Clicking when breathing & swollen bum

[katelwil]

Hey guys. I have a new chick, about 1 week old (just a guess) that is having a hard time breathing (clicking and taking deep breaths). It also has a very swollen butt. I noticed the breathing first, and then the butt. Everything else about the chick is normal. It is not an issue with the heat as all of its buddies are perfectly content with no problems. In regards to the butt being swollen I don't think it's pasty butt, I've gone through several threads that talk about swollen butts, but none have any answers. Truthfully, I'd compare it to a ruptured air sac, in the way it looks.

There are several chicks in the brooder but I'm pretty sure the poo from this chick in particular was normal, I will try and keep a close eye to confirm this.

It is eating fine, getting around fine, just having a bit of a hard time breathing.

Could it be a respiratory issue?
I currently have electrolyte water for them with ACV and just put a very small of terrimycin on its eye. (I read that antibiotics can be helpful for respiratory issues & had it on hand. Hopefully that's okay)

Any feedback would be much appreciated!

 

[azygous]

Are the other chicks showing any interest in this chick's vent? Is there any sign of injury to its vent? Try to inspect it carefully.

It may be this chick is failure-to-thrive (FTT) and its organs are not fully developed and it's constipated. Does it chirp loudly when it squats to poop? The straining can cause a swollen vent. If the other chicks are pecking at it, use Blue-kote on the vent. I use a Q-tip to paint it on.

The clicking sound could be a respiratory illness, but more likely, this chick has a genetic issue that is causing it.

The electrolytes with the ACV is overkill. Use one or the other, but not both. The antibiotic eye ointment won't help a respiratory issue involving the lungs, but if the chick appears to have an eye problem, then it would be useful.

The most useful thing you can do for this chick right now is to give it Poultry Nutri-drench, a drop or two undiluted each day and in the drinking water, mixed to make the water appear as weak tea.

 

[katelwil]

Are the other chicks showing any interest in this chick's vent? Is there any sign of injury to its vent? Try to inspect it carefully.

It may be this chick is failure-to-thrive (FTT) and its organs are not fully developed and it's constipated. Does it chirp loudly when it squats to poop? The straining can cause a swollen vent. If the other chicks are pecking at it, use Blue-kote on the vent. I use a Q-tip to paint it on.

The clicking sound could be a respiratory illness, but more likely, this chick has a genetic issue that is causing it.

The electrolytes with the ACV is overkill. Use one or the other, but not both. The antibiotic eye ointment won't help a respiratory issue involving the lungs, but if the chick appears to have an eye problem, then it would be useful.

The most useful thing you can do for this chick right now is to give it Poultry Nutri-drench, a drop or two undiluted each day and in the drinking water, mixed to make the water appear as weak tea.

The other chicks don't seem to bother it at all. The chick isn't loud at all.

Last night after I gave it the terrimycin he seemed to pass right out and was no longer having problems taking deep breaths and the clicking stopped.

This morning he is back to the same thing, but again he is eating and drinking normally.

I will replace the water with nutridrench water and I will apply blue kote just as a precautionary measure.

There is also no sign of injury, I took the chick to inspect it yesterday and was just dumbfounded that I couldn't find anything.

Thanks a lot for the advice, I'll make these changes and hopefully he will start to come around.

 

[azygous]

What bedding are you using? Dusty or an aromatic bedding can cause respiratory issues.

 

[katelwil]

What bedding are you using? Dusty or an aromatic bedding can cause respiratory issues.

Just using paper towels for bedding but before I got him I think his bedding was some kind of wood chips.

 

[katelwil]

Just wanted to update you, the chick is still with us!

It seems to be 80% improved from when I originally posted. It is still less active than the rest of the bunch but the swelling of the bum subsided and it is completely normal other than occasionally it still opens its mouth to breathe. I did end up giving it an Epsom salt soak, the day after my post, just in case it was constipated.

Seeing as it's been several days I am encouraged

Thanks a lot for your help, I will keep you posted in the weeks to come, hopefully all good updates.

 

[katelwil]

So, I still have the chick and it was doing well! Within a week after this post the breathing problem resolved and it seemed to be getting more active. I ended up losing my precious bean (a different chick) to cocci. I caught it too late. The rest of the chicks are on their 5th day of treatment and the one with the previous breathing troubles seems less active than before treatment. No breathing troubles, but he/she is so much smaller than the rest. Since I got this chick it has always held its wings lower than I'm used to seeing normally. I'm wondering if it's okay? Internally? I'm just concerned for its well being. It eats and drinks fine at this point. Should I do the 10 days of corid following the 5 days, or should I switch back to the nutridrench?

It has seemed to also have small issue with pasty butt, which the others have no issues with. Is there anything I can do to improve this little ones quality of life? Am I being overly worried?

 

[Emma_Bruffy]

Omg I thought the big black area was poop and I got scared but I think I'f the black part is its skin than its not pasty butt I dont think