3 week old chick injured or sick?

[Lochloosachicks]

Even after I let her drink on her own I heard the gurgling. Could this be her injury causing her to aspirate or from yesterday. I only hear it when she trying to swallow.

 

[Wyorp Rock]

Thank you. She made it through the night. She was standing this morning all fluffed up.

Do you think I should use save a chick or polyvisol? Her neck seems pretty straight but she started doing that backing up thing last night. She is now chirping occasionally, she wasn't making any noise at all for a while.
She is only drinking when I dip her beak in water. When I syringe feed her she has a harder time swallowing. I will pick up a tiny syringe today that I can make sure is going down the correct hole. I feel like she aspirated a little yesterday. I heard the gurgling clicking after she drank yesterday. It eventually stopped, but I'm not sure what to do about that.

It would be hard to know if the gurgling is due to injury or aspiration, but I would think that she would be wheezing a little if she aspirated liquids.

If she will drink on her own if you hold it to her, try to see if she will eat a wet slurry on her own. Little ones it's hard to syringe feed them, but if that's the only way, then you have no choice.

You can use either the sav-a-chick or polyvisol - I would pick which ever one has the most Vitamin E.

 

[Lochloosachicks]

I'm uploading an updated video. The neck appears fine, but she is now acting as if she cant walk forward. She wasn't really walking before so I'm not sure if that's new, but she is definitely backing into things. Should I be giving her antibiotics as well?

 

[Wyorp Rock]

She may be suffering from Wry Neck which can be due to injury, vitamin E deficiency and certain diseases.

I would offer 400IU Vitamin E daily along with 1/4crushed tablet of human B-Complex vitamins. Give her a little egg for Selenium.

She may have been developing neurological symptoms and that caused her to get her neck hung in the cage or getting hung in the cage may have caused the symptoms - it would be hard to know.

Antibiotics should not be given prophylactically unless you suspect some type of infection.

 

[Lochloosachicks]

Okay, thanks. What is 400 IU vitamin E. Can I get that at tractor supply?

 

[Wyorp Rock]

You can purchase Vitamin E capsules at most drug stores or Walmart

Here's an example of what "400 IU" looks like - its the "dosage" or "units"

 

[Lochloosachicks]

I thought I had them at home after you showed me what they were, but I was wrong. Do you think tuna omegas would work?

 

[Wyorp Rock]

I thought I had them at home after you showed me what they were, but I was wrong. Do you think tuna omegas would work?

The Tuna omega that you are showing only has 5 IU of Vitamin E. It would be best to get Vitamin E capsules along with a B-Complex.

 

[Lochloosachicks]

Thank you for your help. I've got the correct vitamin e. How many capsules should I make sure it gets daily? And also, when should I expect to see improvement? It chirping a lot, but still walking backwards, shaking it's head some and unable to eat on it's own. I think mostly bc it can't make it to the dish.

 

[Wyorp Rock]

Thank you for your help. I've got the correct vitamin e. How many capsules should I make sure it gets daily? And also, when should I expect to see improvement? It chirping a lot, but still walking backwards, shaking it's head some and unable to eat on it's own. I think mostly bc it can't make it to the dish.

Give her a total of 400IU daily - if the capsules are 400IU each, only squeeze one out into her feed each day.

As for when you will see improvement, no one can know. A lot depends on how extensive her injury/condition is and the actual cause. If she is not able to eat/drink on her own, try to help her as often as you can. I would you need to try about every 1-1.5hrs. Get her hydrated first, then give food each time.