PLEASE HELP MY chick is not doing well. very puffy vent

[jose138]

one of my 6 chick had pasty butt and i have been clean it like every one says and puting oil on it. it has been eating but is not showing growth like the others. her vent is pink and i have cofined her from the others. she is not as active as the others and i am scared she is not going to make it.
i am going to try feeding her yougrt and crumble with yolk mixed in. is there anything else i should do or is it too late .thanks PEACE and LOVE

JOSE

she is 1 week old and she is in a wooden box with pine shavings. the temp is 90* F, non medicated feed. she is chirpping a lot when i separate her from the others. her poop is mustardy brown and is sticking to her vent but looked normel .she is pecking at her back side .

 

[Judy]

How old are they? Are they on medicated feed? Do they have any access to dirt/ground? What does the poo look like? What is the temperature where they live?

Here is a "poo chart" to help you sort out the different types:

http://www.chat.allotment.org.uk/index.php?topic=17568.0

 

[jose138]

she is 1 week old and she is in a wooden box with pine shavings. the temp is 90* F, non medicated feed. she is chirpping a lot when i separate her from the others. her poop is mustardy brown and is sticking to her vent but looked normel .she is pecking at her back side .

 

[Judy]

Yeah, she won't want to be separated, and it will stress her. I don't believe I would.

I would try some probiotics: Mix up about 2 or 3 tablespoons of plain live culture yogurt with just a bit of baby food applesauce and some hard boiled egg yolk and a little of the feed, and give it to all of them. Put a small amount of Gatorade or pedialyte in the water. This will give them a quick nutritional boost and some good gut flora to get more out of their feed.

And I would drop the temperature a little, unless it is a really large box with the heat source at one end, so that it is cooler at the other end. They really sound a bit warm. Thermometers aren't always so accurate, and some chicks do better a little cooler than the recommended brooder temps. Is there a solid top on the box? It needs to allow air flow, like a screen.

Good luck. Let us know how it goes.

 

[threehorses]

I would agree with ddawn's recommendations. Additionally, I would make sure that the coop is good and dry. I'd also buy a container of Corid (amprolium) now and have it handy in case the baby doesn't improve.

Because you've chosen to use a non-medicated feed, you yourself will have to take care of preventing coccidiosis. Feeding the babies probiotics weekly (yogurt) will help to keep their digestive tract stronger and less susceptible to illness. Keep their environment very clean. If any poop gets in the water or feed, you must clean with hot soap and water, rinse, refill. You will have to be very aware of the symptoms of coccidiosis (which your bird is showing, though she might not have) and treat immediately. If you're not very experienced with brooding babies, I would just use medicated feed. You will have the rest of their lives to give them no medication.

But they need to make it to that life, first.

If the baby doesn't improve in 24 hours at all, I would medicate with Corid ONLY - no 'mycin anything, and I don't think I'd recommend Sulmet in this case.

Please do be sure that all the babies are eating a lot. For the yogurt, you can mix into a dampened mash of yogurt, a little water, and crumbles - let sit 10 minutes after mixing - and feed that first thing in the morning. Make sure all babies get some. Those that hog the feed, put them in a little cardboard box for a few minutes while the others get their share. Then put them back, pick up the feeder, clean out, and replace with their free choice crumbles.

The living bacteria in the yogurt (not available in other milk products) are what make it work. They are the same bacteria (lactobacilli) that colonize the gut of your our chickens, protecting them from illness and diarrhea, and helping them to better digest their food. So giving them yogurt weekly during the "starter" weeks (1-8) really helps. Then give it monthly from weeks 9 through month 5, then weekly again as your pullets' combs start to enlarge and redden just before lay, when you transition them to laying feed (based on those signs).