Older Chick Keeps getting constipated

[jennrauch]

First I'll start with the whole story. Nolla (2.5 month old Araucana Hen) got stuck behind our feed bin. She had to been back behind it between one day to almost two days. She was very cold, weak, and had a swollen pasty bottom. We got her cleaned up and trimmed some feathers up that seemed to be getting dirty. For a week and a half we struggled on keeping her clean and monitoring her ability to go on her own. Finally, she appeared to be doing well, so we put her back up in the coop in a separate cage (her sisters were picking on her very badly). Thought she was out of the woods, until we noticed about 3 days after we took up back up to the coop she was huddled up, straining, chirping, and swollen again (not pasty bottom though). We had changed her food, and she was able to forage in the evening, is this what may have caused the constipation again? Does she need a strict diet of only her crumbles? Grit? No grass or greens? I'm so confused on this.

Her food prior to getting stuck behind feed bin was - Laying Mash
Her food during getting her back to going on her own was - Laying Mash, and some grass.
Her food change to going back up to coop - Medicated crumbles, and grass.

She is also able to get a few pieces of cracked corn here and there when let out to forage.

Is she dehydrated? We bought electrolytes.

Please Help if you can!

 

[Tuffoldhen]

I've read if they are kept on cedar shavings they can eat these and it causes pasty butt, also if they aren't getting enough water to drink keeps it coming back..they need lots of water to help digest their food.....I'd try giving her some fruits in her diet like one of the types of melons...Only other thing I know is some people pull the feathers out from around their vents and this helps with nothing for the poo to stick too..I know it probably hurts the chick but better then them dying from pasty butt...not sure I could do this method myself...Hope someone else can come along with more advice...

 

[jennrauch]

No cedar shavings are down. Thanks for that though.

 

[Tuffoldhen]

Well, the laying mash at that age is not good for her so glad you put her back on the medicated chick starter/Grower...they don't need laying feeds til their ready to lay around 19 to 20 weeks...Grass/greens and catching a bug should be good for her...and letting her out for exercise is always good for chickens...if you let her out she shouldn't need grit, grit helps them grind their food if they don't have a dirt run or free range...for sure no oyster shell she isn't ready for that til laying age...

Try keeping Molasses once in awhile in her water to help with constipation...just a tsp or so....its like a flush....not often but when you see her pasting up...just a thought

 

[jennrauch]

Thanks again so much, it's funny you tell me about the laying mash. The chicks/chickens are actually my sisters, she is the one that put all the chicks on mash and cracked corn. I am the one that sorta manages them and keeps an eye on them when I go out, and am the one that noticed Nolla was missing. It's hard to tell people some things sometimes, but I gave her money and said Please put them back on crumbles. But I was just wondering that if the change is what started constipating her again. B/C we got her going on her own until we switched back to the crumbles. I sure hope she pulls through this. She is an amazing and beautifully marked girl.