Had sick chicks dumped at my door, pics included, have some questions

[dulcimer lady]

I had a young woman hand off 3 baby chicks to me today. She said she had gotten 4 for her kids (2 years old, if that) "for Easter." Ug. One had already died and she just couldn't figure out why. The 3 remaining chicks were in a plastic tote, no bedding for traction at all, I'll be lucky if they're not spraddle legged. Let's face it, I'll be lucky if they survive at all. They had not been fed. She said she had them for 5 days and "had tried feeding them worms." They had no water and no heat lamp. I don't know how they survived this long.

So right now I have them under a heat lamp, with some bedding, chick feed and clean medicated water. I have Corid and Duramycin in their water. My question is about their gullet area. The 2 yellow ones (I think white rock crosses) are horribly swollen. The little darker on (of questionable heritage) is swollen but not nearly as bad. I've heard of giving olive oil for this but have no experience with it myself so I wanted to ask for advice here.

The pics don't show the swelling very good, but hopefully you can get the idea. ------ Honestly, I can't stand it when people buy animals and don't know the first thing about keeping them alive!!!!

 

[dulcimer lady]

Also, as of right now, their legs/feet are still a healthy looking pink color. No discoloration to grey/blue. And they have been active. They thought they had gone to heaven when I turned that heat lamp on.

 

[Life is Good!]

Any chance they actually ate some of the worms former owner gave them? Since they've not had grit, would their little systems be able to handle the worm? Not sure - hoping someone else can post further. But that's what popped in my head. Good luck!

 

[mong7769]

I don't have answers to your quesitons but I wanted to reply so this keeps getting bumped to the top. I wonder if they ate something non-digestible because she wasn't feeding them. Anyway sooo disgusting. People seriously irritate me. This is my first time with chickens and I read for weeks before even placing my chick order with my local hatchery and then for weeks more before they actually hatched! So here is a bump so others will see this and hopefully chime in with actual answers instead of just sympathy for the poor chicks!

 

[WI FarmChick]

Well, They are in good hands now. I know you will do what you can to help them.
Hopefully they are stronger than we think.

 

[crazychickenwom]

I had a similar thing happen to me, but out of 6 only 1 chick was still alive by the time I got them... My "Big Bertha" also had a huge crop and I think it was what "Life is Good" said and they needed grit for all of the things they had been fed that were not chick appropriate. Thankfully after putting ACV in the water and keeping her under the light and with my other new babies she is doing great now! I also had to remove some sort of thread that had been wound around her toes to the point she couldn't walk right... like she was kept on an old towel or something... But, like I said she is doing great now and we love her! Good luck to you all!

 

[chookhead]

try massaging their crop or gullet and feed it olive oil to lubricate their digestive tracts
massage as much as you can and do it gently
and put a little bit of olive oil in their water as well when they drink they will get some
the next option is to take them to vet so they can operate
or you can operate and if all fails i hate to say i really do i have just lost two chicks but put them to sleep permanently
but hopfully all goes well pray

 

[WI FarmChick]

 

[nurse_turtle]

It looks like they ate whatever was offered and maybe even whatever kind of bedding they were on. I do wish you the best of luck, but those crops look awful. Consider massaging them to see if fluid comes out or if it feels harder. Poor babies hardly had a chance at all.

 

[dulcimer lady]

I was also wondering if perhaps they ingested the worms. They were living in their own filth and drinking pee/poop, they had no water. Thanks for mentioning the ACV - something I knew but had forgotten. I'll try that w/ the olive oil and massage. If anyone else has any ideas, please share them as I'll be checking this thread more throughout the evening.