BABY CHICKS GASPING FOR AIR "HELP"

[kateyjean123]

One of our chicks are doing the same thing. We Fed it some sugar garlic water and she keeps gasping for air but now she at least can say something. Help? I feel like I'm just watching her die

 

[azygous]

How old is this chick? Is it much smaller than the rest? What does its poop look like? Have you checked for pasty butt? That's a condition where poop has dried on the vent, causing poop to back up into its intestines.

If you see poop on its butt, wash with warm water, but don't scrub hard or you'll inflame the tissue. Put coconut oil on the vent to help prevent poop from sticking.

If this chick is much smaller than the rest, it may be 'failure to thrive" syndrome, in which case, there's not much that can be done. But you can try chick vitamins such as Poultry Nutri-drench. If the chick won't eat, try moistening its crumbles with warm water. Or try feeding crumbled tofu or minced boiled egg.

I hope your chick pulls through.

 

[realsis]

is it possible with these chicks that they have ALREADY aspirated water into their lungs somehow? Chickens don't just have two air sacks for lungs like us they have several. I've had my own young pullets aspirate after picking them up while they were sick and water was coming up. Another one of mine was also sick and aspirated in my hands from the liquid coming up so it can happen. maybe somehow they got water into their lungs do you all think it's possible? being so young I seriously doubt they had worms or gape worms they are simply far to young for that as far as I understand. or perhaps their systems for what ever reason was too immature for their food source. I don't personally agree with giving hatchlings ACV it's far too Acidic in my opinion and mixed with all the other things in the water doesn't sound good. IMHO. in that chicks case it could have been the mixture of acid, vitamins, electrolytes, ect. too much mixed together of a strong acidity on a immature system possibly? These are of course just guesses on my part. I wish I knew for a solid fact how to prevent this but unfortunately I dont. I'm so very very sorry you all had to go through this. If anyone finds out for a fact what causes this and how to prevent it please let me know.

 

[bjmyangel]

I have one chick doing this now. She started doing it at 3 days old and is now 5 days old. I separated her from our other chicks last night. She is gasping with every breath. No sound when gasping but she can still chirp. She also has diarrhea.
Our shih-tzu grabbed her at 2 days old, but I was able to get her out of the dog's mouth. She was perfectly fine until the following night, so I'm not sure if it is related to the dog getting her or not.

 

[Smorz]

How did she do?

 

[bmoe]

Here's my input... choking on poultry dust or litter dust add a fan on low above your brooder not blowing on the chicks. I haven't had luck saving many that are already gasping but the rest won't start. If running hatches back to back change litter before adding another hatch. It's already been said their lungs are different from ours and can't take dust, dander, or indoor smoking.

 

[aligarysmom]

I had 26 buff orpintons come to the house, with one exotic chick, too. The exotic chick, which looked a lot like a dark brahma, never did eat correctly. I mixed up some egg yoke, fish oil, and chick starter (food) and then blended it, and added a little water. I gave him this in a dropper, but he just wasn't getting any larger, he died about three days in. I wasn't keeping this many chickens, so I took about 15 to my mothers and kept 9 at the house. I had one start to gasp for air, it was the largest chick and it started gasping like this at day number six or seven. It was eating fine, and looked ok, until it started doing this. It continued for about three days and it had runny poop, and then it died in the night. So, I was very concerned that it could spread so I have been watching the rest of the chicks. Another started doing this yesterday, about day 7 or 8. She seems to have stopped and look ok, for now. I don't use cedar, just pine and they are shavings. All the other chicks seem to be doing great. Even this one is one of the largest of the 8 I have left. She seems to eat and drink. I changed the shavings after we lost the one, just in case anything in there is contagious. They all have Coccidiosis vaccines. It could be coccidiosis because I know it takes weeks to developed antibodies. I really worried, I have a chick that I have grown attached to, and I can't lose it.

I can try the garlic in the water, haven't done that yet. I am running the chick start vitamin mix.

 

[jennycisne]

my jersey giang 20 days old girl shes doing the same i am trying to save her, wish me luck

 

[aligarysmom]

I did put garlic in their water and none of the others did this. So eight made it to 10 weeks and they have their coop. Seem to be happy

 

[Guy4God]

How much garlic per quart waterer? Every day? I have one doing this...