4 day old chick- swollen vent , leaking clear foul smelling liquid

[JP101010]

hi
i purchased a 3 day old chick who was pasted up yesterday at the feed store so i purchased and brought home , soaked and gently removed all the poop- she seems a little hunched but alert. she will drink if i give her a drop on the end of her beak , not interested in food. 2 poops(normal) on the first day and some sugar in the water she seemd better in the morning on day 2 (today) bright alert chirping , pecking around at food- nothing noticable in crop. i can blow dry her vent area and abdomen and literally 15 minutes later its soaking wet (clear liquid leaking from vent). she seems to every once in a while stand up straight and chirp like in pain- seems like shes trying to poop- her vent is twitcing. there is a foul smell from the wet vent area. she also has gas. she hasnt pooped today but hasnt really eaten anything substantial.
i work for an emergency animal clinic and my boss does not treat birds.. i will be bringing her in tonight although i believe my boss will be apt to euthanasia( she grew up on a chicken farm) vs. treating her as a patient.

any suggestions? i would love to see her pull through this shes such a fighter

 

[Miss Lydia]

Once a poster said that he puts sand in the brooder and also feeds ground up regular oatmeal along with the chick starter and it clears up pasty butt. Maybe trying these 2 suggestions will help your chick. I have also read where people will cut a piece of sod dirt and all and put in the brooder for the chicks.

 

[JP101010]

Thankyou for your quick reply. i just got home with her. my vet/boss does not treat avian patients but she offered the best of what she could which was metronidazole and an Antibiotic. because she only weighs 3 grams her dose is is tricky. now its a wait and see situation. hopefully her vent will stop leaking and her appetite will come back- til then sugar water and meds and attempts at syringe feeding start n grow made into soup. i will keep everyone posted

 

[ScotianChick]

I give my chicks cornmeal to get rid of pasty butt! Try a little of that!

 

[JP101010]

after a couple of doses of her meds she seems to be doing better- running around chirping loudly , she still wont eat out of a dish but she will readily peck drips off of a syringe of water or start n grow crumble made into paste. at least theres something in her crop. her bottom is still wet but i did see somewhat formed poop stuck on there. i can tell shes feeling a little better because now shes all squirmy when i bathe her booty. I dont want to get too excited just yet the prognosis is still guarded , but shes definitely a fighter! this is her picture form yesterday , you can see how terrible she felt , today shes much more open eyed and alert- running after my hand like its momma chicken herself lol.
shes going to make an awesome pet chicken because she is soo comfortble being held any which way. she is lonely because i have to have her isolated and possibly for 6 weeks after.. anyone ever heard of giving a single chick a tiny stuffed animal or something maybe a sock of rice heated in the microwave sort of like a an artificial huddle buddy? i gave her a fluffy sock rolled into a cave and she loved it stayed in it all night , but im afraid her toenails will get caught orshe will be too weak to find her way out of the sock.... worried mama , always

 

[ms.cluckling]

my first chicken was very lonely, being alone from the moment he hatched out of his egg.
so I gave him a stuffed animal (a kitten, about his size) and it kept him company. I also took a small box (from an alarm clock) and cut a square hole in the bottom, on the side and through the top. he slept in this little box (placed in the brooder) and everymorning hopped out through the hole in the top and ate breakfast next to his kitten. A few weeks later I bought 3 more chicks (each a day old) to be his friends. Despite the age difference, they got along quite well. 3 months later, he is a fine rooster (a white leghorn).
He pasted up when he was little, but I took a wet kleenex tissue and wiped his vent area daily, and let it air dry. He was fine in the end.
So, it just goes to show that stuffed animals are good friends to chickens, as long as it is soft and downy, and there is a cure for pasty butt.
Also, if she is still lonely you may want to hold her in front of the mirror some time. So she thinks there is another chicken. Either that, or consider buying her a couple friends--chickens are very social.

 

[JP101010]

thanks for your advice. unfortunately this little one has more than a pasty butt

.. vet said most likely a major intestinal infection or infection in the cloaca. her growth is so stunted and shes very underweight.. we are in a battle with dehydration as well. we will definetly look for a tiny stuffed animal and perhaps try the box. because there is so much urea content to the leaking liquid it is making her skin very irritated. and she wont air dry- so much leakage that i rinse and blow dry her bottom and by the time i put her back in the brooder box shes soaked again. im hoping its not a birth defect in the cloaca.. no significant BMs since the day i got her home which was 2 days ago , but shes not eating so we cant expect alot. and i would love to put her in with other chicks her age but vet said it would be wise to keep her isolated so the other ones arent at risk- waiting for a decent BM so we can have its microscopically examined to rule out whether she is contagious.

 

[Miss Lydia]

sure hope she pulls through, sounds like your doing everything you can for her..

 

[JP101010]

Im sad to report that this little baby passed last night

.... we feel good knowing we did much more than most and she spent her final days warm and snuggled up...sometimes thats all you can ask for.


thankyou for everyones advice.

 

[Caat]

sorry for your loss