Bloated chicks

[reese967]

I have chicks about six weeks old and noticed today that two are bloated. I picked up one and it smelled horribly and noticed that it prolapsed and waste around it but not like pasty but it wasn’t stuck. I soaked her in warm water and cleaned her up. The other one was bloated but nothing wrong with it. I separated them from the rest of the chicks. They both were OK yesterday. What should I do and what should I look for?
Thank you

 

[Dreamers Nook]

So sorry to hear, someone should be responding soon.

 

[Saveria]

Where exactly on their bodies is the bloat that you are feeling? Is it on their underside between their legs? What are they eating? Did the prolapse resolve itself or is it still there? Are they both pooping normally? What do the dropping look like?

Sorry for all the questions, I have never heard of 6 week old birds having these symptoms.

 

[reese967]

Where exactly on their bodies is the bloat that you are feeling? Is it on their underside between their legs? What are they eating? Did the prolapse resolve itself or is it still there? Are they both pooping normally? What do the dropping look like?

Sorry for all the questions, I have never heard of 6 week old birds having these symptoms.

I don’t feel anything hard on their body like they just look like they’re bloated because they’re puffed up as the picture shows they look like a little round ball. There’s nothing showing physically wrong with them except the one is prolapsed and the poop that’s there looks as though it would be fresh. It’s not stuck and clumped on. The other one has no physical looking ailments it’s not prolapsed it doesn’t have pasty, but it’s just in a little puffed up ball. I don’t know what their poop looks like otherwise, because there’s more than just the two I separated them We have fed them chick feed, nonmedicated, same brand we’ve always used. In the 10 years we’ve had chickens I’ve never seen this either. I am so stumped. They both were acting normal yesterday, and the rest of the flock is too. They are not in with the bigger hens, they’ve been separated and only with the same chicks they hatched with.

 

[SmiYa0126]

I don’t feel anything hard on their body like they just look like they’re bloated because they’re puffed up as the picture shows they look like a little round ball. There’s nothing showing physically wrong with them except the one is prolapsed and the poop that’s there looks as though it would be fresh. It’s not stuck and clumped on. The other one has no physical looking ailments it’s not prolapsed it doesn’t have pasty, but it’s just in a little puffed up ball. I don’t know what their poop looks like otherwise, because there’s more than just the two I separated them We have fed them chick feed, nonmedicated, same brand we’ve always used. In the 10 years we’ve had chickens I’ve never seen this either. I am so stumped. They both were acting normal yesterday, and the rest of the flock is too. They are not in with the bigger hens, they’ve been separated and only with the same chicks they hatched with.

Could it be coccidia? Do you have corid?

 

[Saveria]

At this age puffed up often means coccidiosis. Usually there is bloody dropping, but not always. If you have corid on hand you can give that a whirl, just make sure not to give them a vitamin supplement at the same time.

Messy bums can also point to internal parasites. And fluffed up can also happen from external parasites robbing them of blood, but I'd think you would have seen it if it got that bad.

 

[Saveria]

How big is the prolapse? When you cleaned her off did it go back inside at all? I've never heard of a hen that age prolapsing, I've only heard of it in relation to egg laying. I may have to tag someone.

 

[reese967]

Where exactly on their bodies is the bloat that you are feeling? Is it on their underside between their legs? What are they eating? Did the prolapse resolve itself or is it still there? Are they both pooping normally? What do the dropping look like?

Sorry for all the questions, I have never heard of 6 week old birds having these symptoms.

So

I don’t feel anything hard on their body like they just look like they’re bloated because they’re puffed up as the picture shows they look like a little round ball. There’s nothing showing physically wrong with them except the one is prolapsed and the poop that’s there looks as though it would be fresh. It’s not stuck and clumped on. The other one has no physical looking ailments it’s not prolapsed it doesn’t have pasty, but it’s just in a little puffed up ball. I don’t know what their poop looks like otherwise, because there’s more than just the two I separated them We have fed them chick feed, nonmedicated, same brand we’ve always used. In the 10 years we’ve had chickens I’ve never seen this either. I am so stumped. They both were acting normal yesterday, and the rest of the flock is too. They are not in with the bigger hens, they’ve been separated and only with the same chicks they hatched with.

Where exactly on their bodies is the bloat that you are feeling? Is it on their underside between their legs? What are they eating? Did the prolapse resolve itself or is it still there? Are they both pooping normally? What do the dropping look like?

Sorry for all the questions, I have never heard of 6 week old birds having these symptoms.

I’m going to assume she got impacted and that’s what caused the prolapse the other little chick that was with her we kept working with and got her to expel some sour impacted crop stuff even though she did not look or feel like she was impacted now I’m wondering how often do we try to get her to expel that and how long I should keep food away from her

 

[reese967]

Could it be coccidia? Do you have corid?

The one that prolapsed didn’t make it. The other one we got to expel stinking icky food and some grass. I still have her separated from the others. I’m not sure how long I should do that. I have no food in her coop just water.

 

[Eggcessive]

Could they have gotten into a compost bed or some bad food? Is the crop emptying overnight? Coccidiosis is a good possibility. I would start some Corid in the water. Dosage is 2 tsp of the liquid or 1.5 tsp of the powder per gallon of water for 5-7 days. You could keep the body of the one who died cold on ice in a cooler (do not freeze,) and send it to you pr state vet for a necropsy and testing. Here is a list of state vets to contact in the morning:
https://www.metzerfarms.com/poultry-labs.html