4-week old orpington with decreased, strange appetite but

[ChickenZiy1207]

Hi all,

I've got currently 4 chicks in the brooder. This one in particular is a buff orpington, about 3-4 weeks old. She's pretty well feathered, almost fully. Recently, I've noticed that she's been eating a lot of the shavings that land in her feeding bowl, but not really interested in the wet mash I've been feeding them. She eats a lot of the shavings, but not much of the food, maybe a few bites here and there. The other chicks have a much greater appetite, and I'm worried because she feels a lot lighter to hold compared to her identical sister, (also 3-4 weeks) and doesn't eat nearly as much. I don't think it's cocci, because there's currently amprol in their water.

Yesterday, when I felt her crop, it felt like there was a hard mass there, and she was jerking her body like chickens with an impacted crop do. I gave her some water with a tiny bit of epsom salt dissolved into it, and some olive oil through a dropper. After she slept, the mass seemed to be gone, but she still wasn't really interested in eating.

She'll drink water regularly and her poop is normal (solid, no diarrhea or discoloration) and she's still pretty active and attentive. She likes to try and bite my hair and comes up to me every time I approach her. She just really only wants to eat the wood shavings that land in the feeding bowl. This morning, her crop was completely empty but her appetite hasn't returned. I had to handfeed her bite-sized bits of egg, which she really liked. She just doesn't show enthusiasm towards anything in her feeding bowl besides those shavings.

Any help would be appreciated! I'm really worried she's going to loose all her weight and die.

Vid of her: https://photos.app.goo.gl/L4DxyotGGtBaRsN18

 

[rosemarythyme]

Do they have appropriate size grit available?

I'd also offer the option of dry feed, she might just prefer it over wet.

With the brooder, are you using a heat lamp or do you have enough light on at night that the chicks are eating around the clock? I prefer my chicks to be on a true day/night cycle, so they don't eat at night and clear out their crops by morning.

 

[ChickenZiy1207]

Do they have appropriate size grit available?
View attachment 3843022

I'd also offer the option of dry feed, she might just prefer it over wet.

With the brooder, are you using a heat lamp or do you have enough light on at night that the chicks are eating around the clock? I prefer my chicks to be on a true day/night cycle, so they don't eat at night and clear out their crops by morning.

Thanks for the response! I don't currently have grit, but I've been planning to scrounge some up tomorrow when I change their bedding. I'll try with the dry feed! Hopefully she'll like it. Could it be that, instead of grit, she's using woodchips to help her digest?

For the brooder, there's a heat lamp that stays on constantly through the night (there are some younger chicks in there, about 2-3 weeks). But, we put a curtain over it to create a shadow, and the chicks interpret that as "bedtime" and fall asleep after that. Usually their food runs out by then too, but lately I've been restocking it so they can eat overnight.

 

[rosemarythyme]

Could it be that, instead of grit, she's using woodchips to help her digest?

It's actually normal for chicks to sample their bedding, dirt, poop, anything they can get their mouths on. It's only a problem if they start ingesting large quantities of it.

For the brooder, there's a heat lamp that stays on constantly through the night (there are some younger chicks in there, about 2-3 weeks). But, we put a curtain over it to create a shadow, and the chicks interpret that as "bedtime" and fall asleep after that. Usually their food runs out by then too, but lately I've been restocking it so they can eat overnight.

You might want to look into ceramic bulbs, which only emit heat, not light, or alternate heat sources like heat plates, mama heating pads, etc. Because if they're kept up at night they should be allowed to have food and water (as they're intermittently awake and active), but then their crops never really get a chance to empty out either.

 

[ChickenZiy1207]

It's actually normal for chicks to sample their bedding, dirt, poop, anything they can get their mouths on. It's only a problem if they start ingesting large quantities of it.

You might want to look into ceramic bulbs, which only emit heat, not light, or alternate heat sources like heat plates, mama heating pads, etc. Because if they're kept up at night they should be allowed to have food and water (as they're intermittently awake and active), but then their crops never really get a chance to empty out either.

I'll look into them! Currently though, since I have her impacted crop treatment, her crop has seemed very empty. Maybe the grit and routine will help.