Constipated Chick

[MissFrizzletheChick]

Well, I’m sure you can tell what my ailment is considering the title of this post. She strains to poop and chirps whenever she is feeling uncomfortable with that. She does manage to go but only after a very long time of struggling. This has been going on for about 4 1/2 days now. Here’s what I’ve tried so far. Please give any suggestions that you have- we’ll try anything at this point.

There are probiotics in the water, as well as molasses. I don't know how much more I should really be putting in their water, but let me know your thoughts on that.
We also have been mushing up the food for them to make it easier for the to eat, and we used the probiotic water for that so they are eating a good amount of probiotics.

We put a little bin of sand in there, and they LOVED that and have pecked away and even tried taking dust baths.

We tried giving them applesauce which someone recommended, but they didn’t really like that and just made a mess that I had to clean up.

We also gave constipated chick two epsom salt baths in lukewarm water for around 9 minutes. She pooped very well during the baths. I can give her as many epsom baths as needed but I don’t want to damage her... how many times is it okay for a chick to have a bath?

I really want her to get better and survive!!!!

 

[Wyorp Rock]

Can you get a photo of her poop and vent?
How old is she?
Is she drinking well?
Are you feeding chick starter?

I would try giving coconut oil. Put it in the fridge to harden, then give her some chips, mine love it and will eat it like candy.

Wet soupy food.
While sometimes sand could be suitable as grit, personally I prefer to supply chick grit (crushed granite) free choice.

 

[MissFrizzletheChick]

Shes is about a little more than a week. We got them from a woman that hatched them a week ago today, and they were a few days old at that point.
She seems to be drinking well, I’ve watched her drinking and she seems to do it as much as the others.
She is unfortunately not on chick starter, my local store is totally out. We have been trying to supplement protein while also feeding them layer feed. Could that have something to do with it?
Pictures attached. We had to put them in a box for a minute while I replaced their bedding, so we were lucky to get such a clear picture. When she was in the bath it looked totally normal and like the other chicks. Sorry for the odd angle, using an iPad.
The sand is river sand, if that makes any difference.
Alrighty, working on those ideas now, let me know if this info changes anything!
P.S. When trying to get angood vent picture, she pooped all over my hand, which I suppose is a good thing. The brown is, according to the internet, an umbilical scab that hasn’t fallen off yet. Been trying not to mess with it but have been monitoring.

 

[Wyorp Rock]

She is unfortunately not on chick starter, my local store is totally out. We have been trying to supplement protein while also feeding them layer feed.

What are you supplementing protein with?
I would try to get some chick starter or grower - I understand some things are hard to get right now.
Layer feed really has too much calcium. What brand of probiotics are you giving?

If you are supplementing, then I would also try to get chick grit for sure.

Hard to tell if that's the umbilical cord/scab or if that's the vent pasting over. Look on her belly and see if there is a scab.

Ref

 

[MissFrizzletheChick]

What are you supplementing protein with?
I would try to get some chick starter or grower - I understand some things are hard to get right now.
Layer feed really has too much calcium. What brand of probiotics are you giving?

If you are supplementing, then I would also try to get chick grit for sure.

Hard to tell if that's the umbilical cord/scab or if that's the vent pasting over. Look on her belly and see if there is a scab.

View attachment 2084884
Ref

I’m just using scrambled eggs, which was suggested to me on a different thread. Also, my mother did some research into chick starter... apparently layer feed only has about 3% more calcium and in chicken feeds the calcium measurement is give or take as much as 5%. Is this accurate?

Her vent is much higher than the scab, which is by her navel, and she has had some pasting poop which I gently washed off. It was almost completely on her bent, not that far down. The scabby looking part did not come off in the bath, and I didn’t try to get it off at all.

We are using Rooster Booster “Vitamins & Electrolytes with Lactobacillus”. We can’t get a different kind as we had to order this online to get it and right now shipping takes so long it wouldn’t be worth buying. We do have yogurt probiotics though.

 

[Wyorp Rock]

apparently layer feed only has about 3% more calcium and in chicken feeds the calcium measurement is give or take as much as 5%. Is this accurate?

I'm not quite understanding...layer feed and chickens feed.

Layer Feed depending on brand is usually 3% or higher in calcium.
Chick Starter is usually around .90%-1.50% calcium. So calcium content in layer feed is about double (or more).

You are also looking at Protein. With layer feed it can be anywhere from 15-18% protein. Chick starter is usually 18-22% protein. Again, it depends on brand.

Do you have a Tractor Supply? You may want to see what they have available as far as feed.
I know we are all on shelter-in and it's difficult to get supplies. Tractor Supply should be offering order online and pick-up at the store - in their parking lot so you don't have to go in.
Your area may be different, I don't know. But my store brings it to your car and loads it.

 

[MissFrizzletheChick]

Okay, good idea! I’ll look into it. Thanks for your suggestions!
https://afarmishkindoflife.com/dont-use-chick-starter/

 

[toadboon]

Any update on this ?

I have, I think, the same issue with one particular chick - a layer. A few days ago, well 3-4 days ... there was this one little dude that had this same problem, he chirped so loudly, and closed his eyes and spread his wings and barely managed to get out a tiny bit of poop, about the tip of a finger, even less, and it would stay there, poor guy was struggling to get it out.

This lasted for a couple of days, during which I kept washing his vent with warm water to get the poop away. Anyway ... First day was like this, second day, the third day I stopped hearing him chirp, and quite honestly I lost track of him. I'm pretty sure all was normal for a while. I figured he somehow got over it.

It's been ~4 days since I stopped noticing this, but just now it happened again, I'm pretty sure it's the same chick.

There's 19 of them, 4-5 of which pretty much look the same and it's one of those. But I'm fairly certain it's the same guy.

Haven't had any problems with the other ones, they eat the same thing, drink the same water, live in the same space. As far as I can tell, they're all doing well, running around, 'fighting' eachother, jumping, flapping their wings, eating, drinking and pooping.

I didn't really try to give him anything the first time, except a bit of yogurt ( read somewhere on this forum I think about it ), but I did put him in warm water for 5-6 minutes, during which he did poop a bit but it didn't really fix the issue. Several hours later after the bath, same problem.

His vent looks good, he eats and drinks well, he has energy and looks perfectly healthy as far as I can tell, he runs around, plays with the others, no other issues except this one thing.

He does manage to poop, but he just struggles with it.

If it matters - this time I'd say perhaps it's not as bad as the first time. In the sense that I managed to spot it right as it was happening and while he did struggle to poop, chirping and trying 3-4 times till he eventually got it out, it was a rather ok amount, perhaps not ideal, but not as little as the first time this happened, 4-5 days ago.

Edit: Managed to catch it as it was happening again - here's a clip of it: https://drive.google.com/open?id=1Y1D_rG1oO8k12-daP75_H_I2mRcuEyf6

Eventually had to put the phone down and pick him up to wipe his vent. Tried warm water, didn't do anything. If it matters ... as I was wipping his vent, a bit of poop felt a bit ... flacky ?

Could he have eaten some of the wood shavings ? Or perhaps a bit of cardboard ?

I have a cardboard box in a corner, they like to huddle around and under it, I think it makes them feel safe, could he have eaten a bit of that box ?

But why only him ? And none of the others ?

 

[MissFrizzletheChick]

Hi, sorry I stopped being active on this website! I had a similar issue. We tried feeding coconut oil, gave epsom salt baths, gave applesauce, yogurt, all that jazz. We even made a trip on bike to get some chick feed, whereas before we had been feeding mushed up layer feed. Nothing seemed to fix it long term. Unfortunately, we lost her. Any update for you?