Slow, thin chick that drinks a lot

[Altairsky]

I have 5 polish/padovana chicks, 3 weeks old. 2 broody hens are raising them. They all free range and the chicks are quite feral and almost impossible to catch.
There is this one chick that was being left behind by the mama hens. Initially I thought the big crest was making him blind or something but when I managed to catch him I noticed that he was thin and had a huge squishy crop.
The next day the crop was a lot smaller so I figured he managed to pass the food.
Anyway I caught him, gave him a few milliliters of food grade mineral oil which doesn't hurt, put him in a crate with sugar water and chick starter so I can monitor him.
He eats and drinks. He drinks A LOT, and I mean, really a lot. And not just because the heat, he drinks a lot even when the temperature is nice.
Any idea what it can be? What makes a chick drink a lot more than usual, other than heat? No idea about the poop so far. I'll take a look at it later.
I'm guessing hardware disease, plant poisoning, or failure to thrive. If it was something contagious, everyone else would be sick.

 

[ksbkeys]

I have 5 polish/padovana chicks, 3 weeks old. 2 broody hens are raising them. They all free range and the chicks are quite feral and almost impossible to catch.
There is this one chick that was being left behind by the mama hens. Initially I thought the big crest was making him blind or something but when I managed to catch him I noticed that he was thin and had a huge squishy crop.
The next day the crop was a lot smaller so I figured he managed to pass the food.
Anyway I caught him, gave him a few milliliters of food grade mineral oil which doesn't hurt, put him in a crate with sugar water and chick starter so I can monitor him.
He eats and drinks. He drinks A LOT, and I mean, really a lot. And not just because the heat, he drinks a lot even when the temperature is nice.
Any idea what it can be? What makes a chick drink a lot more than usual, other than heat? No idea about the poop so far. I'll take a look at it later.
I'm guessing hardware disease, plant poisoning, or failure to thrive. If it was something contagious, everyone else would be sick.

Can chickens get diabetes? I truly don't know. Glad you were able to get the little fella. Keep us posted.

 

[SmiYa0126]

@Wyorp Rock @azygous @Eggcessive please help!

 

[LaFleche]

I have 5 polish/padovana chicks, 3 weeks old. 2 broody hens are raising them. They all free range and the chicks are quite feral and almost impossible to catch.
There is this one chick that was being left behind by the mama hens. Initially I thought the big crest was making him blind or something but when I managed to catch him I noticed that he was thin and had a huge squishy crop.
The next day the crop was a lot smaller so I figured he managed to pass the food.
Anyway I caught him, gave him a few milliliters of food grade mineral oil which doesn't hurt, put him in a crate with sugar water and chick starter so I can monitor him.
He eats and drinks. He drinks A LOT, and I mean, really a lot. And not just because the heat, he drinks a lot even when the temperature is nice.
Any idea what it can be? What makes a chick drink a lot more than usual, other than heat? No idea about the poop so far. I'll take a look at it later.
I'm guessing hardware disease, plant poisoning, or failure to thrive. If it was something contagious, everyone else would be sick.

It might be trying to flush out the crop obstruction.

I would deworm it and offer boiled or scrambled eggs with millet. Adding some poultry vitamins to the water won't hurt.

And while you have it confined, trim the head fluff to allow for unobstructed view.

 

[Eggcessive]

I would let the chick have food. Some birds with coccidiosis can have a slow puffy crop. I might try treating for coccidiosis with Corid, sulfadimethoxine, or toltrazuril. Most feed stores sell Corid. Dosage is 1/2 tsp per quart of water, or 2 tsp per gallon of the liquid for 5-7 days.

 

[Altairsky]

The poop is normal looking.
I noticed his neck feathers are not coming out as nicely as his siblings (he still has just chick fluff on his neck) so I probably need to supplement extra proteins.
I gave him a multi vitamin in the water and will give some boiled eggs later in the afternoon.
I will remove the food tonight so I can better check the crop tomorrow morning.
I'm not treating him for coccidiosis at the moment. chick starter should already have something for it and I don't want to go brutal with sulfa if there is no clear sign in the poop (I have this https://www.ilverdemondo.it/public/catalog/product/medium/sds-coccidiosi-000-000.jpg ).

 

[Altairsky]

I couldn't identify any real problem with this chick other than failure to thrive. He was unhappy alone in the coop/run, not eating much, and the mother hens were staying too close to the coop/run and not foraging like they should so today I let the chick out. I will provide vitamin water to all chicks and egg supplement. If it survives, good, if not that's nature I guess.

 

[Eggcessive]

You can treat with Corid, a safe non-antibiotic medicine for possible coccidiosis. If a vet can do a fecal float on his droppings, you could rule out both coccidiosis and worms.

 

[Altairsky]

I confess that I didn't let him go, he escaped between my legs when I checked the coop. So I decided to let him free range and see if it was just a problem with the crop. He seemed to do fine, and he was never left behind. The next day however he had clearly an impacted crop so I separated him again, I gave him vaseline oil again and I started sulfa treatment (he already had amprolium in the medicated chick starter). He ate some watermelon and some chick starter.
Unfortunately this morning he still has impacted crop and he's not standing up so either the sulfa does a miracle or he's probably not gonna make it.

 

[Eggcessive]

Sorry that he is not able to stand now. Normally for a firm impacted crop, I would give some coconut oil chilled and cut into small pieces to peck, or a little mineral oil (liquid paraffin) orally. Then massage the crop several times a day. What do the droppings look like? Some chicks just may not survive. But I think I would treat for coccidiosis with either amprollium, toltrazuril, of sulfa antibiotics. At this age, that is the most common illness.