My 3 week old chick seems impacted/constipated with wood pulp

[hj_frederick]

I noticed this morning that one of my bantam chicks was straining to poop and peeping very loudly as she tried. I soaked her bum in warm water and tried to give her a olive oil and warm water enema. Everytime she would strain, I would help her pass the poop as best I could and it seemed almost like wood pulp. Will she pass this on her own eventually or should I keep helping her until all her poops are normal? Should I try to force water in her? I put some molasses in her water this morning as well but not sure if she is drinking or not. Seems chipper otherwise, doesn't act ill. Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated. They have been on the shavings since I got them at 1 day old and all seemed to know what the food is. Sometimes, their water pan would be filled with wet pine shavings, do you think she is eating those?

 

[imisabellab]

I never experienced this with my chicks the very first time we got them, we used that same bedding too. After I got my second batch of chicks we started using newspaper and as they got older we'd use straw. I know you're not supposed to use that bedding for chickens because they will often eat it. You could always try dripping some olive oil or vaseline on her vent to help pass easier. Wetting her food down might also help. Best of luck!

 

[RonC]

Mine have been on pine shavings all their lives and they do eat some but have never had any problems because of it. I would suggest feed her some olive oil in a dropper, night help things move on through. Wet her food too to make sure she stays hydrated, they love it wet anyways.The wet pine shavings might have been too tempting. Elevate or hang the waterer so they don't get as much shavings in it. It can be as high as their back and they can still drink out of it.

 

[BackyardFarmMom]

Are you feeding them medicated chick start (crumbles)? That is what I use
I would put a dish with some sand/dirt in the brooder with them. So whatever they eat can be ground up better. They are ready for it.
I, also, recommend using warm water for drinking. It helps with digestion.
Maybe remove all pine chips until you can rule that out. You can use paper towel but news paper can get slippery and cause splay leg. I have seen the rubber stuff for cupboards used as well.

I hope everything works out... literally and figuratively

 

[janinepeters]

Elevate or hang the waterer so they don't get as much shavings in it. It can be as high as their back and they can still drink out of it.

Yes. Also, why don't you cover the shavings with papertowel for a few days, to be sure she is eating only feed. See if that straightens out her poop problem. It might also help get her into the habit of eating only the food and not the shavings. Paper towel is better than newspaper because it is less slippery and easier for them to walk on. You can change the towel once or twice a day, as needed, to keep it clean.

 

[howfunkyisurchicken]

I got some Silkies a few weeks ago, the breeder kept them on rubber shelf liner. I didn't think of any issues when I plopped them in my brooder, my brooder floor is covered in shavings. They were excited, but again, didn't think anything of it. The next morning one of my chicks was doing the same thing yours is doing (and straining to the point where it looked like it might turn itself inside out, horrible). I started with warm water soaks, which did nothing. Olive oil, which did nothing. I had to physically remove the blockage. I took the chick to the sink, held its tushy under warm water and VERY gently used a pair of tweezers to remove as much as I could. I did this everytime the chick made its "omg, I can't poo" noise. Then, eventually it started pooping on its own. It still gets the occasional dirty butt, but those are far and few in between. A pan of dirt (grit) really seemed to help it out as well, I think mostly because it had something else exciting to pick at and eat besides the shavings. Good luck with your chick!

 

[off-grid hen]

I agree, Make sure they have chick-sozed grit to better digest the shavings they may ingest. I had mine on paper towels for 3 days. When I removed the towels they chowed down on the shavings.

I just made sure they had chick grit from the feed store. The first time I used sand. It was ok, but I don't think it worked as well. You can also take hen-sized grit and smash it with a hammer to break into smaller pieces for the chicks.