Baby Chick Poop Bound/Bowl Obstruction/Prolapse

[jflagler]

I did some searching in the forum and found some posts that seemed they might be relevant, but this is with a chick and not a full grown hen.

If this has already been addressed, please just point me in the right direction.

I received 16 chicks from McMurray Hatchery. I showed them how to drink, had heat for them, and have been feeding them medicated chick starter. I didn't have McMurray administer any vaccinations to the chicks.

The chicks are now about 3 weeks old. One chick seems to have an issue passing stool. When I first got them, I had maybe 3 or 4 chicks that I thought were at risk of getting pasty butt because they had a fair amount of poop stuck to their bottom so I cleaned them up as necessary. She was one of them. All of the others seem to be fine now, but she now struggles. I don't know if her port is infected and swollen and therefore causes her to strain to poop, but it's concerning. I have attached a picture of her trying.



She doesn't seem to be acting any different than any of the other chicks (eats, drinks, runs around) and she's actually one of the bigger chicks.

I was going to sort of treat it like she was egg bound and give her a warm bath to help her relax, but as I started running some water, she gave it one last go and passed a chick pea sized poop. There wasn't any blood in the stool, but there was a small spot of blood by her port presumably because her skin tore a little.

Some of the approaches I've read about, were to apply Preparation H or honey to their bottom, maybe even a topical antibiotic like Neosporin, and epsom salt baths. What I don't know, is if any of these methods are appropriate for a 3 week old chick.

Should I be concerned? Is there something I need to do to help her? Should she be isolated from the other chicks? You're help and advice would be greatly appreciated!

 

[JoeyW]

I have the very same thing happening with one of my lil Buff Orps. It just started today. I didn't bathe her, I just wiped her bottom and vent off with warm water and applied some Prep. H. She pooped a big poop right after this but her little vent is still pinkish/red and sort of 'winking'.

(I say 'winking' because I have horses. Mares, when in heat; well their 'privates' 'wink'. It reminded me of that. It's the only way I can think of to describe what's going on!) Oh Jeez... What a reply this is, huh!? haha!

Mine chick isn't quite as bad as your lil gal, but worrisome just the same.
I looked all over for threads on weeks old chicks also and couldn't find any?

Try soaking her little bottom in warm water or use a soft rag & warm water and apply some Prep. H or maybe some Neosporin with Lidocaine in it for a little pain relief?

I hope she's feeling better. I'll keep doing the same with mine and hope for the best! Good Luck to you!

 

[Wyorp Rock]

Hi @jflagler Welcome To BYC

She has a prolapse.

Soak in a warm epsom salts bath, dry her well, apply some hemmoroid cream or honey to help reduce the swelling. Keep her cleaned up the best you can and reapply the cream or honey to keep the tissue moist, you don't want it to dry out. Soak a couple of times a day if you can.

It sounds like she is also constipated. Watch to see if she is drinking enough, dehydration makes it harder to go. You can add a small amount of molasses 1time to her water to see if that will help unstop her. Molasses act as a laxative.

Provide her with poultry vitamins and you may want to give her wet chick starter for a few days. imho, chick grit should be provided free choice for chicks, regardless if they are only eating chick starter.

 

[JoeyW]

Thank you SO much for the great advice!
I'm a first time Chick Momma and was having an awful time finding info for weeks old chicks! I had no idea this could happen to a baby!
Mine never really had a 'pasty' butt, I only noticed because I could actually see her vent. Poor baby!
I do have some chick grit, I'll put that out right away and keep up with keeping her cleaned up. I didn't put the grit out yet, as it says for 2 weeks and older. Mine will be 2 weeks old this coming week.
Thanks again so, so much! :> Chicken Peeps are the best!

 

[Wyorp Rock]

Thank you SO much for the great advice!
I'm a first time Chick Momma and was having an awful time finding info for weeks old chicks! I had no idea this could happen to a baby!
Mine never really had a 'pasty' butt, I only noticed because I could actually see her vent. Poor baby!
I do have some chick grit, I'll put that out right away and keep up with keeping her cleaned up. I didn't put the grit out yet, as it says for 2 weeks and older. Mine will be 2 weeks old this coming week.
Thanks again so, so much! :> Chicken Peeps are the best!

Welcome To BYC @JoeyW
Staying on top of keeping the bum cleared will help.

What are you brooder temperatures? Pasty butt can be caused by too much heat. Ideally only one spot in the brooder needs to be warm. Let the rest of the brooder be cool, place the water and feed on the cool end too.

 

[JoeyW]

Thank you for the welcome!
I've been keeping her as clean as I can, she's clearly not happy about that!
Water & food are on the opposite end of our brooder, it's fairly large so they can leave the warm spot.
I'll have to get a thermometer out to see exactly what my temp is.
I have a heater that the chicks can go under, rather than a light bulb heater. But the weather has been pretty warm here too, so that's added warmth.
Thanks again so very much for all your help and advice!

 

[jflagler]

@JoeyW & @Wyorp Rock Thank you both for the replies. I gave her an Epsom salt bath today and applied some hemorrhoid cream. I held her for probably 20 to 30 minutes afterward. She passed a massive amount while I was holding her which had to have been a relief. I will keep up the routine and try feeding her some wet chick feed. The brooder isn't heated anymore as they seemed to avoid the spot over which the light hung.

Since Epsom salt is a laxative for humans, could I add some of that to her water or would that make her dehydration worse? I will try these things out and I feel confident I will see results.

Thank you again for the helpful input!

 

[Wyorp Rock]

I wouldn't give the Epsom salts orally unless she completely stops pooping. Soaking like you did a couple of times a day can sometimes get thing moving like you saw.

Since she pooped a lot, get her hydrated, add some poultry vitamins to her water and see if she will eat some wet feed.

Keep us posted.

 

[Kiki]

I have the very same thing happening with one of my lil Buff Orps. It just started today. I didn't bathe her, I just wiped her bottom and vent off with warm water and applied some Prep. H. She pooped a big poop right after this but her little vent is still pinkish/red and sort of 'winking'.

(I say 'winking' because I have horses. Mares, when in heat; well their 'privates' 'wink'. It reminded me of that. It's the only way I can think of to describe what's going on!) Oh Jeez... What a reply this is, huh!? haha!

Mine chick isn't quite as bad as your lil gal, but worrisome just the same.
I looked all over for threads on weeks old chicks also and couldn't find any?

Try soaking her little bottom in warm water or use a soft rag & warm water and apply some Prep. H or maybe some Neosporin with Lidocaine in it for a little pain relief?

I hope she's feeling better. I'll keep doing the same with mine and hope for the best! Good Luck to you!

No No and no.
Never use neosporin or any other product with "pain relief" stuff in it.
It is bad bad bad for chickens.

 

[JoeyW]

OH WoW!
Just now saw your post to NOT use Neosporin! Thanks so much for the info! Thank goodness I just ended up using the Prep H on her! And BTW she's doing great now, thanks to the awesome help you both gave!
I'm guessing maybe the ointment/Neosporin would clog her up more? Or, is it something else that makes it a HUGE No No?