HELP with 5 day old chick... vent inflammed and cant poop!

[Sam The Yam]

Keep them the appropriate temperature on paper towels, and maybe try feeding them some hard boiled egg yolk or some soft apple kind of smashed up. See if they can get some soft food going through them.

 

[fernandez0067]

Ok so lastnight I did the olive oil thing, not sure if it helped yet. Im sure I will have to do it a couple times. I got most of the poo that was stuck on the vent off, but it seems like a little is still plugged in there. They can poop but its really strained and it looks like it hurts

I will do the hardboiled egg and applesauce thing in a little while. Since I worked on them lastnight they seem a LITTLE better but I just have to keep trying. Poor babies.

 

[Sam The Yam]

Any positive progress is good news. Keep them properly warm, and just gently work with them and hopefully you will start seeing them improve. Keep us posted.

 

[PoultryPedia]

If they are really young chicks and are on sawdust, I wonder if they might have eaten some sawdust or something else that's hard to pass thru their systems? You might try putting paper towels over their flooring for a day or so, if so. Also be sure they always have access to fresh water.
Those are my best guesses. I'm sorry for the pain & struggle they're going through.
Best wishes

p.s. When I have chicks with pasty butt problems, I just use little fingernail scissors to carefully trim away the fuzz around the vent so there's nothing for poop to stick to.

 

[Jenski]

I would try holding the chick's bum under gently running warm water until everything loosens up and any external dried poo falls away. This also stimulates bowel movements. Just be sure the chick gets dried off before placing back in the brooder.

Sounds like a bad case of pasty butt, and you want to make sure he doesn't get any more irritated back there. This issue should not last more than a day or two.

Moving chicks (as when you purchase them) is very stressful on them, and it is very important to keep their new brooder warm enough. A brooder that is too cold (or too hot) can cause digestive problems that lead to pasty butt.

How old is the chick now? What is your brooder temp?

 

[fernandez0067]

I got the chicks last Wednesday the 15th, they only seemed to be about a day or two old. One even had eggshell still stuck on his beak. The brooder I have has been steady between 95 and 100 degrees the whole time. They have enough room to move around to the other side if they get too hot (which hasnt happened they seem to be hanging out right under the light most of the time.) There are pine shavings for the floor, but they're too big for them to eat. I tried to get them to eat applesauce this morning but they weren't having any part of it. The poo is all gone on its butt but the vent is still pretty big and he's straining a lot still. There isnt much fuzz on his but either. I think it came off with the pile of poo i had to get out of there.
I will have to take a pic tonight to explain what it looks like.

 

[fernandez0067]

Ok I just went home and took some pics.... here is what the baby looks like right now:

 

[Jenski]

Ouch! Could he have gotten damaged from peeling off dried poo?

I would try some Preparation H on external parts of the vent, just as I would do for a prolapsed hen. This should relieve the swelling. Once or twice a day with a Q-tip should help things. Keep the Prep-H on hand for later hen issues.

Good luck, and please keep us posted on how he does!

 

[fernandez0067]

when the poo was stuck to it, it was already that inflammed. When I finally got the poo off, some butt fuzz came with it.

I will definitley try the prep H as soon as I get home today. Thanks for the suggestion

 

[Hobbley_Farm]

Quote:
Prep H? WOW! That's good to know. I haven't heard of that before. Just the water and oil. Crazy!