Water belly chick getting better?(Tw:Considering culling)

[Madam_Roslyn]

Hey so I have a silver laced wyandottor chick that has water belly(Massive bloating and I can squish it) but she's been doing...better?
I left her overnight and she has/had been prone to pasty butt before this
Im 1000% sure it's water belly
But water belly is a sign of heart or liver failure and honestly her not passing is worrying me I should cull her
But if she's doing better? Maybe I should see if she can push through it
She was eating and drinking last night and is considerably better than last night
And no other chicks from her (litter so to say) have shown any signs of being anything but healthy
Advice?

 

[Eggcessive]

How old is she? Does she lay eggs? Can you post a picture of her droppings? Have you tried draining her water belly? Water belly or ascites, can happen after reproductive infections, cancer, fatty liver disease, or heart failure. I have had a few hen with suspected water belly. They usually have an enlarged lower belly below the vent and may pass droppings with yellow urates which normally would be white. I don’t usually drain hens with water belly, but you can do that if you like to relieve labored breathing that may happen. An 18 gauge hypodermic needle and large syringe from the feed store is what is used after disinfecting the lower abdomen. They can live for weeks to a couple of years with symptoms. In this link there are pictures of draining a hen with water belly:
https://www.backyardchickens.com/threads/laying-hens-with-water-belly-or-ascites.68731/page-5

 

[Madam_Roslyn]

(Excuse the dirty brooder plate they like pooping on it)
Im sorry this isn't the best picture but,she's around a week old her entire rear end is bloated and squishy.
I could drain it i don't have those gage needles but I do have more chick sized needles that would work.
She seems to have deflated since yesterday and is breathing better,
She has whitey-yellow droppings that are watery.
However simply because she's so young that it's likely to be something she will eventually pass away from but im confused on why she's? Kind of recovering but also,I have the correct feed so it can't have been fatty liver and theyre not getting treats yet
So it leads me to think she has a genetic issue that pre-disposes her to it and I dont want her to just be in pain
But at the same time if she somehow is recovering I don't want to cull her because shes so young

 

[Ol Grey Mare]

Can you take us a short video of this chick outside of the brooder? There is absolutely no harm in taking her out from under that heat lamp, which by the way makes it difficult to assess certain things because of the coloring that it puts on any photos or videos, and placing her in a naturally lit environment where you can take photos and even better videos from various angles so that we can actually see how the chick looks, how it's moving, how it's acting. This can be helpful in giving you a clear idea of what's going on with the chick and how best to proceed. Ascites in such a young chick is uncommon to the point on improbability

 

[Madam_Roslyn]

Can you take us a short video of this chick outside of the brooder? There is absolutely no harm in taking her out from under that heat lamp, which by the way makes it difficult to assess certain things because of the coloring that it puts on any photos or videos, and placing her in a naturally lit environment where you can take photos and even better videos from various angles so that we can actually see how the chick looks, how it's moving, how it's acting. This can be helpful in giving you a clear idea of what's going on with the chick and how best to proceed. Ascites in such a young chick is uncommon to the point on improbability

I can take a better angled picture of her in a bit and I did notice that chance
I can however describe how she is moving(currently out for a few hours)
She is slow and is shaky on her feet and has somewhat labored breathing however that has somewhat improved
The main thing is that her backside and under her are massively inflated
(Its not pasty butt as she has been able to pass some bowel movements)
I would 100% love to be wrong
She is still loud and yelling and is eating/drinking somewhat now

 

[Madam_Roslyn]

Better pics

 

[BigBlueHen53]

To post a video, upload to YouTube or Vimeo or the like, then post the link to it here.

 

[kattabelly]

At that age I'd be thinking omphalitis ("mushy chick") rather than the more usual causes of ascites ("water belly") in older birds. Does the chick seem to need to stay warm more than the others? Could you post a clear, in-focus photo of the chick's navel and belly area?

Just as a general point, by the way - they shouldn't need a heat lamp if they also have a brooder plate, unless maybe if they're being kept somewhere really cold. Do they have enough space that they have the option of moving to a cooler area that isn't under the lamp or brooder plate?

 

[AshVau22]

What is the temperature in your brooder? I'm really not seeing a area were that heat light isn't shining in that black livestock tank.
Do you have both a heat plate and light going? To hot of a brooder will cause pasty butt and diarrhea in chicks. I'm not seeing anything out of the ordinary with the chick in the pictures as far as a swollen abdomen.