My baby chick is having trouble pooping

[snapkrackelpop19]

I just got her in the mail two days ago, at first she seemed to have something dried up right below her vent, like dried yolk or shell. I wiped it off with a wet cloth and this little bump peeled off and it started bleeding. Anyway today it looks a lot better like the wound is healing but the poor little chicky can't seem to poop right. It just kinda hangs there like its still stuck in the vent a bit. I've had to wipe her bum lol. Anyone have this problem before? She's really perky, probably the most active out of the three of them so she seems healthy otherwise.

 

[CMV]

Sounds like pasty butt. You will need to watch this little guy closely until it resolves. Pasty butt can seal up the vent and cause death by not allowing waste to leave the body. I will generally rinse butts with a stream of warm water when chicks are very young to prevent pasty butt. Hopefully if you can keep the vent open the chick will be fine in short order. Once they get a little older it ceases to be as dangerous as it is when they are young.

Oh, and the dried thing was probably a little incomplete yolk absorption. It happens sometimes. Next time you should just leave it to fall off on its own.

Good luck.

 

[Judy]

After you clean the butt, it helped mine a lot to put some lubrication on it so the next poop doesn't stick so badly. Most anything you have, Vaseline or Neosporin ointment stay put fairly well, cooking oil is fine, Crisco is really good (we used to use it on people in nursing homes.0

 

[snapkrackelpop19]

Thanks guys! I rinsed it and have been keeping an eye on it and everything seems to be going well!

 

[Kinderhatcher]

This sounds very similar to a problem I'm having with one of the chicks hatched in my primary classroom... However my chick is also pecking at its rump feathers and has pecked many of them off. Finally after 2 days I had a chance to look close and found the scaly stuff as described and gave it a little "bath" and gently rubbed with a towel... and the down underneath fluffed up, but still it is having difficulty pooping - kind of going into tremors and passing hard tight bits of stool, unlike the "plops" of the others.
I will try using some oil on the vent area but am concerned about the feathers. Weirdly, its feathers around the ears and under the wing are not as full and fluffy as the other birds, and it isn't quite as fluffy as the others. I have seen the biggest of the three in this box peck occasionally at this chick's ear, but overall the other birds seem to not be pecking at this bird.
Will the feathers heal up or is something more wrong???

 

[CMV]

Unthrifty flock members are often targeted and driven out due to reasons we have no knowledge of and/or control over. It is part of the pecking order. It is harsh to watch, but serves a greater purpose in the long run. Weaker members of a flock are driven out so the flock strengthens and has a greater hope of long term survival.

I would do the standard bug check both during the day and at night when the room is dark. If you see no bugs or evidence of external parasites, then it is probably safe to assume any issues are related to the one chick and not more widespread.

 

[Kinderhatcher]

Thank you for your reply,

Interestingly, the other birds seem to be leaving it alone, but it is clearly in distress and not eating or drinking. After the first time I cleaned the rump, the down all fluffed up but now it has chewed its backside bare of feathers and is starting on the lower feathers on its leg. (The oil I used on the rump was sunflower oil, not sure if that mad it want to eat the feathers? I have washed the backside again, now the vent area is all white and scaly. I applied a bit of olive oil with a bit of tea tree oil directly to the white area. I also tried feeding some probiotics. Other birds not affected, so it doesn't look like parasites to me. Also, is not a farm environment, so I don't know where they'd come from.
Haven't seen it be able to poop lately although it seems to be trying.
I welcome any further ideas
???

 

[CMV]

No tea tree oil. It is highly toxic to small animals if ingested.

Sounds like this chick might be a failure to thrive, which is just a catch-all term for any youngster that has something unknown going on with it that prevents it from thriving. It is usually a hidden defect that takes time to fully manifest. These chicks often die despite our best efforts trying to prevent that. I always recommend taking a bit of extra care with these guys, while also staying aware that this bird is likely not going to make it to adulthood, so don't get attached because the chick will break your heart when it dies (note I said "when" not "if"). With the difficulties passing stool, and the backside chewing, I wonder if it has a fully open and functional GI system.