DYING CHICK NEED HELP ASAP PLEASE!!!!

[Wolfster]

Too long didnt read at bottom.

Can someone please please help ASAP! I have a little chick here who is almost a week old. Shes been having issues for the past 3 days. Shes not eating or drinking, shes panting/ breathing heavily and shes really weak and lethargic. She seems to have a fair bit of mucus in her throat and every time I try to pour some water with cider vinegar and sugar in it in to her throat she starts flailing around and choking then suddenly goes limp like shes just died then after a while she starts moving around a bit. Shes pooping although it is very watery. She also seems to have strange gurgling noises coming from her stomach/throat when I try to get some liquids into her. To be quite honest I really dont knoe how shes lasted this long considering she hasnt eaten for three days and has barely had anything to drink. But shes a real fighter and is really vocal. I love her to bits and I really dont want to loose her): shes a beautiful little thing. She has a little scab over her naval which has just come off and it looks a little bloody but its not prolapsed or inflamed. She doesnt have a pasty butt. Is it possible she has something lodged in her throat...? If no one here can help me then im going to have to get my air rifle and put her out of her suffering as I dont want to prolong any pain as she's not getting any better... PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE HELP! PLEASE! Ill do anything!
Thank you. <3

Too Long, Didnt Read:
Chick not eating or drinking, panting/ breathing heavily, really weak and lethargic. She seems to have a fair bit of mucus in her throat and every time I try to pour some water with cider vinegar and sugar in it in to her throat she starts flailing around and choking then suddenly goes limp.
Shes pooping although it is very watery. She also seems to have strange gurgling noises coming from her stomach/throat when I try to get some liquids into her.

PLEASE HELP ME!

 

[LuckyMotherhen]

She might have the flu or some kind of other infection, seperate her from the others and get her some chicken safe antibiotics and electrolytes AND KEEP HER WARM but not too warm she may be too hot or have a fever

AND WHEN GIVING HER LIQUIDS AIM FOR THE SIDE OF THE MOUTH NOT THE MIDDLE you might be getting fluid in her lungs and she will drown eventually!!

 

[LuckyMotherhen]

Also I found a picture of how to give her fluids

If you've been putting water down that middle hole you're killing her

 

[LuckyMotherhen]

SHE NEEDS TO SEE A VET, SHE HAS ASPIRATION PNEUMONIA!!!

 

[Wolfster]

Thank you for all the advice guys! I guess I was just making things worse by pouring the water in... I probably got some into her lungs and made her alot worse. I feel so terrible): Shes so tiny that I dont know how I would get the water in without it going into that hole, I dont have a syringe tiny enough! If I took her to the vet they can charge upwards of around £30 and I dont know if they would be able to do anything): can anyone recommend anything? ANYTHING at all? Maybe some antibiotics I can buy? Thank you! X

 

[LuckyMotherhen]

Antibiotics depends on where you are

YOU CAN USE A VERY FINE PAINT BRUSH TO GIVE HER FLUIDS:
just dip the paint brush in the fluid and put it on the side of her mouth (see diagram)

PS: ONLY I HAVE REPLIED
Or if you have a craft glue bottle (one of the tiny ones) you could rinse that out

And I highly advise seeing a vet anyway because she may have an underlying cause for not eating/drinking
THIS IS NOT YOUR FAULT!!!

 

[Wyorp Rock]

ittle chick here who is almost a week old. Shes been having issues for the past 3 days. Shes not eating or drinking, shes panting/ breathing heavily and shes really weak and lethargic. She seems to have a fair bit of mucus in her throat and every time I try to pour some water with cider vinegar and sugar in it in to her throat she starts flailing around and choking then suddenly goes limp

She also seems to have strange gurgling noises coming from her stomach/throat when I try to get some liquids into her.

She has a little scab over her naval which has just come off and it looks a little bloody but its not prolapsed or inflamed.

Hi @Wolfster Welcome To BYC
Can you please post photos of your chick, the navel and her poop?

Don't pour water into her beak. If you have a syringe, drop one drop at a time at the side of the beak, the drop will run around the beak and she will take it in. Be patient with it. You can also use a qtip - dip it in the water and press the qtip against the side of the beak, this will give her a drop or two, let her take it in.

Tell us about your brooder, how hot is it? Photos may be helpful for that too.

Mucous inside the beak does not sound too good. Does she have any symptoms like coughing, sneezing, mucous from the nostrils or watery eyes?

 

[Wolfster]

Thanks for your reply @Wyorp Rock !! Ive attached some pics sorry if theyre not very good but its night time here in the UK I would probably be able to take some better ones in the morning if you need them! I havent been able to get any pics of her poop as she hasnt done one in a while but the next time she does one ill take a pic! But to describe it to you its basically very watery and light brown with white in it. She hasnt been coughing or sneezing, no mucus coming out of the mouth or nose its just kinda in the throat and she hasnt got watery eyes but she is vocal and tweeting away all the time especially if I pick her up etc. I actually found that as I was massaging her crop at the top it kind of makes a clicking type sticky noise like there is mucus or something in it. Thank you so much for q-tip advice. I found it so much easier to give her water that way and she was sucking the drops in through the side of her beak. However after a few drops she suddenly went ridged and threw her head back with her mouth wide open and it looked like she was almost convulsing like she couldnt breathe so I stopped with the water then. Any help would be much appreciated!!!

 

[Wolfster]

@Wyorp Rock Also about the brooder, she is in her own away from her siblings at the moment incase she has something contagious. I have the heat lamp set up at the right height to get the right temperature and im using one of my digital thermometers that I would normally use for my reptiles to monitor the temp. I just put in some soft torn up kitchen roll for her to snuggle up in compared to the wood chips that the others have and she has water and food in there put she hasnt touched either):

 

[Wyorp Rock]

Thank you so much for q-tip advice. I found it so much easier to give her water that way and she was sucking the drops in through the side of her beak. However after a few drops she suddenly went ridged and threw her head back with her mouth wide open and it looked like she was almost convulsing like she couldnt breathe so I stopped with the water then. Any help would be much appreciated!!!

She hasnt been coughing or sneezing, no mucus coming out of the mouth or nose its just kinda in the throat and she hasnt got watery eyes but she is vocal and tweeting away all the time especially if I pick her up etc. I actually found that as I was massaging her crop at the top it kind of makes a clicking type sticky noise like there is mucus or something in it.

What a cute little chick.
Is she able to walk?
The navel doesn't look too bad. If you feel that it needs something, put a little triple antibiotic ointment, bacitracin or (I think) you have Germolene(?) on it. I don't see any discharge from that, so it's probably find the way it is.

Do you have a helper? Can you look inside her beak to see if there is a blockage inside the beak or throat. Possibly a hair stuck or wrapped around the tongue? I know that sounds odd, but it has happened.

Chick(en)s do lean their head back when drinking, but her throwing it back and almost convulsing - she only does that with liquids right? It sounds like she's choking. It's hard to know what's happening there. Sometimes there could be a deformity, but I wonder if she has a blockage. Can you find her crop and feel of that? Anything in there?