5wk chick having trouble pooping, red swollen vent - help!

[froggysmom]

...

I am having the EXACT same problem with my 2 Delawares as everyone is describing. It seems common and I wish someone knew exactly what it was and how to fix it.

I have that probiotic that you are showing and I sprinkled it on some lettuce and then on oat meal but they wanted nothing to do with it. How do you make sure your clicks are getting it? I am feeling desperate with these babies and their poop troubles. I have also tried prep H and molasses water. Tried isolation but they were MISERABLE so I let them back in with the group. They are eating and drinking but noticeably smaller than their flock mates.
Thank you for any help you can offer

 

[froggysmom]

@realsis
I have that same probiotic. I have 2 Delawares in my flock that are about 2 1/2 weeks old that are having the exact same problem as mentioned in this post. I have tried giving them sips of molasses in water and prepH. They are eating and drinking fine and are active. I had them separated but they were miserable so I put them back with the flock. They weren't being picked on so I didn't think it would hurt. My question is how do you get them to eat the probiotics? I had sprinkles some on oats and then on lettuce and they wanted nothing to do with it. Any help would be so appreciated be so appreciated. I am so worried about my babies. I wish I knew an exact cause and cure for their poop troubles.

 

[Cacique500]

Mix the probios into their water...I believe there are mixing instructions on the label IIRC...

http://www.probios.com/product-detail-page/?q=29

Less than 1 pound, 1/4 tsp per chick per day

1 to 10 pounds, 1/2 tsp per chicken per day. Can be mixed into water.

I remember mixing some into yogurt, and also adding some to their water when they were chicks.

 

[Eggsakly]

I have a two-week-old chick that had this problem for a couple of days. I noticed because of the seemingly inflamed vent tissue, and the poor little thing would cry out when trying to poop.

I shredded half an apple and grapes very fine and mixed the fruit with a high quality yogurt which I used to coat the fruit well. I gave this to all the chicks mid-afternoon of one day, and the next morning the ailing chick still displayed the symptoms. After a couple of hours, however, she let out a huge stool that started out extra firm and ended soft and wet. I continued with the apples and the yogurt the following

day. No more cries of pain from her for a day. Keeping my fingers crossed.

 

[JoycieBoycie]

Yes, best wishes to you in the recovery of your chicks. When my chick- Prissy, experienced this issue, I kept Q-Tips, Vasaline, Prep-H, and coconut oil at hand at all times. It took a lot of monitoring at almost all times of the day to help her recover. If she was straining, I helped her ease out the poop as not to clog up her vent, I would alternate between the Vasaline, Prep-H and coconut oil. I also had to start giving her water with a dropper every hour or so. When I noticed that she was making no effort to drink on her own, i started dipping her beak in the water every hour instead of the dropper. With that, she started drinking on her own and recovery sped up dramatucally. She is now 14 weeks old and doing EXCELLENT! Stay diligent and all will turn out well.

 

[Eggsakly]

I ended up having to nurse my little chick, a bantam, for a few weeks. Little Dumplin', who I now know is a girl, is almost 6 months old and she is laying like a champ. I placed her in a small pet carrier in my large brooder to keep her separate from the other chicks but with access to the heat lamp for warmth. The first thing I did was to start grinding her food in a coffee grinder. She was my smallest bantam and she couldn't handle the chick starter food. I made sure to include some crushed fresh grapes and yogurt in with the chick starter when I fed her. I very gently cleaned her vent area with a q-tip and tepid water before applying medication. I applied Preparation H a couple of times a day to her vent. She was immediately more comfortable and her heartrending cries whenever she pooped stopped altogether. It still took close to three weeks before she could go back in with the others and eat regular food, but she made it and has been fine ever since. She was the first of the four girls to lay an egg.

 

[stormrobin]

What kind of yogurt do you guys use? I just got a two week ish rid island red and she is straining to poor. Her vent isn't swollen or red buy i want to nip this issue in the butt. Could my girls issue be because she was older in the feed stores bin and was maybe over heating as the light is for little tiny chicks? She's on chick starter and I have a bowl of grit out I haven't seen her eat any yet though.

 

[3riverschick]

Not sand. Chick grit. Granite chick grit. Give the chick a bit of molasses. It will help unplug the chick. Best , Karen. Sandi's too small. Online check out : gran-i-grit PDF : . It has grit feeding schedule on second page.

 

[Eggsakly]

If she's having difficulty, soften her food by soaking it in water before giving it to her, or conversely, grinding it. If you grind it, still you should mix it with wetter foods, like the yogurt. Use plain, high quality yogurt with active cultures and without sugar. Just put her starter feed in a jar and add water until it is soaked and softened and a bit broken down for her.

Sometimes even the chick starter is a bit big or too much for them, and they need things a little easier to digest for a day or three.

 

[stormrobin]

Not sand. Chick grit. Granite chick grit. Give the chick a bit of molasses. It will help unplug the chick. Best , Karen. Sandi's too small. Online check out : gran-i-grit PDF : . It has grit feeding schedule on second page.

this is what I got at the feed store.