Nearly five Week old chicks dying for no reason?

[MrsBachbach]

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?

I've never heard of a sour crop smelling poopy, they do smell yeasty. Have you kept an eye on her vent to make sure poop isn't piling up near it? Her varied diet could be causing gas? I guess chickens can get gas. I know my parrot has some smelly poops because she gets human food.
Is her food removed at night and the crop still swollen in the morning? That would tell me things are still blocked up in her. More water and massage necessary if that's the case.
If food isn't removed, she is pooping, but crop still looks swollen, then she is just filling up that stretched out crop by the time you look at her would be my guess.
Or, she may have gas in the crop making it swell. When you squeeze on it does air release from her mouth? Bacteria could cause a build up of gas. I'm not sure if beneficial bacteria could cause that. Im sure its quite uncomfortable for the bird though and would keep it from eating much because the crop is signaling full. Usually an imbalance in the gut will cause it and it usually happens when a bird has been on antibiotics.

 

[LadyCluck77]

She has corid in her water- but it has only been about four days or so of that. Other than the regular medicated chick feed, she hasn't been on any other medications.
I suspect she ate a piece of wood chip or paper towel, got blocked up, and now also has a sour crop because of that. She and her siblings were always small and weaker. Her one remaining brother is a little weak and also has a droopy eye, but it is non life-threatening. She is my only remaining female of this breed so I'm really trying hard to save her. Plus, she is very sweet. Some air does seem to come out when I massage the crop. She moves her beak a lot when I massage. She hasn't regurgitated fully, which I'm reluctant to do.
I'm guessing the crop has an infection and that is the swelling and the smell. Her vent still looks good.
She's still really swollen today though- no food last night. I gave her a little tiny pinch of the chick feed today, mixed with water and a tiny drop of the liquid inside the monistat capsule.
(From reading threads on here, an adult hen would need 1/3 the capsule for sour crop, so I just put a tiny drop since she is so small)


Thanks for hanging in there with me everyone- I'll keep updating and trying to save her.

 

[LadyCluck77]

Update for May 26th- She was very lethargic on Friday and wouldn't eat or drink. I really thought she was suffering, considered euthanizing her, but tried keeping up with the monistat capsule treatment mixed with straight yogurt. (I used just a tiny drop of the monistat capsule insert, not the cream it comes with)

On Saturday afternoon, she was a lot more chipper and is eating again. She comes out of the dog crate on her own and wants to be picked up for her crop massage. I've used up all of the monistat but will watch to see if she looks like she needs more I can always buy more.

I've started mixing in a tiny bit of chick feed and a little water in with the yogurt. We'll see how she does. She is actually eating again and the crop seems way down. I'm trying to give her smaller portions more frequently. I know she's not 100% and we'll have a long recovery, but I'm just so happy she's still alive.

Thanks so much everyone for helping and staying with us during the illness!
(Her face is full of yogurt here, but she looks pretty happy)

 

[MrsBachbach]

Update for May 26th- She was very lethargic on Friday and wouldn't eat or drink. I really thought she was suffering, considered euthanizing her, but tried keeping up with the monistat capsule treatment mixed with straight yogurt. (I used just a tiny drop of the monistat capsule insert, not the cream it comes with) On Saturday afternoon, she was a lot more chipper and is eating again. She comes out of the dog crate on her own and wants to be picked up for her crop massage. I've used up all of the monistat but will watch to see if she looks like she needs more I can always buy more. I've started mixing in a tiny bit of chick feed and a little water in with the yogurt. We'll see how she does. She is actually eating again and the crop seems way down. I'm trying to give her smaller portions more frequently. I know she's not 100% and we'll have a long recovery, but I'm just so happy she's still alive. Thanks so much everyone for helping and staying with us during the illness! (Her face is full of yogurt here, but she looks pretty happy)

Glad she is doing a bit better. I hope th monistat works for her. You yougart is the plain non sugared/flavored variety with live cultures, right? Wan't to avoid sugary stuff if treating for yeast infections. I think I've put birds on organic acv water in the past when dealing with soured crops or imbalance in the gut. I've read a teaspoon per gallon is correct ph, so if you want a slighty acidic gut, you would put just a bit more. I think people use a more acidic amount in the hopes of making the gut enviroment unfriendly for parasites, bacteria, coccidiosis. Not saying that it works, it's just what I've read.

 

[BigKitty]

Sorry to intrude on your forum but I don't know how to make my own but I'm sorry your chicks are dying
Anyway I have a question about my black silkie chick she couldn't hatch herself from the start so I had to help. After that she seemed fine. Maybe weaker than the other chicks stayed under mom more often but nothing major but today she's seem to have gone mad! Shes pecking ag things that aren't there going as far to fall completely backwards on her back

She's pecking at water rather than drinking it and then sometimes she'll just fall asleep face down butt up and she seems totally unresponsive to her mom or the other chicks like she's in a trance and there not even there sand goes for me. And sometimes she just stares and her head will bob and spin. I'm confident she won't make it going on like this unfortunate but what went wrong? Has it just went crazy?

 

[LadyCluck77]

BigKitty,

Separate the chick now, and place it in a dog crate or other indoor housing. Add poly vis ol to the water, it is a vitamin drop for human babies, the kind without iron. It is sold at Walmart. If you can't get that, make a basic electrolyte... 1 tbsp sugar, 1 pinch salt, 1 pinch baking soda and a full liter of clean water.

Do an inspection all over the chick for injuries, lumps, or eye problems. Observe it for a while and come back here and describe what you're seeing. Also, how old is the chick? Is it underdeveloped compared to its hatch mates?

 

[BigKitty]

Thanks for the advice! The chicks a little over 2 weeks old I tried like you said dropping a vitamin mixture down her throat but it's like she's having trouble breathing and she has a seizure type fit every once in awhile (she always chirps before she does) and then she sits gasping with her eyes closed. I know it won't make it it's always been the weakling always acting sleepier than the other chicks and slower not being able to hatch itself. I just wish I knew why the only hen that could be its mother suffers from scissor beak so maybe it's bad genes?

 

[LadyCluck77]

I'm adding an update to the chick saga. She is still alive, but still showing a weird bulge that occasionally makes an odd sound. The noise is like tiny rocks clinking together.
I give about a tbsp plain full fat yogurt (fage brand) with warm water and chick starter. She has grown some but still half the size of her hatch mates. Still in the dog crate. I may do another course of Monistat.
She's roughly 17 weeks old now. I feel like the bulge varies and it may be full of air.
On the upside, with so much handling, she's by far the friendliest chicken I've ever had.

 

[MrsBachbach]

I'm adding an update to the chick saga. She is still alive, but still showing a weird bulge that occasionally makes an odd sound. The noise is like tiny rocks clinking together.
I give about a tbsp plain full fat yogurt (fage brand) with warm water and chick starter. She has grown some but still half the size of her hatch mates. Still in the dog crate. I may do another course of Monistat.
She's roughly 17 weeks old now. I feel like the bulge varies and it may be full of air.
On the upside, with so much handling, she's by far the friendliest chicken I've ever had.

The bulge is the crop more than likely. It increases and decreases in size depending on when the bird eats. It's a storage bag for food and where digestion starts. She will likely always be smaller. When they have blocked crops and nutrition is limited, they don't grow well and rarely catch up with the others. Glad she is still going. I wouldn't overdue the yogurt though. Maybe just a once a week treat.