older chick w/ splay leg?

[Swbertrand1]

all of them have purina non-medicated start&grow. i have wood shavings as substrate. she is eating on her own and i’m working on getting her to drink by herself. i’m hand feeding and watering her as well until i can be sure she’ll do it on her own. they get grubblies (dried soldier fly larvae) as treats but not very often.

Sounds like she's getting a healthy diet. You might give her a little boost with some vitamins mixed with some moist feed and see if she doesn't improve significantly. Some chicks, for whatever reason, sometimes lack what it takes to get that first good start on life. This chick seems to be one of those - we've ALL had them too!

For a chick that young, you could mix up a little Starter Feed, a bit of fried Egg Yolk, Water OR Yogurt (we use Yogurt because our chicks love the mixed berry flavor) and a few drops of Nutri-Drench or Poly-Vi-Sol (human baby vitamins), then stir it into a moist paste ball about the size of a marble and feed any amount of the mix that she'll consume.

This is what I'd do if she were in my care. In place of the Nutri-Drench or Poly-Vi-Sol, you could use a 1/4 table of Vitamin B-Complex crushed and pulverized to add to the mix too...

I think with a little vitamin treatment you'll see some faster improvement in her overall condition and improvement in her legs too.

 

[bossfrog]

Sounds like she's getting a healthy diet. You might give her a little boost with some vitamins mixed with some moist feed and see if she doesn't improve significantly. Some chicks, for whatever reason, sometimes lack what it takes to get that first good start on life. This chick seems to be one of those - we've ALL had them too!

For a chick that young, you could mix up a little Starter Feed, a bit of fried Egg Yolk, Water OR Yogurt (we use Yogurt because our chicks love the mixed berry flavor) and a few drops of Nutri-Drench or Poly-Vi-Sol (human baby vitamins), then stir it into a moist paste ball about the size of a marble and feed any amount of the mix that she'll consume.

This is what I'd do if she were in my care. In place of the Nutri-Drench or Poly-Vi-Sol, you could use a 1/4 table of Vitamin B-Complex crushed and pulverized to add to the mix too...

I think with a little vitamin treatment you'll see some faster improvement in her overall condition and improvement in her legs too.

will do and update! thank you for all the advice!

 

[Meandmyhens3]

update! she’s 36 grams. she’s not crying 24/7 anymore and when she does peep, it’s in a calmer, happier voice. she’s eating, drinking and walking around. hopefully she continues to improve. her legs without the brace are still slightly splayed but she can walk without it.

That’s great! I hope she continues to get better

 

[bossfrog]

poor lil squirt has sour crop now. discovered it at 6:45 this morning. keeping her on apple cider vinegar water until that time tonight. i’ve heard i should feed egg yolk/yogurt, probiotics, and grit to her so i might make a mix of that later. she’s separated from the flock and temporarily on a towel instead of shavings.

 

[Swbertrand1]

poor lil squirt has sour crop now. discovered it at 6:45 this morning. keeping her on apple cider vinegar water until that time tonight. i’ve heard i should feed egg yolk/yogurt, probiotics, and grit to her so i might make a mix of that later. she’s separated from the flock and temporarily on a towel instead of shavings.

Is her crop not emptying overnight? What are her symptoms that are leading you to sour crop? That usually only starts with an impacted crop. Is she not drinking much if at all?

 

[bossfrog]

Is her crop not emptying overnight? What are her symptoms that are leading you to sour crop? That usually only starts with an impacted crop. Is she not drinking much if at all?

her crop was half full and squishy this morning. she’s relatively alert today albeit looking a little tired. she also smells funny (not poop bad, but bile/infection bad) i’m working on teaching her to drink from the water dispenser thing, but it’s slow going since it’s hard for her to bend down because of her legs and she’s not the brightest. i’ve been watering her with a syringe and soaking her food before feeding. her stools today look normal. i’ve also been massaging her crop in a downward direction, heard that helps

 

[Swbertrand1]

her crop was half full and squishy this morning. she’s relatively alert today albeit looking a little tired. she also smells funny (not poop bad, but bile/infection bad) i’m working on teaching her to drink from the water dispenser thing, but it’s slow going since it’s hard for her to bend down because of her legs and she’s not the brightest. i’ve been watering her with a syringe and soaking her food before feeding. her stools today look normal. i’ve also been massaging her crop in a downward direction, heard that helps

Quick question: She's not on antibiotics, is she?? Assuming she's not, this is what I see:

