Constipated chick?

[azygous]

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!

Your chick can still be pooping and be constipated. The reason a lot of the time is the chick doesn't drink enough water.

I suggest you first give the chick coconut oil and then feed it moistened feed for a while. Even better, learn to ferment your feed for all your chickens. They will then get plenty of moisture in their food as well as additional nutrients and natural probiotics.

 

[Amgill0415]

I ended up givibg my whole crew chick starter mixed with water and coconut oil. My girl still has poop issues but not as bad as it was and she usually is able to pass it on her own. I still clean her butt occasionally but it's getting better. She's acting fine and the most starter mixed with coconut oil didn't seem to have any ill effects on the others. They all really liked their morning mix of wet food! Still left regular dry starter out for them as well. Hoping my girl will just grow out of her issues, cause she's a sweet heart!

 

[15gardenchooks]

Your chick can still be pooping and be constipated. The reason a lot of the time is the chick doesn't drink enough water.

I suggest you first give the chick coconut oil and then feed it moistened feed for a while. Even better, learn to ferment your feed for all your chickens. They will then get plenty of moisture in their food as well as additional nutrients and natural probiotics.

Most people have been recommending regular coconut oil that congeals when cooled. I only have the liquid stuff, I have been trying to drop some on her beak for her to drink, do you think that will help? And do you have an resources for learning how to ferment feed? I am afraid I will screw it up and poison them.
Thanks!

 

[azygous]

Can you pick up some solid coconut oil at the store next time you go? It's so much easier than trying to get liquid oil into a tiny chick. One way to do it that others have tried successfully is to take a tiny piece of bread and soak up a teaspoon of oil with it. Let the chick eat as much of it as it will. I don't like giving bread to chickens but when you have this sort of a problem, well, you have to deal with it.

To ferment feed, fill a container with enough feed for two days. Cover with warm filtered water until it just barely covers the feed. Add a teaspoon of ACV with the sediment to it. Stir. Let it sit in a warm place as if you are raising bread dough. Tomorrow stir it. The next day, it might be ready to feed if it has fluffed up and smells "yeasty". Stir every day.

The first batch takes 48 hours or a bit more. But the following batches will be ready in 24 since you will use a tablespoon of the previous batch to start the next. I use two containers, I make enough to feed out in two days, and I start a new bucket when I start to feed out of the second bucket.

With fermented feed, chicks will need to be fed continuously all day, but when they reach four months, they can get by with two feedings per day. An adult will eat a half a cup to three fourths of a cup per day. You will need to find bowls to feed it from as dry feeders don't work with FF.

I use dog bowls on those raised platforms so the chickens don't tip them over. For babies, I use a cat bowl after they're a few weeks old. Day-olds are fed out of tiny cups they can't climb into and try to take a bath in. If you've ever seen a baby chick standing in their food dish, you'll know what I'm talking about. Trying to clean FF off a downy chick is not anyone's idea of fun.