Chick with discharge from vent acting lethargic

[Sevelia12]

I normally go by what the chicks tell me, whether they are too warm or too cold. I just checked my brooder, directly under the lamp is only 90 degrees. These chicks just hatched this past Sunday. 2 days old.
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The temp seems to be okay for all the rest of them.. they nap close to the light but not huddled under it and when not napping they’re playing happily throughout their pen. All except her. As of today she rarely leaves the light except to drink. I have a thermometer and try to keep it between 90 and 100 directly under the light. I believe it should be down to 90 this week (they’re about a week and a half old) but they start acting cold when it gets that low so I warm it up a little for them.

 

[Sevelia12]

I agree with the others, chick feed and plain water only. See if that makes a difference.

I do hope the leaking stops, but I am like @ChickNanny13 there is a possibility that there could be an internal problem.

I’m afraid of that. I’ve been upset all evening. I feel like this is my fault and I’m wondering if I’m cut out for chickens if I can’t even keep them alive. I feel awful for not being able to figure this out. I have been told that with chickens you have to deal with loss more than with normal pets but I didn’t know I was going to take it this hard. I thought I had prepared myself.. told myself it was a possibility when I got babies that they might not all live... apparently didn’t prepare myself enough. I will keep updated. Thank you all for the help.

 

[ChickNanny13]

 

[aart]

It is hard....especially at first.
Geez, you're only a week into your chickeneering career and have to deal with this.
That's a rough start.
Am guessing that chick had something wrong inside from the get go, so not your fault.
Unfortunately, once you have the basics(feed, water, heat)there's not much to be done other than giving a bit of vitamins/electrolytes.
Hang in there.

 

[Wyorp Rock]

I’m afraid of that. I’ve been upset all evening. I feel like this is my fault and I’m wondering if I’m cut out for chickens if I can’t even keep them alive. I feel awful for not being able to figure this out. I have been told that with chickens you have to deal with loss more than with normal pets but I didn’t know I was going to take it this hard. I thought I had prepared myself.. told myself it was a possibility when I got babies that they might not all live... apparently didn’t prepare myself enough. I will keep updated. Thank you all for the help.

Sometimes there is a developmental issue, leaking poop, something is wrong with the intestines. Totally not your fault.
It can be very hard, especially with the littles, they are just precious and we get attached.

You have done everything you know to do.

 

[WVduckchick]

@Sevelia12 The other thing I forgot about, and can’t remember if it’s been mentioned is Nutridrench. It’s been a bit of a miracle drug for me, with any weak chicks. Otherwise, sometimes it’s just the luck of the draw.

At the very least, the issue brought you to BYC, so welcome aboard, and I hope you’ll stick around! So much to learn about these amazing critters. Even those of us with years of chicken keeping still learn new things about them. So please don’t give up. They are very much worth it!

 

[Sevelia12]

@Sevelia12 The other thing I forgot about, and can’t remember if it’s been mentioned is Nutridrench. It’s been a bit of a miracle drug for me, with any weak chicks. Otherwise, sometimes it’s just the luck of the draw.

At the very least, the issue brought you to BYC, so welcome aboard, and I hope you’ll stick around! So much to learn about these amazing critters. Even those of us with years of chicken keeping still learn new things about them. So please don’t give up. They are very much worth it!

Thank you. I have been enjoying the babies very much but this has really brought me down. I’m watching them now and I see no signs of change since last night. There are 8.. 5 are as healthy as can be.. growing well and feathering.. giving me more laughs than I expected.. aside from a bit of constipation after the dirt I gave them that seems to be clear now they have shown no issues whatsoever. Now.. There were 3 having a vent issue and here are their conditions as of this morning.
Clementine- her vent is NOT leaking (I thought it was). It is protruding a bit and she has had a couple of firm poos. I gave her a couple drops of olive oil last night in hopes of helping her poop and I put preparation h on the protrusion. (I believe they were eating too much dirt. I have removed the dirt.) As of this morning her vent is still slightly protruded but I have seen her have a healthy looking poo and she is keeping up with the others. I felt around on her abdomen last night and it seemed like there were some hard chunks in it. I gently massaged it and soaked it in warm water. Her poo this morning was a little drier than I would have liked but not nearly as bad as yesterday. I’m watching her but not stressing too bad.
Janis Joplin- this chick has had a small amount of clear discharge similar to Annie. I have been treating her butt with blue kote. She is on probiotics. (They all are.) I was worried a lot about her because she stayed so small much longer than the others. She seems to have had a noticeable growth spurt in the past 12 hours. Her butt has still stayed a little yuck (possibly looks worse because of the bluekote under the red light.. that is horrifying.. I thought they were bleeding out when I first saw it..) but it seems to be drying up and she has come alive. Where the others were knocking her away from the food she is now standing on top of it trying to have it all to herself. She REALLY likes that wet mash. Again, watching but not stressing too bad.
Annie - this is the one I’m worried about. Her behavior has not changed. She is receiving probiotics and electrolytes in her water and bluekote twice a day on her butt. On one of my checks during the night she did appear to be pecking at the wet mash but she did not eat any at all when I had fed them earlier last night. She gets water and returns to the light. Her butt stays wet. She appears to be plucking her feathers between her legs. She stands at all times. The others lay down to sleep, she stays standing. She still doesn’t seem lethargic. She’s alert, looking around, interested in what’s going on, but will not leave the light. She cheeps loudly .. it’s not constant.. she really seems to be asking to be held.. she does it the most when she knows I’m near.. do they do that? She does seem to be a little plumper than she was last night so she must have eaten and she also seems to not stand quite so rigidly but maybe I am just wishing for improvement.
Difficult question - at what point is it inhumane to keep them alive? She doesn’t seem to be suffering.. if I felt like she was in pain there would be no question but this is different.. I don’t want to give up on her when she’s still alert and trying to eat and drink.. I’m also not into causing an animal to have a long drawn out slow death just for my own selfish wants either. Any suggestions for how to make this decision? Is it too early to be thinking that way? I just don’t want to cause her unnecessary suffering. Thank you all again for the help and encouragement.

 

[WVduckchick]

Well, you will find lots of opinions about euthanizing little ones. When, how, etc. Personally, I think it’s a decision only you can make. I like to think that the chick tells me when the time has come. If I feel confident that it cannot and will not improve, I have made the hard decision to put one out of misery. Some folks will make that decision sooner than others. Some never make it, and either it dies on its own, or it survives!
You may consider your overall goals when deciding. Pets, breeders, show birds, egg layers.... different reasons we have birds can affect our outlook.
I hope she perks up and you don’t have to make that call.

 

[Sevelia12]

Well, you will find lots of opinions about euthanizing little ones. When, how, etc. Personally, I think it’s a decision only you can make. I like to think that the chick tells me when the time has come. If I feel confident that it cannot and will not improve, I have made the hard decision to put one out of misery. Some folks will make that decision sooner than others. Some never make it, and either it dies on its own, or it survives!
You may consider your overall goals when deciding. Pets, breeders, show birds, egg layers.... different reasons we have birds can affect our outlook.
I hope she perks up and you don’t have to make that call.

And this right here is why I’m scared to - I just went and replenished their food.. mashed with water.. and she’s right in there with the rest of them.. she lets them push her off of it a little but she’s hanging in there and getting fed. I know this doesn’t mean she’s out of the woods yet but it’s a definite improvement from yesterday.. I kind of have to agree with you.. if she still wants to fight I’m gonna let her. Thank you!

 

[aart]

That it's eating is a great sign!

Euthanasia is a hard call to make, especially with no experience.
If they can move, eat, and drink on their own I let them continue.