I think you're going to need to hand water her for a few days and take her off food at least until tomorrow morning. If squishy, she's likely got what's called a "Slow Emptying Crop" (precursor to an Impacted Crop) that has developed Sour Crop. Try not to rely on her getting enough water on her own to lubricate what's in her crop and move it downward into her digestive tract. Sometimes a Slow-Emptying Crop can be caused by taking in too much food, but not enough liquid among other things. Read more about the crop here, but there is lots of information out there:
https://www.thehappychickencoop.com/sour-crop/

For the rest of the day, even into tomorrow morning, I'd take her off food completely until you can be sure the crop has emptied and the yeast that has developed has passed down to be digested and expelled. Probiotic Water (Sav-A-Chic brand probiotic is usually available at most feed stores) is all I'd give the chick for the next 12 hours then reassess where she is. Add a bit of Coconut Oil to the water if you'd like; even give a bit of Yogurt if the chick will take it as this is more probiotic for her, but the goal is getting the yeast neutralized and the crop emptied as soon as you can.

Once you've given the Probiotic Water, massage her crop gently from side to side, gently squeezing the crop between your thumb and index finger. You're trying to kneed the mass to mix the Probiotic Water with the yeast/food/water that's already in the crop AND help it get more slippery to pass into the digestive tract ahead of the gizzard. At 2 weeks of age, you can safely give her .1ml (.1cc) at a time. That's 1/10 of a ml or 1/10 of a cc in case you missed the decimal. You'll need a small syringe (3/10cc capacity or less) or a small eyedropper to do this.

Draw up .1ml of the mix into the syringe/dropper, and give her the Probiotic Water following the guide below to give a chicken liquids manually. Give her two or three doses of .1ml at a time each hour and massage the crop as described above each hour until she starts to pass what's in her crop. Check to see that the crop has emptied by morning and report back.
https://bitchinchickens.com/2020/02/06/how-to-safely-give-oral-medications/

 

[Meandmyhens3]

poor lil squirt has sour crop now. discovered it at 6:45 this morning. keeping her on apple cider vinegar water until that time tonight. i’ve heard i should feed egg yolk/yogurt, probiotics, and grit to her so i might make a mix of that later. she’s separated from the flock and temporarily on a towel instead of shavings.

Well it seems like your treating it right, all the things you listed are great for treating sour crop. I’m dealing with sour crop right now myself.

 

[bossfrog]

Well it seems like your treating it right, all the things you listed are great for treating sour crop. I’m dealing with sour crop right now myself.

so sorry to hear that. i hope your chicken(s) get better!

 

[bossfrog]

Quick question: She's not on antibiotics, is she?? Assuming she's not, this is what I see:

I think you're going to need to hand water her for a few days and take her off food at least until tomorrow morning. If squishy, she's likely got what's called a "Slow Emptying Crop" (precursor to an Impacted Crop) that has developed Sour Crop. Try not to rely on her getting enough water on her own to lubricate what's in her crop and move it downward into her digestive tract. Sometimes a Slow-Emptying Crop can be caused by taking in too much food, but not enough liquid among other things. Read more about the crop here, but there is lots of information out there:
https://www.thehappychickencoop.com/sour-crop/

For the rest of the day, even into tomorrow morning, I'd take her off food completely until you can be sure the crop has emptied and the yeast that has developed has passed down to be digested and expelled. Probiotic Water (Sav-A-Chic brand probiotic is usually available at most feed stores) is all I'd give the chick for the next 12 hours then reassess where she is. Add a bit of Coconut Oil to the water if you'd like; even give a bit of Yogurt if the chick will take it as this is more probiotic for her, but the goal is getting the yeast neutralized and the crop emptied as soon as you can.

Once you've given the Probiotic Water, massage her crop gently from side to side, gently squeezing the crop between your thumb and index finger. You're trying to kneed the mass to mix the Probiotic Water with the yeast/food/water that's already in the crop AND help it get more slippery to pass into the digestive tract ahead of the gizzard. At 2 weeks of age, you can safely give her .1ml (.1cc) at a time. That's 1/10 of a ml or 1/10 of a cc in case you missed the decimal. You'll need a small syringe (3/10cc capacity or less) or a small eyedropper to do this.

Draw up .1ml of the mix into the syringe/dropper, and give her the Probiotic Water following the guide below to give a chicken liquids manually. Give her two or three doses of .1ml at a time each hour and massage the crop as described above each hour until she starts to pass what's in her crop. Check to see that the crop has emptied by morning and report back.
https://bitchinchickens.com/2020/02/06/how-to-safely-give-oral-medications/

thank you so much for the advice! so sorry for not posting for a few days, been pretty busy. i’ve had her on probiotic water and a small amount of yogurt since you posted and her crop is empty this morning. should i let her eat now and just give her water every hour or two until she learns to drink on her own?
edit: she isn’t on antibiotics