Baby chick vent pulsing

[alex88]

Hello! I am a new baby chick owner! Our 2 week old speckled sussex came home with a pasty butt. She was also moving her tail up and down constantly, like she was trying to poo? Luckily, that is one thing we DID know (having already done some reading on this site), and we used warm water and olive oil to break up the dried poo. However, the next day, her butt looked red and irritated. We read on this forum to apply vaseline, or Neosporin, to soothe the area. We did the latter, and that seemed to work. Her vent now seems to be a more normal color, and she isn't picking at it anymore.

The problem is that she is still moving her tail up and down, pulsing her vent. This is constant, even when she tries to sleep. I read that this could be due to constipation, but I saw her take a pretty good size poop yesterday. Any other ideas about why she might be doing this? I would say her energy is lower than the others, and she is not eating or drinking as much.

Any advice would be great! I am so grateful already to all that I have learned from this forum!

 

[birdsrfun]

I’d say give it another day, keep the vent clean and dry. I think it’s just been irritated for a while and needs to heal. Keep us updated.

 

[alex88]

Thank you! That's good to hear. It's been a few days and she is still pulsing constantly. Her bum seems to have healed quite nicely, and she hasn't had any more pasty butt issues.

She has now started sneezing quite often. She's also been looking pretty skinny, though I have seen her eating, drinking, and pooping. She can walk around, but she has very low energy, and has trouble sleeping because of all the pulsating. We've tried feeding her hard-boiled egg yolk and moistened feed, but she wasn't interested. She is drinking water with electrolytes, probiotics, and some apple cider vinegar. She just seems to be getting weaker. Thanks for any advice!

 

[esme13]

Bumping- how many chicks did you add to the flock ? What do you mean by pulsing ? Can you see the inside lining of the vent from the pulsing ?

 

[alex88]

We have three chicks in the brooder together. The other two seem fine. They’re running and eating and pecking etc.

I don’t think we can see the inside of the vent from the pulsing. She’s just pumping her tail up and down, and her vent looks like a fish opening and closing it’s mouth. Repeatedly and constantly. (Sorry for the imagery). She’s moving her tail so much it sometimes moves her head up and down too.

Sometimes it’s like she has more energy and starts moving and eating and interacting with the others. And then other times she’s just standing with her eyes closed like she’s trying to sleep. poor little one.

 

[DoveInLove]

We have three chicks in the brooder together. The other two seem fine. They’re running and eating and pecking etc.

I don’t think we can see the inside of the vent from the pulsing. She’s just pumping her tail up and down, and her vent looks like a fish opening and closing it’s mouth. Repeatedly and constantly. (Sorry for the imagery). She’s moving her tail so much it sometimes moves her head up and down too.

Sometimes it’s like she has more energy and starts moving and eating and interacting with the others. And then other times she’s just standing with her eyes closed like she’s trying to sleep. poor little one.

I have a 3 week old that is doing this as well...for days. What did you learn?

 

[rnkbetts]

Mine is doing the same thing, did your chickey make it?

 

[rnkbetts]

Mine is doing the same thing, did your chickey make it?

 

[rnkbetts]

I have a 3 week old that is doing this as well...for days. What did you learn?

Me too, how are your chicks doing that had this issue?

 

[Doomsong]

One of my three Silkie chicks is doing the same thing! Also, she doesn't have many little feathers back there, unlike the other chicks.