Sick Chick, what do we do?

[cebolduc]

On the 23rd of April we received our shipment of 6 chicks. About a week later I noticed there was one who was having issues with her butt so I washed it off and it looked like it was sticking out noticeably. Later I heard her crying as she went to poop and showing a really sad amount of effort to do so. Didn't know if she was going to make it so we kept washing her butt and even tried applying some preparation h 2-3 times per day. She has maybe gotten slightly larger than she was while the other 4 are about double her size. They aren't picking on her, luckily, and there is plenty of food so none of them are ever deprived. She still cries every time she poops, but it's not as painful sounding. What can we do?

 

[Mountain Peeps]

Welcome to BYC! Please make yourself at home and we are here to help.

Sorry to hear about your chick

She has pasty butt. My chick had it too. She would have droppings caked on her butt and would peep like there was no tomorrow! LOL What I did was wash her butt overtime I noticed it was messy. After it was clean I applied coconut oil to it. She would poop almost immediately after since she had been blocked up. It took about 5 days for it to go away. What's important is that you keep her warm, make SURE she is drinking and keep washing her butt.

Good luck!

 

[cebolduc]

Absolutely, she did have that but her butt has been completely clear for a week or more now, we put coconut oil on her as well every time and keep washing her but it's not getting any better it seems. She's been this way for 2 weeks.

Thank you for the welcome! We just started our flock last year and haven't had any issues with chicks.

 

[Mountain Peeps]

Absolutely, she did have that but her butt has been completely clear for a week or more now, we put coconut oil on her as well every time and keep washing her but it's not getting any better it seems. She's been this way for 2 weeks.

Is she drinking? You might try putting some ACV or sugar in the water

 

[bigbruce]

I put braggs apple cider vinegar in my chicks water(tsp per quart or tbsp per gallon and no pasty butt.I give it to my grown chickens twice a week

 

[BantamFan4Life]

Welcome to BYC! I'm glad you joined us!

 

[cebolduc]

I tried the apple cider the first week after I noticed as I had read that in a thread here, but she didn't improve at all. I had it in the water for a week. Here she is after I just took a picture. Compare that to my other slowest growing chick, my blue orphington on the bottom, that I took a picture of 4 days ago and you see she is way behind.

 

[drumstick diva]

I wonder if she may have an obstruction or narrowing that makes it hard to eliminate her poo. You could post In detail at "Emergencies, diseases, injuries, cure" thread - maybe someone there has experience with this. Is she drinking and eating normally. Sometimes they get dehydrated and some sugar in the water would encourage her to drink more. Also if she is very mobile - chasing other chicks around that might help her ' get going," She looks like such a sweet chick, I wouldn't think anything was bothering her. When she gets over this, she may very well catch up on size.

I'm trying to think what might work as a mild laxative for a chick, she might like cooked oatmeal and that has fiber.

 

[cebolduc]

Thanks for the tip! I put plain oatmeal in and they seem to like it, the little Colombian especially. We will see how this goes.

 

[nj2wv]

welcome to BYC !!