her bottom clean/ Prep H. The bottom looked much better on Monday, so I was hopeful. She still was weak, though. I held her a lot and kept her warm, fed every 1/2 hour. However, Monday night my daughter was holding her and asked, "why is her skin so translucent?" at 9pm. She had a little (pencil eraser) sized "cyst" or water/air filled "blister" on one side of her chest, by neck. By 9:30 it had grown to about a cubic inch and chick was only 3" long at only 5 days old. She just looked bad at that point and I didn't think she would make it. Iooked online for gentle ways to euthanize and CO2 tablet seemed like the best idea, but I didn't have any and live in the country, so no time to get one. I had a bottle of Tylenol with Codeine liquid and I fed her about 3 droppers of it. I thought it would "put her to sleep" quickly, but it took nearly an hour. However, she did not appear in pain. She was just cuddling in my hands and her heart rate and breathing kept getting slower until she went to heaven. It was horrible to go through. I hope she did not suffer.
I did take a picture of the "blister" but it's sad, so I will only post it if it would help someone tell me what happened. I was thinking maybe her lungs filled with fluid? I don't know much about chickens, but I've had 5 others and never any issues except one bleeding comb and minor frostbite. This was really hard. I did get 2 more little chicks yesterday so "Squeak" wouldn't be alone and the 3 are darling and very vigorous. The 2 new ones also love to be held and will sleep against your neck. So sweet. Here's a pix of the 3 today:

 

[Eggcessive]

So sorry that you lost her. It sounds like she could have suffered from a leaking air sac, also called subcutaneous emphysema or windpuff. It causes air to leak under the skin, and sometimes is due to trauma, but also can be from an infection. You did a good job trying to save her.