can a chick be constipated???

[chicklet363]

My 8 day old columbian wyndotte chick seems to be having "pooping problems" today. It began this afternoon with her squawking loudly while obvioulsy trying to poo. It has continued all evening. She seems to be going regularly, and still eating and drinking, but she seems to be in so much pain when trying to "go". She squawks wth each push and after 3 or 4 pushes she usually passes a small, round poo, carmel colored with some white. It doesn't look all that much different from the others'. We tried soaking her bum in warm water and applying some oil, although there was nothing stuck there, nor is there now. Her bum seems to be slightly swollen and a bit more pink than it should be.

She has been eating starter food and we just started chick grit yesterday as some of the chicks are a week older. What can I do for her??? And will she be ok??? I'm so worried about her, and it's so hard to watch her when she's in pain.

This is my first batch of chicks and have only had them for a week. Definitely still a newbie. Please let me know if there is anything I can do for her. Thank you so much!!

 

[hokankai]

YES! I have one with the same problem, but it's 5 weeks old. What I have to do is push it out for her, putting my thumb and forefinger on her abdomen directly behind the stool and gently squeezing it out like toothpaste. she feels SO much better after. I don't think that would be a good idea with an itty bitty baby though

 

[Animalian]

could you give a chick a a drop of cod liver oil? That would sort her out if you could.
As for the other end maybe oil up her vent a bit, they do it for egg binding so why wouldn't it help lubricating a poo?

You could make some psyllium porridge for her to eat or just sprinkly it on some moist mash
if you don't know what psyllium is you can look here http://www.nutritional-supplement-bible.com/psyllium-fibre.html

 

[Clay Valley Farmer]

Sometimes just a warm bath is not enough and you may need to flush it with water squirted from a syringe with no needle, One chick I had to get in there with a blunt probe and loosen things up.

If they are really blocked up they will die, so best not to just leave it and hope for the best.

 

[chicklet363]

Thank you all so much for the advice. I will try your suggestions and let you all know how things work out. I'm so thankful to have found this site, I feel so much better hearing advice from you all. Thank you again!