My chick is not doing well. Update!

[babyrnlc]

I think I know why

I went to two births in the last 2 1/2 days (well I did deliver one, but the other was a false labor.)

My husband said he would feed and water the chickens. I went out this morning and my SF chick was just sitting there kind of clearing her throat. I noticed the blue pan of water was empty. I checked the bucket with nipples and it was empty too

I promptly put water in and the chickens attacked it. I took the little one over and she did drink some, but her crop was super hard. I massaged a little, let her have more water, massaged a little, did this every 5 minutes or so until the bottom part was not hard. She is just sitting in the run. I just know I am gonna come back from church and she will be dead.

If it was that she was dry and the food dried in her crop, will it get better? All the other girls seem fine, they were thirsty, but fine. This little girl is a piglet and I bet she just kept eating even with nothing to wash it down.

I guess even if I havent slept in 36 hours, I should go do the chickens my self. I am going to Florida for 10 days, I hope the chickens survive. DH feels really bad, maybe that will be insentive to check the waterer while I'm gone.

 

[klmclain1]

You might give her a little olive oil too and massage that in...

 

[babyrnlc]

Quote:
How much? I did about a table spoon. I just hate this. It is like clay feeling. I can get it soft for a littlebit but not that soft. I wonder if I am massaging wrong. She is still here and will get up and drink. I am massaging about every 5 minutes and she is not eating more except a little grass I'm the run. Shouldn't it be going down?

 

[PoultryPedia]

She will probly be fine after a day or two. My roo had this a few days ago. He was just sitting there & I was really worried. I used a bit of warm water & gentle massage. It cleared up by the next day.
It's called impacted crop when they have this problem--you can use the Search feature & find some more threads with helpful advice about it on here, too. Chickens seem to get over it quite well, especially if it's caught & treated within a few days.
I wouldn't put any more fluids or oil in your chicken because the crop is small enough that it can overfill & the contents flow into the lungs.
I'm glad you spotted & diagnosed the problem so soon! I think things will clear up alright.
I would take away any hard food so the chicken won't get anything else in its crop that can cause more obstruction. I would recommend only feeding soft, moist food the next few days because the crop will probly be sore & have some damage. I wet down my roo's pellets a few days, fed some egg, & fed applesauce (which helps flush any toxins that may have built up), etc. Those would probly be good for all your chickens because they've been dried out, too. I'd check each of their crops, and make sure none of the others need some massage, too.
I'm sorry for the situation, but glad you caught it & are taking care of it.

 

[klmclain1]

x2

 

[babyrnlc]

Well, got home last night and the chickens had already put themselves to bed.

Went out this morning to check on them and she was acting completely normal.

Crazy chickens!

 

[klmclain1]

Great!!! Sounds like you did everything just right!!