Strange sound coming from baby chick's vent???

[77horses]

Our little chick named Oreo is an Amer./Cochin mix. She is so cute and she was the first chick to hatch in my homemade bator.

Today, she is about 2 weeks and 1 day(15 days...counting the day she hatched). She is fed grinded up cracked corn(almost a powder), which is what we've fed all of our chicks that we've had(and ALL of them are alive and healthy today and have had no problems). And I know that many people say that it's best to buy baby chick feed and everything and we were lucky that any of our chicks lived, but all of the chicks we've raised have had NO problems.
I've noticed that when I put Oreo close to my ear, I can hear these crackling/popping sounds coming from inside her vent. They start up and get louder, then stop. Then start up and get louder, then stop. It's kind of like the sound of a plastic bag being crumpled up.
Oreo acts normal and fine. She has fresh food and water everyday. Her droppings look normal(greenish with some watery and white stuff), and she is very active. She does not have any pasty butt, watery eyes, mucus coming from nostrils, or any other sign of sickness. She's just a normal, active baby chick.
I was thinking that it may be the sound of food moving through her intestines or something, but just a thought.
Any thoughts? Thanks!

 

[Emzyyy]

I wouldn't know but someone else will prob be able to help you.

 

[SurprisingWoman]

All I can think is,

"if it ain't broke, don't fix it."

I know it's not much help but I wouldn't worry until I saw something to worry over.

 

[kelliepulido]

yeeah I also know all about worrying over stuff that I didn't need to worry over.Maybe the corn just gives her abit of gas.

 

[Whitehouse Quail]

Maybe it's just the innerworkings of the chicken. I don't even try to understand it now.

 

[MamaEmma]

I have a 3 week old Barnvelder chick w/ symptoms that sound very similar. She and my other BV had a sneeze when they was about 7-10 days old and I put ACV in the h2o and the sneeze was gone after 1 1/2 days. Now it almost sounds like static (or the plastic baggie sound descibed above). She is perfectly fine in every regard (pecking, eating, drinking, pooping...) except for this wierd static-like noise... which, oddly, seems to come from her vent not her face. I just started them on chick grit 6 days ago, could that be the issue? Also, I give them a little (1/4C between the 5 girls) oatmeal mash every 2-3 days. There are also 2 Cuckoo Marans and 1 Ameraucana in there who seem fine.

 

[Choco Maran]

Should be just normal sounds but then I don't go around and listen to my chick vents for noise. Like Surprizing Women said "If it ain't broke don't fix it"

 

[azygous]

If this chick is behaving normally, there's little cause for worry that the vent sounds may be something sinister.

But greenish watery poop isn't exactly a sign of a healthy chick. Is she the only one with poop like that or are all the chicks pooping similar stools?

And I beg to differ with you about feeding a diet of ground up corn. Corn is practically pure starch, very little nourishment in it beyond empty calories. It's doing little more to nourish your chicks beyond supplying calories to keep their bodies warm. A commercial chick crumble is researched for the necessary nutrients for developing chick bodies with a balance of proteins and other vitamins and minerals lacking in a straight corn fed diet. Just because you've "never had a problem" doesn't mean your chicks are getting the proper nutrients and balanced diet for optimal growth and development.

A little research might give you more information than you currently possess, and you might decide to make a change. But in the end, it's your chickens and your choice. We can only advise.

 

[MamaEmma]

Thanks for the tips. I am a new chicken mama so I am a little nervous about the things I don't know yet. The noise is fairly noticable, my boys and I were sitting on the floor with the girls in between us and we said "What's that noise?" Then picked up the chicks, holding each one alone to figure out what it was. If you are standing next to the brooder and they are quiet, you can here it. It isn't in line with a wheeze, though... not in rythym with the breathing. These are our first chickens so they are special to us. And since it's all new to us, I was hoping someone else had heard this noise before, too, is all.

 

[azygous]

Thanks for the tips. I am a new chicken mama so I am a little nervous about the things I don't know yet. The noise is fairly noticable, my boys and I were sitting on the floor with the girls in between us and we said "What's that noise?" Then picked up the chicks, holding each one alone to figure out what it was. If you are standing next to the brooder and they are quiet, you can here it. It isn't in line with a wheeze, though... not in rythym with the breathing. These are our first chickens so they are special to us. And since it's all new to us, I was hoping someone else had heard this noise before, too, is all.

If you have serious concerns, I recommend you go over to the Emergencies Forum and start your own thread there. Maybe someone who is familiar with these sounds can address them. I certainly can't imagine what could be causing them.