Help, my little one is plugged!

[mizzq]

So each afternoon I go out to check on the babies and tonight I noticed that my runt was just standing there all by himself in a tub of 26 babies. When I picked him up to check his butt I noticed it looked a bit swollen. I gave his anus a bit of a squeeze and got a clump of poo out. I continued to, as gently as possible, squeeze until I thought I got most of the blockage out. Is there something I can do to help the little guy?

 

[missnu01]

Not heard of this issue...

 

[countrygirl74]

Sounds like it's constipated. There are a couple things you can try...

First make sure the brooder isn't too warm - this can cause pasty butt issues.

One thing that really helps constipated chicks is probiotics - you can try to get him to eat some plain yogurt or sprinkle a probiotic powder or capsule on his food. Sometimes it helps to wet the crumbles and make it into a nice warm mash like oatmeal.
Is he drinking well? If not, you can get a medicine dropper and try to get him to drink a little more - don't force the beak open, just drip it alongside his beak. Add a little olive oil to the dropper - that can help too!
Give him a warm bath - just fill a little bowl with warm water and let him stand in in to where his vent is in the warm water or hold him to where his vent is in the water for a bit. Don't stay in the water long enough for the water to get cold so he doesn't get chilled or that will defeat the purpose.
You can also place olive oil on and around the vent to help with any soreness.

Hopefully this helps! You might have to do these things for a few days until his little body gets everything worked out. Keep us posted!

 

[mizzq]

Well I attempted the yogurt thing but he wanted nothing to do with it. I tried to separate him from the others and he screamed at the top of his lungs until I put him back. I have been checking/cleaning the chicks several times a day and he seems to be doing better. Thank you for your advice.

 

[countrygirl74]

Well I attempted the yogurt thing but he wanted nothing to do with it. I tried to separate him from the others and he screamed at the top of his lungs until I put him back. I have been checking/cleaning the chicks several times a day and he seems to be doing better. Thank you for your advice.

All my chicks and grown girls were wary of yogurt the first time I tried to give it to them. I had some dry crumbles on hand that I sprinkled on the top and that got them interested. When I went back to check on them later, it looked like they had licked the bowl clean. Sometimes you just have to give them time to figure out how much they like it... LOL

 

[mizzq]

Sorry it has been a while. I did learn that if you give chicks grass it will prevent them from getting pasty butt. I started giving all my chicks grass, (with a bowl of gravel) and the pasty butt problem went away completely. I am going to add this to my annual routine with each batch of birds!