Help! 3 day old baby chick not doing well.

[chickentvforme]

Just received 7 day old chicks in the mail. One of them seems to be sickly. It had pasty butt when it first arrived and now seems to be having trouble pooping. She has been sleeping alot. Not much eating or drinking that I have observed. I made some egg yolk but she doesn't want to eat it. She just basically fell asleep in it. What should I do? Here is a picture of her vent...is something wrong with it? Her poop smells aweful too.

 

[Eggcessive]

Wash the vent with a little soapy water, and dry her off. Is the vent protruding or swollen at all? Chicks can get dehydrated in shipping, and suffer from shipping stress. Get some poultry vitamins and electrolytes started immediately in her water, and start dipping her beak as often as possible today while letting her swallow. Keep the brooder temperature around 90 F, but have a cooler spot to escape to if they are overheated. Pasty butt usually goes away after the first week. If the vent is swollen or prolapsed, you can apply a bit of honey or hemorrhoid cream to it. If it is just pasted up, then put a little vaseline or vegetable oil on the vent. Probiotics in the water are good for GI problems.

 

[chickentvforme]

It seems like she is getting worse. HAve separated her from others and cleaned her bottom again. Heading to store to get prep h now.

 

[Eggcessive]

Try to lubricate it and push it back inside with your finger, and hold it in for a few minutes. It may come out, but keep putting it back in. If you have any molasses or Karo Syrup give the chick a drop or two into her beak. This can help her to poop. Chicks with a prolapse can survive, although some do not. I'm hoping she makes it. Here are a couple of threads to read:
https://www.backyardchickens.com/t/857614/help-prolapsed-vent-chick
https://www.backyardchickens.com/t/173531/prolapse-in-baby-chicks

 

[chickentvforme]

Thank you Thank you!!! One question. When I push it back in will it be hard to do? I tried pushing it in earlier and it wasn't an easy push so I stopped.

 

[Eggcessive]

It may not be easy since there is swelling, but I would keep trying. The honey sugar or hemorrhoid cream may help the swelling go down, but keep his vent lubricated and moist so that the pink prolapsed tissue does not dry out.

 

[chickentvforme]

It may not be easy since there is swelling, but I would keep trying. The honey sugar or hemorrhoid cream may help the swelling go down, but keep his vent lubricated and moist so that the pink prolapsed tissue does not dry out.

So when I cleaned the poop off her vent a few hours ago I got a bit more aggressive with it using a qtip. I noticed this time as I cleaned it more poop would show up. So I kept digging with the qtip and finally she started pooping (huge amounts) on her own. I think the pasty poop was all the way inside her and I couldn't tell until she started to prolapse and turning inside out. My concern now is she still isn't eating or drinking. Of course who could blame her. I also noticed she is much smaller than the other chicks that were the same size just yesterday. Im still pretty worried about her. I think she was on the brink of death. I hope she will recover but I'm afraid this may have permanent damage.

 

[chickentvforme]

She made it through the night but I was up giving her water off and on. I have noticed that one of her legs is hurting and she is limping around. She is still not eating or drinking yet. I've had to clean her bottom twice in the last 12 hours. When I put her in the brooder with her flock she chirps loudly and staggers into other chicks. I'm prepping the kids she might not make it. But we are doing our best to keep that from happening. She is so precious.

 

[Eggcessive]

It sounds like you may have saved her. Pasty butt can certainly kill baby chicks, and by writing about it, you are educating more people. Since her leg is having a problem, her plumbing may have some birth defect as well. It's a good sign she has started passing droppings. I'm really pulling for her to make it, but if she has a leg bone deformity, too, it may not be meant to be. Hopefully she just hurt her leg.

 

[chickentvforme]

Day 5. Late last night she began to eat and drink on her own. She is still a little wobbly on her legs but better than yesterday. Now she can eat and clean her feathers without falling over..most of the time. I have put her back with her flock and she seems to be ok. I will say I didn't get much sleep last night. She is very mouthy when she gets cold. Apparently she was not as comfortable as she wanted so I warmed her up. The brooder box is set about 95 degrees but princess likes to be held now and was demanding a sunny 100 last night. Lol. She may have me wrapped around her little wing and she knows it. I'm not ready to declare her 100% but she is definitely heading in the right direction.