Lump on side of neck of 2 week old chick...EDIT: It looks like AIR?!

[JennieBean5]

We got 15 baby chicks recently...they are about 2 weeks old now. This morning I noticed one of them had a small lump on the right side of her neck. Over the day, it's gotten bigger...it's not hard, but it's not squishy either. They are on cedar chips for bedding and eat starter chick food. She's acting ok - laying down a little more than normal, but is drinking and eating.

Anyone have any ideas as to what could be wrong?

 

[Year of the Rooster]

You are most likely feeling the crop. This is where food is stored until it goes to the gizzard for digestion. Keep an eye out though in case problems do arise. Take the food away before bed and see if the lump is still there. It should be completely gone or slightly there in the morning (depending on how much it ate). Taking away the food ensures that the chick doesn't eat until you've checked it.

 

[JennieBean5]

If I take away the food from that chick, the other 14 wouldn't have any food either, unless I separate this one from the others. Which may be tricky since they all need the 1 warming light we have on them. What should I do? And what problems should I look for to arise? I've noticed since I posted this chick is laying down pretty much all the time, even to eat.

 

[Miss Lydia]

From all I've heard and read on here it is not safe to use cedar chips with chicks because of the oils that it produces.. pine is much better and safer.

 

[Back on the Farm]

I have a chick who has the same issue. She has a lump on her right side, and her neck is bent to the left. She did have a crop issue and with a day of giving her some oil and massage, her crop issue cleared up. Her neck is still bent to the left. I was thinking it might be wry neck, but I'm not sure. It doesn't seem to be getting worse, but it isn't getting better either. She is more sleepy than the others, but does eat, drink, and poop normally. I'm going to begin treating her for wry neck to see if there is improvement. I don't think it is a disease. She is still thriving and so are my other chicks - non of the others have these symptoms. I also wonder if she got injured either during shipping or at the store and maybe she's more low key because of the injury. The other chicks aren't picking on her, they are mothering her. It is cute to watch.

Has anyone else seen this?

Ps - I've always heard that cedar chips aren't good for animals.

 

[Year of the Rooster]

Quote:
It's only for the night. They won't starve. I'm afraid I can't help you with the rest.

 

[JennieBean5]

Ok, I just checked her out again...I can see air bubbles under her skin! This really freaks me out!

We are going to change over to pine shavings tomorrow...we asked the people we got the chickens from and they said cedar shavings were fine. Weird!

 

[tinychicky]

that's very strange. what do you mean by "air bubbles"?

 

[CMV]

Cedar shavings are not fine. They release chemicals that are both pulmonary and/or liver toxins. You need to switch over to anything else quickly.

The air under the skin is indicative of a punctured air sac. This is easy to resolve if you have a small hypodermic needle. A sterile hypodermic inserted into the air space can alleviate the problem. Just aspirate the air as needed until the problem is resolved. The damaged air sac should rectify itself. There are sometimes complications from the ruptured air sacs, but chances are good your chick will be much better off with some intervention rather than none. Repeat the procedure as needed.

Any questions feel free to PM me. Good luck.

 

[Miss Lydia]

Please go to google custom search and type in air under chickens skin and you'll come up with quite a few posts on this very subject.. it can be treated.