Straining/constipated 3 week old chick????

[Bambi123]

I have a 3 week old chick that is having difficulty defecting. She strains, gets some poo out but doesn't seem to be able to finish. She continues to strain, walks around a bit and will poke at her tail/vent area with her beak, trying to get the fecal material out. Her vent is showing signs of irritation...mild redness and swelling. She eats basic chick starter crumbles, drinks and acts fine otherwise. She has plenty of access to grit as well. Her poos look normal, though bigger in diameter compared to the other chicks. I have assisted her a couple times by applying gentle pressure on the sides of her vent. Yesterday I gave her 2 soaks in a warm bath, followed by blow drying (which she loved) and applied prep.H on/in her vent. This am her vent wasn't as swollen and almost back to normal color. I was away most of today...tonight she was straining again and her vent is looking swollen/red again. I will continue the soaks/prepH as that seemed to help but has anyone encountered this before? I've read about giving veg. oil, epsom salts or molasses but not sure I should do this. Any suggestions or advice is appreciated!

 

[Blackberry18]

I have a 3 week old chick that is having difficulty defecting. She strains, gets some poo out but doesn't seem to be able to finish. She continues to strain, walks around a bit and will poke at her tail/vent area with her beak, trying to get the fecal material out. Her vent is showing signs of irritation...mild redness and swelling. She eats basic chick starter crumbles, drinks and acts fine otherwise. She has plenty of access to grit as well. Her poos look normal, though bigger in diameter compared to the other chicks. I have assisted her a couple times by applying gentle pressure on the sides of her vent. Yesterday I gave her 2 soaks in a warm bath, followed by blow drying (which she loved) and applied prep.H on/in her vent. This am her vent wasn't as swollen and almost back to normal color. I was away most of today...tonight she was straining again and her vent is looking swollen/red again. I will continue the soaks/prepH as that seemed to help but has anyone encountered this before? I've read about giving veg. oil, epsom salts or molasses but not sure I should do this. Any suggestions or advice is appreciated!

Try cleaning her vent out, see if something is blocking the urine from passing through the cloaca. It's possible she has something in her digestive tract. Is her growth stunted?

 

[Bambi123]

She acts fine otherwise and has had a normal growth rate. I dont think she has anything blocking her vent...her BM's are very large,and are fairly dry compared to the others...it just seems she cant push them out all the way. (Reminds me of mega colon in a cat...I'm a vet tech) She strains and her vent becomes distended/irritated. The warm soaks/prep H seems to help with the irritation, but I feel that I am treating the symptom, not the cause. Is there a way to get her to drink more water other than force/dropper? Should I try the molasses? If so what is the dosage...is there a way to treat just her? (if I put it in water the others will get it as well unless I isolate her.) Thanks!

 

[Blackberry18]

She acts fine otherwise and has had a normal growth rate. I dont think she has anything blocking her vent...her BM's are very large,and are fairly dry compared to the others...it just seems she cant push them out all the way. (Reminds me of mega colon in a cat...I'm a vet tech) She strains and her vent becomes distended/irritated. The warm soaks/prep H seems to help with the irritation, but I feel that I am treating the symptom, not the cause. Is there a way to get her to drink more water other than force/dropper? Should I try the molasses? If so what is the dosage...is there a way to treat just her? (if I put it in water the others will get it as well unless I isolate her.) Thanks!

Make sure she walks around a lot, that way, whatever's preventing her from urinating she may be able to poop out. Keep doing the soaking, and try to get her to drink.

 

[IndiesChix]

I had a chick doing the same thing. I made a post not long ago about how she chirped loudly while trying to push the poo out. Her vent looked fine except extended out a little bit, no reddness, and she also would peck at vent. She is better now, I did the same thing: running her vent under warm water then blow dry, used preperation H,and also used a ky lubrication. I think the warm water worked better then anything else. The only thing I can think of that happened is she might have ate something that she had trouble passing. She is fine now, no more chirping or problem pooping. I would jus
T keep doing the warm water.

 

[Blackberry18]

Hope your chick gets well!

 

[ninjamama]

I have the same issue with my 2 week old chick. She's been this way since we got her. Chirps, strains and has a terrible time getting it out. She even has some tears from pushing. I've been soaking, applying prep h, I tried molasses and yogurt. She's still struggling. Not better but not worse. I wish I knew how to help her more! She eats and drinks and is active.

 

[IndiesChix]

The only thing can say is she will get better, mine is back to normal now. I know how you feel I hated to see her in pain, just keep running her vent under warm water, I only used the preperation H once, I didn't think it did much good. I did use some ky around vent, not really sure that did anything either. Hope she gets better soon .

 

[ninjamama]

Thank you! Glad there is hope. I've been putting antibiotic ointment on the tears she has. it does look better. But poor girlie is still struggling.

 

[Michael Apple]

First, always consider what the chicks' diet consists of. People who get pleasure out of feeding treats (those items other than a balanced feed) may not only be depriving young birds of much needed nutrients, but cause digestive difficulty. The proper dosage of vitamins-electrolytes, formulated for birds, helps restore dehydrated birds that may not be drinking enough. 2-3 days a week is acceptable with chicks and adults. Consult with producers of supplements, not sellers, as sellers are often misinformed. Of course, having enough feeders and waterers, avoiding overcrowding is important so all birds receive enough food and water. Giving yogurt and other food stuffs high in calcium are destructive to kidneys and bone growth in chicks. Too much fiber or mealworms can also cause digestive problems, in addition to unbalanced nutrition in a developing bird.