Chick having difficulty breathing but otherwise normal. Advice?

[sydneyphoenix]

I was at a bird sale yesterday and picked up a polish frizzle chick, what I estimate to be 4-5 weeks old. I didn’t see any sign of illness in her at the sale, but once I got home I realized she was breathing very heavily with her neck extended and mouth open. However, there is nothing blocking her throat, she’s eating and drinking fine, and her poop is solid and normal. I really only notice it when she’s resting, but at that point it becomes pretty obvious that it’s not normal, especially compared to two younger chicks I got from a different seller that appear completely healthy. I’ve been raising chicks yearly for about a decade now and have not seen this before. I at first thought it may have been the temperature at the sale I got her at, it was chilly that morning (30s-40s) and this seller didn’t provide heating for them, but I’m not sure if that would cause it since I don’t believe they were out for long before I picked mine up. Doing some research the only illness-related thing that seems remotely close to her symptoms is a respiratory infection? Should I be giving her an antibiotic, or is this something else? Thanks in advance!

 

[azygous]

Have you felt the crop? Is it normal size, hard, full of fluid, or lumpy?

Is the chick alone or did you put it with other chicks? If so, how many and how old are they? What is the setup? Is the chicken under heat? How warm is it under the heat if it has heat?

 

[sydneyphoenix]

Have you felt the crop? Is it normal size, hard, full of fluid, or lumpy?

Is the chick alone or did you put it with other chicks? If so, how many and how old are they? What is the setup? Is the chicken under heat? How warm is it under the heat if it has heat?

Her crop feels normal, she’s definitely been eating and drinking okay as I can feel that in there but that’s it.

She’s with two other chicks I got from the same sale but from a different seller, they’re younger at around two weeks old. They’re all under a heat lamp in a tub with pine shavings. It’s at about 90 degrees.

 

[babychickens321]

Her crop feels normal, she’s definitely been eating and drinking okay as I can feel that in there but that’s it.

She’s with two other chicks I got from the same sale but from a different seller, they’re younger at around two weeks old. They’re all under a heat lamp in a tub with pine shavings. It’s at about 90 degrees.

do you have a video of her breathing like that?

 

[sydneyphoenix]

do you have a video of her breathing like that?

I don’t, but good news, after a few days of close watching and lots of electrolytes she seemed to recover from her issue and is now doing just fine!

 

[babychickens321]

I don’t, but good news, after a few days of close watching and lots of electrolytes she seemed to recover from her issue and is now doing just fine!

yay!!
I might sound stupid but what is electrolytes? is it just sugar and water?

 

[sydneyphoenix]

yay!!
I might sound stupid but what is electrolytes? is it just sugar and water?

That’s not a stupid question! It’s a mixture to add to water to help with hydration, I used a store bought mix but I know there’s homemade recipes that include brown sugar and a couple other general household staples. you can look that up or I’m sure other people on this site have their own recipes!

 

[babychickens321]

That’s not a stupid question! It’s a mixture to add to water to help with hydration, I used a store bought mix but I know there’s homemade recipes that include brown sugar and a couple other general household staples. you can look that up or I’m sure other people on this site have their own recipes!

ooh thank you thank you