Chick can’t close beak-help!

[SaMable]

hi,
One of my two week old chicks has a swollen area under her tongue and can’t close her beak. It looks like a tumor but I’m not sure. Any ideas? Do I need to cull? She is miserable I think.

 

[HuffleClaw]

Looks bad It’s possible the chick won’t make it, but that’s not always true. I haven’t seen this, but I’ll tag some peeps who might be able to help:
@Texas Kiki @Wyorp Rock @casportpony @Cragg Klefor

 

[SaMable]

Thank you!

 

[Chick-N-Fun]

@Eggcessive @staceyj @azygous

 

[Redhead Rae]

That looks bad. Honestly, I would cull.

If you don't want to cull, there are a couple things you could try. Give the chick a drop or two of NutriDrench, straight from the bottle, 3-4 times a day. If they can't eat because of the swelling, this will help them keep their strength up to see if the swelling subsides. I would also give water with and eye dropper, but don't put it directly down the chick's throat. let it drip over its beak (avoid the nostrils).

 

[Eggcessive]

I am not sure what that may be. Is there any canker or wet pox in your flock? Is the tongue visible or is it part of the swelling? Can she drink any fluids? Is she having problems breathing? I really hope that your chick gets better, but it looks bad.

 

[staceyj]

Could you maybe get a clearer picture from straight on? Don’t use zoom. Tap your screen right inside the mouth so it focuses there so we can blow it up from our end.

 

[SaMable]

This chick came from meyer hatchery along with 15 others and has been in my house not in contact with my flock. I’ve never seen pox or wet canker in my flock though. The chick is two weeks old and up until this morning I didn’t notice anything unusual.

The tongue is visible, sticking out. There is a round swollen mass under the tongue and the tongue is resting on top of it. Maybe swollen gland??

She has labored breathing and I’ve tried to give water but she struggles with it. Haven’t tried food. I think I need to cull her because she’s really suffering. I’ve never done that before so I might need advice for that.

 

[SaMable]

 

[Redhead Rae]

My method of culling chicks goes like this.

Your tools are a paper towel, a plastic sandwich bag and a heavy duty pair of kitchen sheers (scissors). You take the chick, and roll it up snuggly in the paper towel, making sure you can feel where the chick's neck is through the paper towel. This calms the chick and makes the next part easier. You place the chick/paper towel roll half in the sandwich baggy leaving the head and neck out. Take the scissors and swifty snip through the chicks neck through the paper towel. You don't want flimsy paper scissors, because they an bend and not do the job effectively. It will take a few seconds but you will start to see blood on the paper towel. When you finish the cut, before you start seeing blood, you can push the paper towel all the way into the baggy to contain any mess. If you like you can seal the bag and toss it like that, or take it out to the compost pile, dig a hole and bury the chick in the paper towel.