Baby chick gasping for air

[cpendergraff]

I had a baby chick hatch on Sunday. She was fine (acted a little tired, but I just assumed she was resting from her hatch) until I went to check on them last night and found her laying on her side and the other chicks walking all over her. I thought she was dead and quickly picked her up, but she was still breathing.

She had her eyes closed and was making a little clicking noise when she breathed. Her breath is very labored and se appears to be gasping for air. I have her water and she drank. I moved her back to the incubator to keep her away from the other chicks. She's still alive this morning. I cleaned her vent and added a drop of ACV to her water. She drank again, but she has not improved.

What do I do?

 

[Megan Amber]

Has she eaten already or just drank water. If she has eaten then it could be impacted craw? I don't know but I'll keep thinking about it!

 

[roostersandhens]

I am not an expert on chicken diseases or sicknessess but you could give her scrambled eggs that is what I was told to do when my hen was sick. I had a chick die, she did some of the things you described that your chick is doing.
Good Luck I hope ure chick gets better!

 

[CedarAcres]

Can you tell if she's eaten anything? Is there anything in her crop? I know if very young chicks eat any wood shavings from the brooder it can cause issues. Maybe try to feed her some mashed hard boiled egg yolk mixed with a little water, and just see if she takes it.

 

[farmboy22]

It might be that it is just a runt chick. I had a chick that sat in the corner looking gloomy and the next day it died. There is sometimes just a few that don't make it.

 

[roostersandhens]

I just found a thread with someone with a similar problem, the thread starter seems to have gotten some advice here is the link:
https://www.backyardchickens.com/t/...ks-breathing-fast-and-making-a-clicking-noise
Good Luck!

 

[cpendergraff]

Sadly, she passed away a few hours ago. My daughter and I buried her in the yard.

I don't think she had eaten. I personally hadn't witness her eat. The chicks are all pretty young 2-5 days old so they are just now in the past few days showing interest (i kept them in the incubator until they were 2 days old). I couldn't feel anything in her craw, but she was so tiny. She actually wasn't really a runt. She was sooo much bigger than the other chicks who were 2 days older than her. My brooder had sand, so I know it wasn't wood shavings or anything like that.

What do you do when the craw is impacted?

 

[Megan Amber]

Aww, I am sorry to hear she didn't make it and that I couldn't be of more help.

If it was impacted craw then you can take a drop or two of olive oil and drop it down her throat (easier said then done) and massage it until you fell it loosen. Sorry again about your chick!

 

[cpendergraff]

I'm sorry too.

I hate the thought of being unable to help because I'm naive and something as simple as that could have saved her. I did all that I could with what knowledge I had at the time.

BUT---I know now. Thanks everyone.

 

[tabba11]

So sorry! Very sad!