by Tariq Rashid
(Saudia Arabia)
Question:
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by Paula
(Marshall NC)
Question
We have an Isa Brown baby chick that is 6weeks old and acts really weird. It is "Scrunched" up and wont eat.
Its eyes are closed and it almost looks like it does not have a neck bone. We noticed this 2 days ago but didn't realize it wasn't eating. It looks swollen. Could you tell us what is possibly wrong with it?
Answer
This sounds like an impacted crop. This happens if a chick eats too much dry feed and does not drink enough water.
Their digestive tract becomes totally blocked. The solution is to offer it plenty of liquid and gently massage the crop, located at the base of the front of the neck, to help dissolve the contents.
Two days is a long time for a chick to survive in this condition. Hopefully it will be able to respond to your help in digesting this lump. When a crop is impacted the chick is getting little nutrition, so acting quickly to help it is vital for its survival.
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Question
I have 12 chicks, 3 weeks old. One of Wyandottes was sitting under the light with the other chicks at nap time, and she kept opening her mouth, like a yawn.
This happened repetitively until she finally went to sleep. Everyone seems fine today, but I wondered what this behavior was...? do they yawn
Answer
Yes, chickens yawn. This can also be an attempt to swallow something. Sometimes chickens really fill their crop with dry feed that expands when they drink water.
There might be a little discomfort in their throat if crop contents expand upwards into the throat. This shouldn't be anything to worry about as long as the chick continues to drink plenty of water with its feed, to dissolve it and allow it to flow through the digestive tract.
In older chickens this can be a sign of worms, but it's doubtful that a young chick, still in the brooder, has been exposed to worms.