Baby Chick with swollen vent, hard time pooping

[tanya7171]

Hey all Ive got two of my baby chicks out of 8, one a columbian wyandotte(Peeper), the other a white crested black polish(PomPom) that have had a very hard time the last two weeks with swollen vents and crying when they try to poop! They are now 5-6 weeks old. I took them to the vet and the vet x rayed Peeper and said she had an inflamed GI tract with a poor prognosis, it was that bad. She gave me meloxicam for pain and inflammation and an oral laxative, I used that for a few days but not better, then I took the chicks to the University of Arkansas Vet laboratory and they looked at the poop under a microscope and said no bacteria or coccidiosis or parasites or worms, but the poop had a lot of plant material in it. Come to find out they were eating large amounts of the pine shavings in the brooder so the vet said take it out and use sheets of paper towels to line the bottom of the brooder and keep it very clean, I pulverized their grit starter feed to almost a powder and they have a natural prebiotic added to the water to introduce good bacteria back to their flora. They are slowly getting better so Im just saying please be careful about baby chicks being in a bunch of pine shavings. This is what Im going through, they are still healing but it is so hard to hear Peeper crying when pooping otherwise they are happy chickens and eat and drink and clean themselves.

 

[Wyorp Rock]

Thank you for the information.

Can you post some photos of your chicks and their vents?
Did you provide poultry grit (crushed granite) to your chicks?

If you chicks are still having trouble with constipation - I do recommend that you offer poultry grit free choice and wet chick starter. Watch to see that they are drinking well. You can also give them 1 time a teaspoon of mineral oil or some coconut oil to see if that will help get things moving.

For swollen/inflamed vents, give them a soak in a epsom salts bath to help sooth and relax them. Clean up the vent and apply an anti-inflammatory cream to the vent.