Baby chick with very swollen chest?

[PeachMyCheeks]

Hi! I brought four random chicks to take care of. The first week we brought them in we brought kingsford wood pellets (it’s a brand used for cooking naturally but, it’s only ingredients are hickory/oak/and cherry.) anyways, we used that bedding for a week and these baby chicks had runny poop, caged smelled weird, and even one of the chicks gave off a weird sweet but unpleasant odor. (I do not know what type of chicks these are.) and noticed one of the chicks had a swollen stomach. (I don’t know if they accidentally ate too much of this bedding) so, as of now I changed their bedding to pine soft bedding( for rabbits/small creatures) and as of now they are active. I do not know if the previous bedding is good for them.

As of now, it is morning and their stomach is full still. (Almost hard .. and soild) I don’t know what to do.

 

[PeachMyCheeks]

I was planning to add gravels to see if this could help their in digestive system? Since maybe the wood chips that I used are causing the blockage. But I’m not sure, these chicks are 2 weeks old

 

[JacinLarkwell]

Pictures? Are you sure it's not just a full crop after they eat?

 

[JacinLarkwell]

Don't use gravel as bedding. Buy some chick grit if you're concerned

 

[PeachMyCheeks]

Pictures? Are you sure it's not just a full crop after they eat?

Here is a picture of the sickly chick. You can tell it’s very swollen on the left and I’m concerned she can’t pass the food. She is very drowsy and lazy when picked up, but when I let her go she runs straight to her food. We are feeding them chick food, and changed the bedding.

 

[PeachMyCheeks]

View attachment 2672743
Here is a picture of the sickly chick. You can tell it’s very swollen on the left and I’m concerned she can’t pass the food. She is very drowsy and lazy when picked up, but when I let her go she runs straight to her food. We are feeding them chick food, and changed the bedding.

The reason I’m concerned is because she’s been like this all morning. I would assume it would pass and be gone but .. it’s still there. Very soild almost.. not soft. She’s also very LIGHT weight and I can feel her bones more then the rest.

 

[JacinLarkwell]

@azygous

 

[arwoon]

I would take the food away from her for now, with just water to see if she can pass it. You might need to make a separate area in the brooder for her where she can't get at the food, just water, and she can be with the other chicks.

 

[azygous]

The behavior more than the swollen crop points to constipation. It can kill if not treated. Chicks do consume bedding, and if it is small pellets, that can resemble food. Chicks also have an inborn instinct to search for grit, even one-day olds, on the floor or ground. They often consume bedding in their search for grit.

Chick grit or small gravel, sand size particles, can assist in clearing the obstruction. But the best thing to do immediately is to get some oil into this chick. I recommend using coconut oil slightly chilled as it's practically impossible to accidentally aspirate the stuff into the lungs in its solid form, unlike trying to syringe liquid oil.

Try to get a least half a teaspoon of coconut oil into the chick, then gently massage the hard lumps in the crop until you feel it break up into smaller pieces. Be very careful or it can cause liquid to regurgitate into the airway and kill the chick. This is not necessary to do, so pass on it if you feel nervous about it.

The oil will usually work in an hour or at the most, overnight. You should see a giant poop as a result. The chick will also revert to normal behavior when the blockage clears.