Help Please! Week Old chick with crop impaction????PICS!!

[The Sheriff]

My bantam cochin is one week old today. He was feisty and active yesterday. This morning he has been off to himself. I picked him up and noticed he has a huge lump on his chest. You can see it in the pictures on his left side when I have him on his belly. The next pic shows how big the limp is.

He has been in a brooder, with heat, eating medicated starter with a little yogurt. The bedding is product made from dried corn cob. I have never seen a chick try to eat it and the pellets are too big.

PLEASE TELL ME WHAT I CAN DO TO SAVE THIS CHICK.

 

[LynneP]

Do you think it is corn cob (fibre) or pellets?

If pellets they can be softened with olive oil or veggie oil, given on the beak, but at that age I am unsure of you can get enough in. Water would soften it, too. BTW at this age they need crumble, and if you don't have that, the pellets should be softened with water and mashed before offering.

But if corn cob fibre, it is out of my league. Hoping others will join in here.

Change the bedding even if they are only on paper towels in case another gets the same idea.

 

[The Sheriff]

Thanks for the reply Lynne. They are on crumble, medicated chick starter crumbles.

I gave him water with ACV then olive oil down his throat. Then I had to leave him. The good news is I came home from my doctor's appointment and I think DH had saved his life. He thought the chick was dying so he held him and massaged his crop for a long time. Finally everything passed and the hard lump was gone! He has been active today, pooping up a storm and drinking water with organic ACV. He wouldn't touch the bread and olive oil, so I tried scrambled egg, nada to that either. He dove into a bit of crumbles with yogurt so I removed him and put him back in Chicken Infirmary on my desk. I don't want him eating anything else and I want to see if his crop works ok.

In one week this little guy has put us through the wringer! "He" better be a "she" and be sweet as pie, or it's off to Craigslist!

Here he is pouting in solitary confinement. Well, he has a little green playmate in with him.

 

[Attack Chicken]

Yay! I love good endings like this one! He/she is a cutie!

 

[mypicklebird]

He may have gotten dehydrated, or eaten too much and didn't drink enough. If they eat a lot of food, and don't follow it with enough water- the crumble can sit there like a rock. Check your temps and make sure they are not too hot and have a good gradient, and make sure there is enough water for everyone for all day. A few hours with a dry waterer, or too hot- you can suddenly have several chicks with impacted crops- and it is just dried out food in there. Massage and small amounts of syringed or tubed water can usually help break up and soften the food so it can pass.

 

[JenMT]

I love this story too....I'm glad that he/she is doing better!

 

[The Sheriff]

Quote:
Thanks picklebird. They do have plenty of water at all times. Changing the waterer is how I spend my day. Yucking it up is how they spend theirs. I don't think it was overheating either because we just have a 75 watt heat lamp and I haven't seen the temp above 89 degrees. They have lots of room to move away from the heat too. This little guy has been challenged from the get go. He pipped shortly after the first cochin hatched. Once he got fluffed up he started obsessing on that pip and pecked at it until he had zipped the chick. Then the membrane dried out. I didn't think he would live the first night but he fooled us. He is a lot smaller than the others and very fussy, always looking for a Mama. I bring him in and keep him on my desk a lot when he starts chirping loudly and running in circles. Tonight I found a black fluffy hat in my closet. I don't even wear hats! I put him in the hat and he immediately snuggled up under the brim. He's been in it for hours, just sleeping and quietly chirping to his Mama hat.

Don't look. You can't see me. I am under mama's wing.

Amazing little creatures, they are.

Thanks again. I appreciate your help.

Mary

 

[mypicklebird]

That is a good use as any for an unused hat! I hope he does ok, perhaps he just overate and didn't drink enough afterwards.

 

[LynneP]

What a cutie- nicely done! This one will never make it to Carigslist, he's going to be a pet....

 

[VTGIRL]

Love the styrofoam "holding cell"... is that why you call yourself "the warden"?