Sick Chicken with Lump near Vent

by Janice
(Conroe, TX)

I have 8 healthy, thriving 4 week old chicks. One now is ruffled, laying under the light and not eating or drinking. I looked at her vent, which I cannot see, but instead, there is a hard bony mass there. What can I do? Is this caused from eating some of the tiny pine shavings? She is getting weaker as we speak.

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Janice

Honestly, it could be a whole string of things. Without seeing any pictures it is difficult to diagnose.

The first thing I would look at is whether your chick is eating and drinking, making sure that the lump is not just constipation.

On the other hand, it could be more serious than that. It could be a cyst, or an abscess.

With small chicks their kidneys are unable to deal with the infection if there is any, and so the chick will die if there is infection of any sort.

I suggest treating the vent with hydrogen peroxide and adding a a broad-spectrum antibiotic to the water, such as Terramycin for a week to ten days. Keep the chick separated from the others in a quite place so that you can keep an eye on it.

All the best and let us know how you got on.

Countryfarm Lifestyles