sick chick

[emkan]

Hi all,

I am hoping someone has some sage advice so that we can save our sweet little chick. We received our 4 pullets on 6/8 (hatched 6/6) and one of them, a salmon faverole was pasted up and quite lethargic and wobbly. We cleaned her up immediately and got some sugar water into her. She looked much better within an hour and we continued to monitor her closely. She required cleaning a couple more times, but seemed to be otherwise okay. Yesterday (6/10) I went to check on the chicks and she was lying on the bottom of the brooder listlessly as the other chicks walked over her. I was sure she was dead. I removed her from the brooder and when I picked her up she started cheeping. Her vent was clear and there was no evidence of injury or other external abnormality. I tried to get her to drink some sugar water, but she was uninterested. If I put her down (in a different brooder) she was very wobbly and lethargic and actually would lie down on her side with her legs up. I forced a bit of sugar water and boiled egg into her and she eventually perked up a bit and then seemed very hungry and chowed on her chick starter feed for a while. She seemed better but was still wobbly (almost like she was drunk and couldn't walk straight) and much less active than the others. This morning she is worse again, much more lethargic and refusing to eat or drink.

We ordered her from "My Pet Chicken". She was vaccinated. I have seen her poop a few times and it is kind of runny (not so unusual though, I think) but somewhat explosive when it comes out. Her vent does seem to protrude more than those of the other chicks. She and the 3 other chicks have been in the brooder with a bedding of pine shavings (although she is in a separate brooder now). They are eating a medicated chick starter feed.

Thanks for any advice!

 

[mljohnson05]

Since she has Pasty Bottom and If her vent is Protruding then she is most likely Constipated.
Does it kind of feel like she is a doll (the kind with sand in their bottom)???
The vent protruding makes me worry that she is backed up, and that would cause the runny poop all the time, cause it cannot get around the block.

Make her a really warm (but not HOT) bath an hold her in there for 10 min or so. While she is in there, massage her (from the upper belly work in a downward motion to the vent).
Hopefully this will help push out the blocked poop. once out of the bath, dry her really well and put her back under the heat lamp.
Soak her a couple time a day until she has a good poop!
If still no luck, you can put some molasses in the water of hers, (this acts as a laxative in chickens).

the constipation may be causing her to be weak, but it can also be the stress from shipping or a neuro. issue.
Get Poly V Sol (without IRON) from the drug store in the infant section.
Give her a drop or 2 and make her swallow it (it taste really bad, so give her a little something when done.
The vitamins will help with neuro issues.

Let's start with this and see how it goes b4 i go any further.

Best Wishes,
Laura

 

[emkan]

Thank you so much for your advice. Sadly, she died this afternoon

I hope that whatever it was is not contagious so that our other 3 don't succumb.

 

[mljohnson05]

if it was constipation, it can take baby chicks really fast....and if that is the case, then just make sure all the others are pooping ok and check their vents frequently

 

[rhs7111]

DO NOT WAIT to start the warm molasses water!! Put one large drop of food grade molasses in a tablespoon of warm water, so the mixture is a medium caramel color. Dip the chick's beak into the molasses water, being careful not to submerge the nostrils (else the chick will aspirate and die from it). Make the chick drink 7-10 sips of warm molasses water per day. Constipation is usually fully addressed in 3-4 days. Also, make sure the non-molasses drinking water you offer chicks is tepid, not cool---cool water can cause constipation in chicks. Separate this chick from the others, except put one other passive chick in with the sick one so she has company and won't stress further. Make sure the heat lamp is warm enough, too. DO NOT keep the sick chick in with the other chicks; they will inadvertently trample and kill a weak chick.