Im not sure if I should be alarmed...

[Reurra]

My little grey roo I hatched out has always been a gobbler of food. He seems to gulp it down in huge amounts. I noticed this from the day he was born, but he seemed fine after the first time. Today i went out because I suddenly realized at 4am that I forgot to turn on the night time heat lamp. Well as soon as the light came on....Guess who runs over to the feeder and proceeds to pack it down like its a famine? So I watch him as he started wandering around, his neck just below his beak bulging and him gasping for air. I picked him up and massaged it down, but it took a lot of work. He was not interested in drinking either, which might have helped, or might have choked him. Im not sure what to think of this behavior...hes bigger than my other birds, even the hen that is a full month older than him. So its not like hes starving or anything...

 

[Michael Apple]

I provide food for chicks all day and all night up until about 5 weeks. Sometimes feed that is too powdery makes birds gag and cough, especially if the are eating vigorously. It could be the sudden stimulation from the light being turned on encourages that behavior. I don't know how old your chicks are, but keeping a red bulb in the brooder lamp might help in addition to providing starter/grower feed that isn't powdery. If it is possible to withhold feed for short periods of time for that particular chick, and encourage the chick to drink instead, that might help. Provide enough feed and water stations so chicks don't have to compete for food/water.