slow lethargic chick

[ash10383]

I have a chick (1 week old or less) that is noticable slower and not moving much at all so I gave a look over and seen there was some poop on its butt. Would that cause it to be acting lethargic? I cleaned it off, is there anything else I should/can do for it? When cleaning it off I noticed another sore looking spot but also checked another normal chick and it had it too so didn't know if it was like it's belly button or something.....Anyhow below are some pics for reference of the "area"..

 

[ShawnaScott]

I can't see very well in your pictures, but are you refering to the chick's vent? It is the only thing that a "normal" chick should have, and it looks like a belly button...a ilttle bit. As you can see, the "belly button" is a lot lower than the vent. Most of the time you can't even see it. As to why he is lethargic, he has pasty butt. Chicks that are not raised with their "mother" do not get good bacteria in their stomach, and their poo gets sticky. You will need to add Apple Cider Vinegar with the mother in it to their water. It will be labled "with the mother" in the store. You can also feed them plain yogurt (I use Greek) and hard boiled eggs. I do all three, and my chicks have not had pasty butt since I began it. Also, remember that if they get it again, use a warm washcloth to gently wipe it away. Pulling it off can badly damage their vents. Sometimes, if the chick is prone to it or is a SIlkie, I will trim their butt feathers. I wipe vaseline over their vent and surrounding butt area.

Oh, and pasty butt can be fatal. It will block his intestines and they will explode. It's not very pretty, and it's very sad. I bought some Japanese Bantams from RK, and they died from it. It had been left too long on them.

This is a helpful website, and there are many posts on here on the subject as well:
http://selfreliantnetwork11.blogspot.com/2012/03/baby-chick-basics-what-you-need-to-know.html

 

[ash10383]

Thanks! I have ACV in the water currently (along with a little molasses). It has pooped since the first time I cleaned it off so maybe it will be ok? I take it to drink every hour or so but tomorrow is monday and I have to work so we'll see. It walk from the water to the back to the heat light after I take it over to the water but it won't eat anything but a little yogurt (which was french vanilla cause that's all I had but it is Stoneyfield Organic so it was just sugar and vanilla added to Plain)

 

[ShawnaScott]

If it has started drinking it should be ok, and he may be eating when you aren't there. Out of 22 chicks, only 2 of mine didn't make it, and a great deal of them had pasty butt when I brought them home. If he doesn't seem to perk up in the next day, he may have an intentinal issue that caused the pasty butt. How high is your heat lamp? If he is <1 week old, he should be in a 90 degree brooder. If his feathers are fluffed up and he mainly sits, he may be too cold. Being too cold can cause pasty butt.

 

[ash10383]

it was 92 when I put the chicks in ( on Friday) and have since switched to watching them more so than the thermometer, when I checked on them before going to bed last night they were all quiet and laying in a circle around direct impact of the heat lamp, so not under the heat lamp directly. I was supposed to get my chicks last week but they called and pushed me back a week because they came up short and I wonder if most of my chicks were hatched a week ago and this guy was just hatched as most of the others have wings that have started to feather out already and this little guy still has completely fluffy wings.

 

[Quinstar]

My little Lemon sounds about the same as your little chick, though she had some eye issues going on as well. When I brought her home she was the only chick with pasty butt. I only had to clean her little bum twice and then it cleared up. She was quite lethargic and didn't eat nearly as much as the others. A week later she is significantly smaller than my other girls, but she has perked up quite a bit and is doing much better. Just wanted to give you a little hope that your chick will pull through! I was really worried about Lemon, but she is a trooper and I'm sure your chick is too!

 

[ash10383]

Chick didn't make it through the night last night I thought it was going to come around as it started to eat some food but apparently
But glad yours is doing better!

 

[Quinstar]

Chick didn't make it through the night last night I thought it was going to come around as it started to eat some food but apparently But glad yours is doing better!

Oh, I'm sorry to hear that! I was really hoping it would pull through for you. I would have been devastated if Lemon didn't make it.

 

[carolbeau]

Ash, I'm terribly sorry to hear about your chick. I just got baby chicks for the first time and am having the same problem - came across this thread in a search. I've done a ton of reading and been on the phone with the hatchery and I'm doing everything I know to do, but she seems to be declining over the course of the day.

Chicks were mailed yesterday from CN. Picked them up at 9am this morning (It's 2:45pm here now). One was clearly not doing well out of the box. She just lies down with her butt down and her head on the ground - kind of face-planted into the ground. She can stand up for a little bit if I disturb her, but she has not taken more than one or two steps on her own. If I pick her up and put her back down, she will stand for a minute or so and then lies down again in the exact spot I put her. I'm keeping her spot right at 95 degrees, since she won't move on her own. She does chirp and occasionally picks her head up on her own, but I haven't seen her take a step since 10am.


She is in a separate container from the other chicks, since they were pecking at her.

She has not had any water on her own. I've been dipping her beak into sugar water a few times every 30 minutes, and I *think* she's getting a little each time, but it doesn't seem to be making a difference. She has not had any food. She won't eat chick starter or crumbled egg yolk or mealworms or anything I've tried to feed her.

I cleared a blockage from her vent first thing when I got her this morning and a whole lot of poop came out then. Her vent seems to be clear when I check now, but she has not pooped again since then. (I think the other chicks have pooped at least 5-8 times each since then. I've already had to change the towel I'm using as bedding.)

The chicken people said that the yolk should sustain her until Thursday morning. I'm checking her vent and dipping her beak in sugar water every 30 minutes and trying (with no luck) to feed her every hour or so. If anything, she seems to be declining. It's real sad. Any help would be greatly appreciated. I don't know what else I can do.

 

[carolbeau]

And now she won't even stand up anymore.. Not even for a minute. She immediately falls onto her butt..