Puffy area along chicks neck???

[elight23]

I have two four week old chicks (a Sussex & Americana) and a two week old Barred Rock. All seem to have very watery stool. They have regular cecal movements, but otherwise there is very little brown matter surrounded by clear water. The americana has a large puffy area along her neck that I'm pretty sure wasn't there yesterday. I noticed it when I picked her up just now.

She was acting a little strange - scratching around in her pine shavings like she was getting comfortable (though I've never seen her do that before) but she was wobbly and would move and do it again and then move and again. When I picked her up and set her down, she seemed OK. They have had watery droppings since yesterday. They eat organic non-medicated feed and drink AVC and garlic water. I started dusting their food with Cayenne yesterday.

Any ideas about how to treat the puffiness and the watery stool?

They do eat earthworms with sod, which includes sandy soil and occassionally bird seed for a treat.

Thanks,
Elizabeth

 

[elight23]

I have decided that she has an impacted crop - though its squishy and not hard.

 

[arlee453]

Crop would be on one side of the front of the neck. It normally will be small in the morning, and fill up as the bird eats all day an larger at night.

It can also feel squishy if the chick is drinking a lot of water jsut before you checked.

If you notice a sour smell/bad breath, do a search for 'sour crop' and there are tips here for that too.

Hope she does OK for ya!

 

[elight23]

After messaging her crop and feeding her yogurt, olive oil bread, and ACV water, the sweeling has lessened and now I can feel the pile of bird seed in her croup that is causing the problem.

I guess she didn't have enough sand in her crop to break it down. Should I give her more grit now? Are small rocks and sand from my soil OK? Should I continue with the above treatments? Anything else?

Thanks

 

[peruvian_princess]

Arent they to young for bird seed?

 

[arlee453]

The only food ones that small should be getting is chick starter and a bit of grazing IF the weather is warm enough to let them out. And if they are grazing they will usually get their own grit as they go. If they are still in a brooder, you will have to give them grit specifically for chicks (not oyster shells like for layers) They must have chick grit if you are feeding them anything other than starter crumbles.

They are too young for bird seed treats, in my opinion. Feeding them anything they can't digest yet either due to immaturity or lack of grit is taking away room in their bellies for more nutritious feed.

Hope your chick does OK for you!

 

[dlhunicorn]

A bird will crack bird seed...it has little nutricious value for chickens as they do not do this and in addition the hulls will not dissolve to release the nutrients inside them at the right position within the intestine to absorb the nutrients...
In addition bird seed contains unacceptably high levels of mycotoxins which though not high enuf to cause death can cause malabsorption of nutrients.
I would not give them anything but their chick starter and dont overdo the ACV or garlic either...these may be the cause of the excessive watery droppings you are seeing. Put electrolytes in their water for a few days (you can find this at your feed store) and stop the ACV and garlic when you are doing so is my advice.

 

[elight23]

Thanks for the information. Now that this bird is already suffering from my ignorance, is offering her grit and olive oiled bread enough?

 

[elight23]

The chick is back to normal today. Thanks for your help.