What do you do with a chick that has water belly?

[gyzmo]

I have a broiler chick that appears to have water belly. Everywhere I’ve looked says it isn’t curable but you can drain it to make them comfortable but what happens after that? Does it just continually come back? Should we just cull her? What would be the most humane option? We are not against culling unless unnecessary. What do ya’ll suggest we do?

 

[Lacy Duckwing]

How old is the chick? Is this the first of you noticing this or has it had it since hatch? Can you post a picture of it? Can you visually see it or feel it, and how do you know it has it (symptoms, etc.)?

If this chick is a day or even a few days old, you may be seeing the yolk sack, which they absorb just before fully hatching. This may show in the chick for a couple of days after hatching, though in most cases it isn't visible. (A chick where this is visible should be watched closely, even after it is no longer visible.)

 

[nuthatched]

How old? Broiler chicks are meant to be culled.

 

[gyzmo]

How old is the chick? Is this the first of you noticing this or has it had it since hatch? Can you post a picture of it? Can you visually see it or feel it, and how do you know it has it (symptoms, etc.)?

If this chick is a day or even a few days old, you may be seeing the yolk sack, which they absorb just before fully hatching. This may show in the chick for a couple of days after hatching, though in most cases it isn't visible. (A chick where this is visible should be watched closely, even after it is no longer visible.)

How old is the chick? Is this the first of you noticing this or has it had it since hatch? Can you post a picture of it? Can you visually see it or feel it, and how do you know it has it (symptoms, etc.)?

If this chick is a day or even a few days old, you may be seeing the yolk sack, which they absorb just before fully hatching. This may show in the chick for a couple of days after hatching, though in most cases it isn't visible. (A chick where this is visible should be watched closely, even after it is no longer visible.)

He is four weeks old. His belly is blown up and his crop is big. He is smaller than all the chicks we bought so we started to get worried. His poop looks fine and doesn’t seem runny but he had all the other symptoms of water belly.

 

[gyzmo]

How old? Broiler chicks are meant to be culled.

She’s four weeks and not quite big enough. We bought them for meat but this guy isn’t big enough to get any meat out of. I just want to know if I should cull her before the others. Would her meat still be good if she got big enough? This is my first chick with water belly.