Constipated 4 week old baby chick

[Jackoneill]

Hello,

I have an Orpginton buff baby chick of 4 weeks old that is constipated. Originally I thought it was vent gleet because of the white stuff oozing and the baby chick losing feathers; treated it accordingly but no improvement. Yesterday I noticed when the chick tried to poop a relatively big mass of white rock hard stuff started to show and almost caused the vent to prolapse. Started carefully digging at the mass with tweezers and barely made a dent but after scratching for a few minutes "the top" came off and below it was compacted poop. Continued to pull out poop; going deeper into the vent the poop appeared more normal. There are more hard pieces in there still but I don't want to over-do it and she can possibily poop it out herself now. Possibily have to help her again. She seems much better now. The intestinal tracts' peristaltic function appears to be "restarting" and poop seems to start moving again. I have seen her poop a little bit so I think she's going to be okay.

She's the only one that has this and it doesn't spread; isolated her yesterday but she has been exhibiting symptoms a few days before that. No bleeding, no other injuries. They get chick crumble and nothing else. Water with apple cider vinegar at the correct dosage. She has been eating and drinking. I'm using hemp as bedding; they don't eat it.

Does anyone know what this white stuff is? It's rock hard and has a stoney structure; it smells really bad too. It's like it's poop covered in an infection or for example hardened white uric acid crystals entirely blocking the vent.

Hope anyone knows!

Thanks

 

[MysteryChicken]

White stuff is Urates. That's what bird urine looks like.

Coconut oil, is recommended for constipation. It slickens/loosens things up on the inside.

 

[Jackoneill]

White stuff is Urates. That's what bird urine looks like.

Coconut oil, is recommended for constipation. It slickens/loosens things up on the inside.

Thank you. Do the urates explain the white stone like stuff on the poop? Is it dried up urates? Do you know why a seemingly healthy chick would suddenly develop a total block? She was a weaker chick when hatching; possibly due to comparably poorer health?

 

[MysteryChicken]

Thank you. Do the urates explain the white stone like stuff on the poop? Is it dried up urates? Do you know why a seemingly healthy chick would suddenly develop a total block? She was a weaker chick when hatching; possibly due to comparably poorer health?

Urates is the white cap on poop yes.

What type of feed do you feed?

Lack of good gut bacteria, & too much fiber are a couple causes of constipation. Excess heat is another.

 

[Jackoneill]

Urates is the white cap on poop yes.

What type of feed do you feed?

Lack of good gut bacteria, & too much fiber are a couple causes of constipation. Excess heat is another.

Pulled seller's description through Google Translate (it's a feed without name or brand from wholesaler sold as complete chick crumb feed):

Spoiler: Feed description

Due to the good composition of various ingredients, chick meal is a complete feed for both young and old chicks of small and large chicken breeds. This meal focuses on healthy and natural growth of the chicks. This meal can be fed from the first day until the chicks are ready to lay. This food can be offered unlimitedly until the chicks reach the age of approximately 12 weeks.

When the hens start laying eggs you can switch to Laying Pellet, Laying Meal or Free Range Mix.

Composition: Corn, wheat, soybean meal, sunflower seed meal, grain by-product, shell grit, carbonated feed lime, sunflower seed meal HP, oils/fats, vegetable oil, minerals and vitamins, salt, color premix, monocalcium foastfate

Analysis: Crude protein 155, crude fat 50g, crude fiber 50g, crude ash 109g, lysine 6.9g, methionine 2.9g, calcium 33g, phosphorus 4.1g, sodium 1.6g,
Additives: Vitamins A (EI)kg 10,000 - D3 (IE)kg 3,000 - E mg/KG 25

Thanks for the information!

I originally fed them a crumb mixed with tiny pellets but they refused to eat the pellets so I switched to entirely crumb.

 

[MysteryChicken]

Pulled seller's description through Google Translate (it's a feed without name or brand from wholesaler sold as complete chick crumb feed):

Spoiler: Feed description

Due to the good composition of various ingredients, chick meal is a complete feed for both young and old chicks of small and large chicken breeds. This meal focuses on healthy and natural growth of the chicks. This meal can be fed from the first day until the chicks are ready to lay. This food can be offered unlimitedly until the chicks reach the age of approximately 12 weeks.

When the hens start laying eggs you can switch to Laying Pellet, Laying Meal or Free Range Mix.

Composition: Corn, wheat, soybean meal, sunflower seed meal, grain by-product, shell grit, carbonated feed lime, sunflower seed meal HP, oils/fats, vegetable oil, minerals and vitamins, salt, color premix, monocalcium foastfate

Analysis: Crude protein 155, crude fat 50g, crude fiber 50g, crude ash 109g, lysine 6.9g, methionine 2.9g, calcium 33g, phosphorus 4.1g, sodium 1.6g,
Additives: Vitamins A (EI)kg 10,000 - D3 (IE)kg 3,000 - E mg/KG 25

Thanks for the information!

I originally fed them a crumb mixed with tiny pellets but they refused to eat the pellets so I switched to entirely crumb.

@U_Stormcrow, what percentage would 50g be?

 

[Jackoneill]

@U_Stormcrow, what percentage would 50g be?

12% if I'm not mistaken.

 

[MysteryChicken]

12% if I'm not mistaken.

That's abit high if so. I don't feed fiber any higher then 4% - 6%.

 

[U_Stormcrow]

@U_Stormcrow, what percentage would 50g be?

If they follow conventional ways of writing that, since a feed is more than fat, fiber, and protein, that's a 5% fiber mix, which is within acceptable ranges. (I'm assuming a 100g serving).

The whole mix is borderline, below targets for an adult layer, as those numbers are generally accepted here in the US, but *just* below. Like someone giving 95%...

Here, you would expect that bag to be 16% Protein, 5% Fiber, 5% fat, 3.5% Calcuim, 0.5% Phos, Lys 0.7%, Met 0.3%

and instead its 15.5% Protein, 5% Fiber, 5% fat, 3.3% Calcuim, 0.41% Phos, Lys 0.69%, Met 0.29%

As far as the ingredients go, in the disclosed inclusions, I'm seeing nothing particularly high in beta glucans, or some of the other potentially problematic starches. and the undisclosed "grain by-product" shouldn't be at high enough % to be a conrcern for those anti-nutritive properties.

Now, all that said, that is a LAYER mix. NOT for chicks. Too much calcium, not enough Crude protein, not enough Methionine, not enough Lysine.

 

[MysteryChicken]

If they follow conventional ways of writing that, since a feed is more than fat, fiber, and protein, that's a 5% fiber mix, which is within acceptable ranges. (I'm assuming a 100g serving).

The whole mix is borderline, below targets for an adult layer, as those numbers are generally accepted here in the US, but *just* below. Like someone giving 95%...

Here, you would expect that bag to be 16% Protein, 5% Fiber, 5% fat, 3.5% Calcuim, 0.5% Phos, Lys 0.7%, Met 0.3%

and instead its 15.5% Protein, 5% Fiber, 5% fat, 3.3% Calcuim, 0.41% Phos, Lys 0.69%, Met 0.29%

As far as the ingredients go, in the disclosed inclusions, I'm seeing nothing particularly high in beta glucans, or some of the other potentially problematic starches. and the undisclosed "grain by-product" shouldn't be at high enough % to be a conrcern for those anti-nutritive properties.

Now, all that said, that is a LAYER mix. NOT for chicks. Too much calcium, not enough Crude protein, not enough Methionine, not enough Lysine.

I was questioning the calcium as well, but was mainly unsure about the fiber level.