HELP! 4 Day Old Chicks Diarrhea. UPDATE

[bionic_chicken]

I have 7 chicks. Picked them up from Ideal Monday. They get medicated starter and plain water. They are on paper towels over pine shavings. I change their water several times a day. I change paper towels several times a day. Temp ranges from 90 -100 in the brooder. They seem happy - milling around. No one is showing any overt signs of illness behaviorly - yet. Do I administer plain yogurt? Could this be from the temp dropping too low sometimes? I just saw it was at 89. I lowered the heat lamp. Help. I want to nip this in the butt. I love these little girls!

 

[MissPrissy]

Some chicks can't tolerate the medicated feed. Sometimes it is shipping stress that causes pasty butt. Keep their butts washed off. If it dries and blocks them up they will get sick and could die from it. Once clean and dry put some vaseline around the vent so it will be less likely to stick and clog.

With young chicks I don't advise giving them anything but the water and starter crumbles. Yogurt will cause more stool problems. You can try a little cooked white rice or cooked oatmeal to see if it will tighten things up but only offer a little at a time mixed with some feed crumbles.

 

[bionic_chicken]

Thanks MP! I check butts several times a day. I'll go check/wash now. Thank you so much for your wisdom!

 

[bionic_chicken]

OK! I had to clean/vaseline 3 out of 7 butts. The good news is, I see no further diarrhea! The scary news is: when I was cleaning my SLW's butt, I was wiping away from the vent and toward the body. That's when I discovered the umbilicus!!! Man, I'm sooooo green. SLW's umbilicus was not as dried down as the others, it was kind of fleshy and seemed almost bloody at the base from my butt wiping. I was soooo distressed, all I could think about was Mushy Chick Disease. I called out to DH to bring me Betadine and neosporin, which I applied, in that order. I felt like I was on the right track to heal it, but then I saw it (with the vaseline and neosporin on the fuzz, it was totally visible) and I knew that the six other girls would see it as a delicious morsel to peck. Sure enough, a few seconds later, the EE caught sight of it and pecked. I freaked out. Think, think, what do I do? Blu-Kote! I don't have any, yet. Then it hit me!!! I made a solution of alcohol and blue food coloring! I painted it on, and the red was no longer visible. I watched and no one else seemed to notice. Then I had to take my father to a doctor appointment. DH watched over the babies and said everything was fine the three times I called in an hour and a half! When I got home, I was thrilled! The umbilicus was dry and shriveled! I couldn't believe how fast and effective the alcohol solution was! And no more pecking due to the blue food coloring! SLW seems absolutely fine! As long as no dangerous bacteria entered the umbilicus while I was butt-cleaning, I think we're fine!

 

[MissPrissy]

Good job. That's how we all are with raising chickens. You have to think on your feet. Your babies are gonna be just fine.

 

[bionic_chicken]

Hey EVERYBODY! I love MP...Moderator, Mentor, Encourager! THanks again, MP!