Is my chick dying? What can I do?

[ChickenBoo2]

When I got my 6 chicks they were all healthy but a week later one had a swollen crop, or at least that's what I thought. I read up on it and it said to check in the morning but it's starting to look funny and sleep alot. Her head looks like the other chickens are pecking at her and he belly doesn't look right. What should I do?

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[MrsBachbach]

When I got my 6 chicks they were all healthy but a week later one had a swollen crop, or at least that's what I thought. I read up on it and it said to check in the morning but it's starting to look funny and sleep alot. Her head looks like the other chickens are pecking at her and he belly doesn't look right. What should I do?

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What kind of bedding is the chick on? Shavings? Fine shavings or big flakes? You want big flakes, not the fine shavings which they tend to eat and can cause blocked crops and gizzards. Don't want hay either. That's just as bad.
Crop does look big. Did it go down in the morning? If it didn't, you may have to start gently massaging the crop several times a day to try to get whatever the chick ate to move past the crop. Do the chicks have any chick sized grit available to them? How many chicks do you have and are there enough feeders to accomodate the number? Sometimes chicks wlll eat what they find on the floor if feeders are overcrowded.
But, yes, you could have a crop bound or gizzard impactation going on there and the chick is just starved and dying. Try massaging and get a vit/mineral supplement in the water and try giving the chick some nutrition with the mixed water. Use an eyedropper or small syringe and see if you can get it to take some drops of water. You are going to have to do that often. Hopefully you can get the mass to go down and hopefully it's gizzard isn't impacted. If the bird is pooping, then stuff is passing through and there may be some chance of fixing this. Meantime, check your bedding, feeders and chick grit to prevent this from happening to others.

 

[ChickenBoo2]

What kind of bedding is the chick on? Shavings? Fine shavings or big flakes? You want big flakes, not the fine shavings which they tend to eat and can cause blocked crops and gizzards. Don't want hay either. That's just as bad.
Crop does look big. Did it go down in the morning? If it didn't, you may have to start gently massaging the crop several times a day to try to get whatever the chick ate to move past the crop. Do the chicks have any chick sized grit available to them? How many chicks do you have and are there enough feeders to accomodate the number? Sometimes chicks wlll eat what they find on the floor if feeders are overcrowded.
But, yes, you could have a crop bound or gizzard impactation going on there and the chick is just starved and dying. Try massaging and get a vit/mineral supplement in the water and try giving the chick some nutrition with the mixed water. Use an eyedropper or small syringe and see if you can get it to take some drops of water. You are going to have to do that often. Hopefully you can get the mass to go down and hopefully it's gizzard isn't impacted. If the bird is pooping, then stuff is passing through and there may be some chance of fixing this. Meantime, check your bedding, feeders and chick grit to prevent this from happening to others.

There are 6 chicks, there is a long feeder and they are eating chick feed, I'm also putting chick grit for them. The bedding is large flakes. She is pooping but sometimes it's runny. She's eating normally and drinking normally with the other chicks.

 

[MrsBachbach]

There are 6 chicks, there is a long feeder and they are eating chick feed, I'm also putting chick grit for them. The bedding is large flakes. She is pooping but sometimes it's runny. She's eating normally and drinking normally with the other chicks.

Are they in a brooder or on the ground somewhere? Have you added anything to the water? It's hard to determine if a chicks crop is emptying because you don't want to remove their food in the evening, but I guess you can put them to bed in the evening and check early in the morning before you give them their feeder back. If they are on the ground, you could try treating them for cocci with Corid in their water. It's hard to know what is causing this without knowing if the crop contents are moving. The crop is the storage area for food and is that large swelling you see. If the chick is eating, drinking and pooping, it may be fine. Chicks sleep quite often. They eat, drink and sleep. That's about it. If it's always legarthic when others are running around doing their thing, something may be wrong.
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[ChickenBoo2]

They're in a coop/run and we let them out in the backyard in a pen sometimes. Our yard is big and we don't want our dog to kill any more (she killed 2). She definitely sleeps more than the others. We've taken the food away a few times at night and he crop goes down a little but not at all as much as the others. I will treat the water and rub her crop daily and hope that fixes it. Thanks!!!

 

[MrsBachbach]

They're in a coop/run and we let them out in the backyard in a pen sometimes. Our yard is big and we don't want our dog to kill any more (she killed 2). She definitely sleeps more than the others. We've taken the food away a few times at night and he crop goes down a little but not at all as much as the others. I will treat the water and rub her crop daily and hope that fixes it. Thanks!!!

If they have access to ground, and you don't have them on medicated feed, I would put the Corid in the water. Cocci can kill a chick quickly and legarthy is usually the first sign. Sometimes the medicated feed is ineffective and occassional treatments with Corid in their water is necessary. But, it does sound like the chick has impacted itself with something it ingested in the yard. So, yes, try the massage and water, but I would probably treat it with Corid just in case. You don't want to put vitamins in the water if treating with Corid however. Chick could be suffering from a combination of slow crop and cocci.