I have a 10 day old chick that is growing slowly and acting strange...

[DoubleBoop]

I got some sand from the driveway and she had a couple nibbles of it, and I've been rubbing her crop for the last 20 minutes. She's a little quieter and her crop is softer and seems to be smaller. She pooped again. Heres a picture

 

[WhiteWyan]

That poop looks really good. Such a relief!! My chick that suffered this took a couple weeks to catch up with the rest size-wise but is very healthy now. I am hoping the same for you. Hopefully your chicks crop will clear up in the next day or so!

 

[micstrachan]

Sounds like the sand and crop massage are heloing. Good work! I would also not let them havecany treats of any kind right now. Chick starter only. This little sweetie could probably take abnourishment boost like a couple sips of straight nutridrench. Are you quite certain sheisn’t cold? She seemed a little more upset when you removed your hand. Is she cuddling OK with the other chicks? If she’s developing slower, she might have a slightly harder time regulating her temperature than the others.

 

[DoubleBoop]

I'm pretty sure she's not cold, if I hold her next to the heater in my room she freaks out because she's too hot. She isn't shivering at all either. All they've had is chick starter, no treats aside from a grasshopper and a moth I caught a few days ago. This morning she is fairly quite bug definitely still has an obvious impacted crop. She's pooping almost every 10 minutes so I assume it's going down. I can't isolate her because if I do she freaks out and goes into panic chirping with no end in sight, so I don't know what I can do about keeping her away from food.

 

[ChattyChickens4Life]

Ok everyone, a crop problem is unlikely with a chick this age. The impaction couldn't have come from the food. So the only way the crop could be impacted would be because there are grass clippings, wood shavings, straw, etc.

It's also normal for the crop to get larger during the day-she is eating and the crop is filling up. If you really want to test for an impaction, when she goes to bed, take away the feed. If in the morning the crop is still large and hard, then it is impacted.

If it is impacted, provide chick grit (I'm sure PetsMart will have some because they have other birds like parakeets there). Also, at this age I personally wouldn't feed them any treats. They would get only chick feed. I would wait until they are outside to provide treats.

Before you go about treating the chick, check to make sure an impaction is the problem. If you find that this is what's wrong, let me know and I will be happy to walk you through treatment (if you don't know how to do it yourself.) Good luck and best wishes!

-Chatty

 

[ChattyChickens4Life]

And if you really need to isolate her but she freaks out, put a mirror or stuffed animal with her. I also agree with @WhiteWyan about the paper towels. It provides traction, but she can't eat it. Good luck!

-Chatty

 

[DoubleBoop]

When I isolate her, she keeps pooping in her water. I feel this is some form of protest...

 

[ChattyChickens4Life]

When I isolate her, she keeps pooping in her water. I feel this is some form of protest...

Lol! Unfortunately, chicks are messy. You could try raising the waterer up on a wood block so she can't poop in it.

 

[lazy gardener]

All chicks should have access to appropriately sized grit, starting in the first week. They eat shavings b/c they are trying to satisfy that instinctive need to put grit in their gizzards. Give them the right material, and they won't be eating the wrong materials. And no matter the diet, grit does aid in digestion.

To OP: Glad she seems to be doing better. You might even try wetting her food and putting a bit of oil in it to help her past this issue. You can help your birds to develop good gut flora and immunity by giving them a dish of soil from a yard that is not treated with insecticides or herbicides. After her crop issue settles down, you can then start giving them a clump of sod from an untreated lawn.

 

[DoubleBoop]

It's a couple inches up in a bowl, they jump to the edge of the bowl and drink like that. I had to take away the regular waterer and give them water from a bowl because they were constantly pooping in the waterer. This bird is PISSED! I have her isolated for the day because I know she wont get cold but she is chirping her little head off right now. Hopefully the impaction goes down. They've been in plastic totes with hay on the bottom to walk on but I'm thinking of digging them some dirt for the next tote.