Help! Sick baby chick lethargic and laying on back

[GermanKennhuhn]

@ChickenCanoe, any ideas?

 

[Paperairplanepilot]

I was able to get him to drink some water and a little bit of nutridench. I left for a few minutes and when I came back I found this. Bird throw up??? Or poop??? I can’t tell.

This looks like poop after a small intake of substance. I had a sick chick that wasnt eating and the poop wasnt really obvious. Someone recommended with her that I give a drop of honey in her beak. It helped perk her up and she started to eat. Little guy definitely needs something to have strength and fight. I dont know much else but if you have the good kind of honey, I'd try giving it to your little one.

 

[Paperairplanepilot]

Also maybe if you blend some food so you can eyedropper the liquid to the baby. Might help? I did this for a sick rooster who wasnt eating. Used eggs and veggies. I really wish you the best

 

[Lizabethnichole]

I’m sorry, I just saw this.
Is his neck twisted at an abnormal angle?
I’m glad he’s eating and drinking better. The nutridrench is good. I would continue giving it to him.
I’m starting to wonder if this is a neurological issue, but I don’t know.
Is any of the other chicks showing signs of being lethargic? If not, I doubt it’s coccidiosis. In that case, it’d probably be good to give him vitamins.

He can’t seem to hold his head up at all now. He is still throwing himself backward if he doesn’t like the way I’m holding him. After he pooped yesterday and I was trying to figure out if it was poop or vomit, I read about overfilled crop. I checked his crop area and instead of his crop I found a big lump that feels like a bone. It sticks really far out. It is maybe where his clavicle should be? But maybe something is dislocated? I’m adding some pictures. I know it’s very hard to see, but there is about a fingers width from where his sternum ends and this big bump begins.
He pooped again earlier today— it was browner and less liquid than yesterday, which makes me think that he is at least digesting what little food and water I’m giving him.

I found another thread (https://www.backyardchickens.com/th...nflammation-of-something.711850/#post-9705702) and I wonder if the bony protrusion is the same thing?? It does feel tube-like with joints in it. Is it possible that its spine is protruding forward?

 

[Lizabethnichole]

Also maybe if you blend some food so you can eyedropper the liquid to the baby. Might help? I did this for a sick rooster who wasnt eating. Used eggs and veggies. I really wish you the best

Thank you so much! I will try the honey and the food in the eye dropper.

 

[GermanKennhuhn]

He can’t seem to hold his head up at all now. He is still throwing himself backward if he doesn’t like the way I’m holding him. After he pooped yesterday and I was trying to figure out if it was poop or vomit, I read about overfilled crop. I checked his crop area and instead of his crop I found a big lump that feels like a bone. It sticks really far out. It is maybe where his clavicle should be? But maybe something is dislocated? I’m adding some pictures. I know it’s very hard to see, but there is about a fingers width from where his sternum ends and this big bump begins.
He pooped again earlier today— it was browner and less liquid than yesterday, which makes me think that he is at least digesting what little food and water I’m giving him.

Hmm. Doesn’t seem like wry neck.
View attachment 2541160
Is that the lump?
I really don’t know what’s going on. I’m no expert when it comes to diagnosing problems like this. My best guess is a neurological problem, but that doesn’t explain the lump.
I’m glad he’s eating better. Keep it up!
I would continue to provide supportive care, and hope someone more knowledgeable chimes in!

 

[Paperairplanepilot]

Do you think it's possible that he ate something he shouldnt have? Something hard to digest. And if anything it seems like if hes pooping more then maybe increase your feedings. Once his poops are more solid and regular you will know you're feeding enough. Hopefully at that point he will have more strength and start to feed himself.

Also you can compare what you feel with another chick. My recent chick had a deformed leg and her bone protrudes differently.

 

[Mellowmalt]

Hi liz,
I recently had a chick do exactly the same as yours and I managed to save it by giving it a dose of vitamin B1. He perked right back within 12 hours, started eating and is now one of my strongest chicks again. But I know how weak he was just a few days earlier and I felt if I hadn't given him vitamin B1 he wouldn't have made it.
It is also very important to note what people have mentioned that corrid treatment interferes with the uptake of thiamine which is the most essential vitamin an ailing chick needs in the first week.
foods high in vitamin b1 include brown rice husks, sprouted wheat (wheat germ), sunflower seeds and egg yolk

 

[Chickensandhorsesforlife]

It sounds like Aspergilliosis

 

[Mellowmalt]

It sounds like Aspergilliosis

that would require a really mouldy environment otherwise it would not occur.

He (she?) has gotten significantly worse, and I think it may be wry neck.

I will add this https://www.thepoultrysite.com/publications/diseases-of-poultry/216/vitamin-bi-deficiency

and this
http://www.poultrydvm.com/condition/thiamine-deficiency