Need help! Chick makes clicking sound when breathing.

[amirror]

Hi everyone!

First off, thanks to all of you on this site. Your posts & wisdom have inspired me to raise chicks on my own.

I have three chicks: a Rhode Island Red & a Barred Rock which which are 3 weeks and a Buff Orpington which is around 2 weeks.

Two days ago I noticed the Buff Orpington was breathing heavily & breathing through her mouth. I also heard clicking noises as she breathed. After reading through this wonderful forum I'm pretty sure it's a respiratory issue and the clicking noise may be phlegm (please correct me if I'm wrong). She is still eating & drinking & her poops are normal. She is active sometimes but pretty sleepy in general.

I switched her feed, (the orginal feed store I purchased the chicks from didn't know much & gave me some off brand feed which I don't think is medicated) so she is on medicated starter feed. I'm making sure to regulate the temperature with a heat lamp. I also purchased VetRx, the new feed store told me to drop a few drops on the bedding & one drop behind her wings so I did that today.

What else can I do? Does the clicking noise issue sound familar to anyone? I'm a complete 100% bonified New Egg bonehead so I could really use some help. I really don't want to have to cull her as my girlfriend and I have grown attached (a dead baby chick is an awful Valentine's day surprise). The other chicks are robust & growing fine, they also don't peck at or bother the Buff Orpington.



To Long, Didn't Read? Here's a shortened version: 2 week old chick mouth breathing & breathing heavily. Still eats & drinks, poops are normal. Help?

Please help & thank you all. You're amazing people!

 

[Suzie]

So Sorry to hear you are having problems with one of your young chicks.... it is possible that she came to you with a respiratory infection, if so , chances are that the other two will also have issues....

You may wish to go through the checklist at the head of this thread.... it is extremely helpful to those who have a wealth of experience in diagnosing and advising on treating illness/ailments.

Have you checked her for mites/lice? Look under her wings and around the vent area - if you find anything that should not be there ( i.e. crawling beige/brown bugs ) buy some treatment to obliterate them.

Hopefully somebody with good knowledge will read your post and respond quickly - Dawg has a wealth of knowledge - check to see if he is online.

Wishing you and your chicks all the best!

Suzie

 

[amirror]

Thanks for the quick reply Suzie!

I checked her vent & under her wings but there is nothing crawling around.

The other chicks aren't displaying any of the same symptoms as her. I will definitely keep an eye on them though.

Thanks for the well wishes, Suzie!

I'm sure hoping someone comes to this thread as soon as they can.

 

[cotoletta]

Hi I'm having exactly tha same problems with my chick at the moment. Already lost one from doing the same thing and I don't really want to lose this one. Can I ask if your chick pulled through and what you did to help it? Many thanks for all your help

 

[Brienna]

I am no expert but one of my chicks did that once and it got me worried sick. She stopped after a while and was back to normal in no time. seems like she was maybe just too hot.. Good luck

 

[amirror]

Hi I'm having exactly tha same problems with my chick at the moment. Already lost one from doing the same thing and I don't really want to lose this one. Can I ask if your chick pulled through and what you did to help it? Many thanks for all your help

Hi there! Like Brienna said, she may have just been overheating. Make sure to check the temperature. If you do hear a clicking noise (as I had) there is a good chance that it is not due to the heat. Mine had a respiratory issue. I didn't have it in me to cull her so I went out and got medicine for her (can't remember what it was now). Afterward she recovered perfectly!

Good luck, Cotoletta! I wish you the best.

 

[cotoletta]

Thanks for the advice guys... My chick died this morning. I did what I could but she was too weak. I had three, two both died from the same reasons and the other I had to cull as it was born with 4 legs and wasn't coping well. I am devastated really as I just didn't see this coming. Next time I rear chicks I will be extra extra cautious and look for signs earlier. Thank you for your advice, thank god for this site it's very informative. !

 

[chickchickk]

Hi, don't know if this is helpful, but just had 2 chicks die after this happened. A third chick with it (2 day old) seems to improve if you hold them in your hand and place their head at an angle, not a serious angle but maybe 45 degrees to the side. The clicking stopped, and they seem to be improving. not a long term fix but could help short term.
update: they ended up dying, I still believe that this method did help them whilst they where alive