Nearly five Week old chicks dying for no reason?

[MrsBachbach]

I'm posting another update on the chick with mystery illness.

Thanks to all of you who are helping me with advice and tips!
I did wind up keeping the massage "treatment" every few hours, gently trying to break up the particles in her crop. After the first treatment, she was extremely exhausted. The crop looks MUCH better this morning though, after only about two days of the massage treatment. The chick is still hanging out under the ecoglow a lot, and she makes a weird sound, but she is taking the liquid diet with eagerness.

She has a standard chick waterer with corid and poly-vis-ol added. 

I have taken suggestion and the food diet I give her is: one tablespoon of full fat, plain yogurt with one raw egg yolk, mixed with about a half a teaspoon warm water. I mix this all together, and give this in a custard cup. 

She eats, but when she eats it sounds like bits of gravel knocking against each other- I wonder if I am hearing things knocking around inside her crop. Anyone else hear a sound like that? 
I give the massage treatment for at least a week, correct? And she should probably stay on the liquid diet for about a week as well? 

I know she isn't out of the woods yet, but I'm seriously grateful to you guys for all the help in figuring this out! You guys are life-savers!  

A tablespoon of yogurt for a bird that size is quite a bit. I have read that birds don't handle dairy very well, so you may cut that amount down a bit, maybe a teaspoon. I don't think I would give the yogurt more than three days. Try some jar baby food after that. Peas for instance or even the baby rice cereal. You can mix a bit of the yolk in that for protein and it waters down well. Check the vent during this because that type of diet may give it a pasty butt.

And yes, keep massaging until the crop returns to a more normal size. Hopefully, food will start passing through the crop and her.

 

[drumstick diva]

I've gotten so caught up in your thread that I had to subscribe, I do so want to hear that she is back to normal.

You deserve a lot of credit for carrying out the instructions you've been given. I'm sure your life is busy enough without playing nursemaid.

Hoping for the best possible outcome.

 

[LadyCluck77]

An update this morning, ladies and gentleman we have poop!

Her towel is full of it. I caught her actively eating it when I went to change the water.

She has always been one to eat droppings, which some chickens do, but I suspect in her case it stems from digestion issues. Maybe poop is easier to digest because it has already been broken down?

Her crop is pretty full again, so I think reducing the portion I have been giving is a good idea.

She also seems to have gotten friendlier, or at least more tolerant of being handled. She allowed me to massage the crop without any protest this morning. Thanks again everyone, I'll keep updating.

 

[seminolewind]

I guess she exploded!

 

[MrsBachbach]

An update this morning, ladies and gentleman we have poop!

Her towel is full of it. I caught her actively eating it when I went to change the water.

She has always been one to eat droppings, which some chickens do, but I suspect in her case it stems from digestion issues. Maybe poop is easier to digest because it has already been broken down?

Her crop is pretty full again, so I think reducing the portion I have been giving is a good idea.

She also seems to have gotten friendlier, or at least more tolerant of being handled. She allowed me to massage the crop without any protest this morning. Thanks again everyone, I'll keep updating.

That is good news! Because her crop stretched out, she probably feels the need to fill it. It may take some time for it to get back to normal elasticity. When you feel she is strong enough, you may take food away one night and then see in the morning just how much of the food in the crop is moving through at night. Hopefully, it will have reduced considerably at night which will tell you it is functioning properly again.
You might try sprinkling crumbles on the floor in an effort to get her interested in them instead of the droppings. Another thing you can do is wet the crumbles down with warmed water and make a mash of them. I do that for chicks when they get bored with their regular diet. I add about a 1/4 tsp of organic acv to half gallon of water and use that for their water and to wet their mash with. Best to get them used to the taste before overwhelming them with it. The vinegar really helps with digestion as will the wet mash. I've read that a tsp of acv per gallon is the proper ph, so if you want a slight acidic enviroment just do a bit more than that. But gradually build them up to it.

 

[drumstick diva]

Sometimes they are lacking some mineral or ?? and get it by eating poo. I had dogs that did it - really disgusting to find them with brown teeth.

I'm taking all this as a good sign though.

 

[LadyCluck77]

Update on May 18th-
She is regularly pooping now- I changed the towel and am still seeing poop, (and she is still engaged in eating her own)

Still gently massaging the crop, which fluctuates between very small and somewhat large depending on feeding times.

Rations are organic pureed beef and vegetable baby food, mixed with water and egg yolk, given one teaspoon at a time. She eats it pretty eagerly now, and even comes running when she realizes what's coming.

She is still hanging out under the ecoglow a lot, and is still a little puffed out, but seems somewhat better than she was.

 

[MrsBachbach]

Update on May 18th-
She is regularly pooping now- I changed the towel and am still seeing poop, (and she is still engaged in eating her own)

Still gently massaging the crop, which fluctuates between very small and somewhat large depending on feeding times.

Rations are organic pureed beef and vegetable baby food, mixed with water and egg yolk, given one teaspoon at a time. She eats it pretty eagerly now, and even comes running when she realizes what's coming.

She is still hanging out under the ecoglow a lot, and is still a little puffed out, but seems somewhat better than she was.

If she is pooping, then food is moving so it is probably a good time to put her on more solid food. I would start making a tasty mash with her regular chicken feed. Warm water with a touch of ACV( just a few drops) in it mixed with her crumbles and maybe some of the baby food mixed in too. See if she eats that on her own. She hangs out under the heat because she is likely thin and chills easier.

 

[drumstick diva]

Maybe she needs the eco glo lowered more- usually they get warm by pressing against it.

 

[LadyCluck77]

She is a little Worse today. Her crop is pretty swollen and now I smell a weird poopy smell coming from her. She is still eating, but I tried the yogurt tonight since that seems to make the crop go down. I also mixed it with a little chick mash.
Does that seem like sour crop? Should I treat with Monistat?