Help! Constipated Chick? 10 days old!

[City Gardener]

One of our lovely brahma chicks, 10 days old, appears to be constipated. Her vent is slightly distended and pulsing. It started last night. I noticed she was standing still, wings hanging low, and her vent red and pulsing, as if she were pushing.

She also appeared to have some dried poo below her vent, so I treated it as if it were pasty butt: cleaned off the dried poo with a warm wet paper towel and olive oil.

That improved her, but then this afternoon it started again. She seems to be straining to push out a poo, is hanging her wings down, and keeping her butt in the air as she dozes off. A little while ago, I did the same treatment as last night, and it seemed to improve her, but now she is straining again, and just started doing a distress cheep.

Any ideas???? Could she have something stuck in there, like an undigested pine chip?

 

[miss_thenorth]

If it's pasty butt--you need to keep on top of it. For me, if it wre my chick, I would soak the butt in warm water for a bit--to relax the area. but it is a chick, so make sure it keeps warm,and dry it off very well. Keep a close eye on it.

 

[Glenda L Heywood]

take chick and use a eye dropper filled with olive oil
take and insert the eye dropper in the vent putting the Olive oil in there
do this twice and see if it will soften the manure
also take
1 gallon of dru crumbles and mix qith 1 cup of play school sand from the lumber yard
also should feed the
wet mash probiotic mix
email me PM for this recipe

 

[City Gardener]

Wow, I can't believe you two have replied already! thank you!

We gave her a warm bath with olive oil in it. She released a poo into the water. But as we were drying her off she was still pulsing, so we gave her another water bath. Nothing happened, but then as we were drying her with a hair dryer she released three more!

Unfortunately she is still in distress. She took a few sips of molasses water. I am going to look for an eye dropper to give her the olive oil enema as recommended. I'm so sad, she doesn't look good.

 

[sammi]

also give the chick a tiny piece of oil soaked bread, and a little molasses water..
a probiotic mix is plain active culture yogurt, mixed with water moistened feed..buttermilk can also be used.
may not be Miss Glenda's recipe, but will help the chick.

what bedding are using?
have you checked the crop?
if you are using pine shavings, or something similar..the chick might be eating the bedding and getting backed up..
best to check the crop and vent often and remove the bedding.

 

[rufus]

It seems to me that chicks that have access to the earth do not have problems with pasty butt. Put some soil into the brooder so that they can scratch and pick around in it. Maybe there is some micro organism or mineral they need in dirt.

Good Luck,

Rufus

 

[City Gardener]

We have her isolated now. I noticed her crop was distended, so I massaged it a few times. Seemed to help, she pooped again... now I think she is on her way out. She is panting quickly and lying flat. I feel terrible.

 

[City Gardener]

We realized right after I wrote that last one that she was panting because she was HOT. The brooder we put in her was smaller than our main one, and the lamp was too much. we switched lamps and she perked up and even pooped again, and made it through the night, but her vent is still pulsing.

 

[miss_thenorth]

Have you checked the others for comparison? All my chicken's butt pulsate. It might just ber normal.

 

[City Gardener]

The others' vents are fluffy and not red.
But I have good news. This morning we gave her molasses water, and she drank a LOT of it. We started worrying that it was too much, but we also figured she was dehydrated and hungry. Her crop got big, so I massaged it and she pooped. She also regurgitated some of the molasses water.
But she seemed perked up. Regretfully we had to leave her to take the kids to school and I had agreed to help chaperone my daughters' field trip -- ironically to a farm.

We left her with water, molasses water, chick feed and water. We have her little cage next to the other chicks' cage, in case that matters to her, to not be alone. (Which I think it does -- she tends to hang out closest to them.)

ANYWAY, I just got back and she is doing great. Her vent is still swollen and red, but she is walking around pecking and stretching her wings. I just saw her poop, and take a nap lying down, which she hadn't been doing.

I actually think she is going to make it!

Now i just have to figure out how to reintroduce her to the flock. She looks a bit ragged because her feathers are oily from the baths we gave her last night, and I actually think the other four chicks have grown in the 12 hours she's been going through this. We isolated her last night partly becuase they were circling her and pecking curiously at her. I think I'll let her get a little stronger and de-oiled before putting her back in.


Thanks so much to all of you. I really thought we were going to lose her. I've learned so much from reading this forum.