Constipated chick?

[JessMay]

One of our chicks seems to be constipated. I heard her chirping early in the morning every 15-20 minutes. When I checked to see what was going on I noticed she tried to poop and it seems like it’s hard for her to get out. I also noticed one of our olive eggers doing the same. I just cleaned all their butts (pasty butt) the other day and they’ve all been doing fine. All other 13 chicks are doing well. Medicated chick started & probiotic water. What can I do to help? Click this Chick video to see what she is doing.

 

[Ebony Rose]

A crying chick is typically in distress. It is asking for your attention, but only because it's miserably uncomfortable about SOMETHING; it's not voicing 'loneliness' or 'affection'. It's a signal for help.
In your case, with pasty butt so recently addressed with your flock, a warm moist washcloth held over vent and gentle massaging of the vent to loosen the poop both ON and IN your chicks may be the solution if done a few times daily. Visually inspect their vent, both in and out afterward to ensure that their vent is not impacted. A VERY gentle pinch/squeeze on their vent may enable you to see better into the vent. Place water and food at the median space between warm and cool in the brooder, so that the chicks that insist on camping on/near the groceries can do so without overheating, reducing their likelihood of getting pasty butt. White, milky mucous at the vent is another sign of 'pasty butt' in chicks.

 

[JessMay]

A crying chick is typically in distress. It is asking for your attention, but only because it's miserably uncomfortable about SOMETHING; it's not voicing 'loneliness' or 'affection'. It's a signal for help.
In your case, with pasty butt so recently addressed with your flock, a warm moist washcloth held over vent and gentle massaging of the vent to loosen the poop both ON and IN your chicks may be the solution if done a few times daily. Visually inspect their vent, both in and out afterward to ensure that their vent is not impacted. A VERY gentle pinch/squeeze on their vent may enable you to see better into the vent. Place water and food at the median space between warm and cool in the brooder, so that the chicks that insist on camping on/near the groceries can do so without overheating, reducing their likelihood of getting pasty butt. White, milky mucous at the vent is another sign of 'pasty butt' in chicks.

Thanks for the information! I actually just cleaned all of them maybe four days ago. All of their butts are clean and I make sure to keep up with it. If you have watched the video I added (the link called “chick video”) you can see that she tries to push some poop out, but it gets stuck. Eventually she’s able to get it out after a few pushes, then her butt is clean. It almost seems like pooping is painful for her. I thought she may have had something stuck so I cleaned her vent about an hour ago with a warm wash cloth, and she still continued to struggle with pooping. This also just started this morning, as they were all 100% last night. I think I will try to soak her in a warm Epsom salt bath to see if that helps?

 

[aart]

Good video, sure looks like a 'hard' poop is stuck.
Mae sure she's drinking well.
I think @azygous has a good 'cure' for this.

 

[JessMay]

Good video, sure looks like a 'hard' poop is stuck.
Mae sure she's drinking well.
I think @azygous has a good 'cure' for this.

It’s definitely hard for her to push out. She’s pooped probably 6 times in the last few hours, but it seems painful and hard for her to get out. I’ll check that out, thank you

 

[azygous]

This chick needs coconut oil. Chill to firmness and then slip tiny bits directly into the beak until you get between a half to one teaspoon into the chick.

 

[JessMay]

This chick needs coconut oil. Chill to firmness and then slip tiny bits directly into the beak until you get between a half to one teaspoon into the chick.

I’ll try that!

 

[Amgill0415]

This chick needs coconut oil. Chill to firmness and then slip tiny bits directly into the beak until you get between a half to one teaspoon into the chick.

My chick is having the same issues! Im going to try this. Did it help yours @JessMay ?

 

[JessMay]

My chick is having the same issues! Im going to try this. Did it help yours @JessMay ?

It helped a bit! I tried to get as much coconut oil in her as I could but it was hard. I fed her some yolk from a hard boiled egg and that seemed to help also.

 

[15gardenchooks]

I am having the same problem with my chick! She cries and has a hard time passing a stool. Otherwise she is fine eating/drinking and getting along with the rest of the chicks. I have check her poop several times and its normal soft chick poop. Is there any other reason she could be having problems passing it??

Thanks for all the great advice guys!