I have a 5 week old poult that is listless, sleeps a lot and isn't growing like the rest.. It also started gulping (the best I can describe it) like it had something stuck in it's throat or was having trouble breathing, so I've moved it from the flock to a small box in the bathroom where I've been giving it water through a dropper.. It eats on its own and I've seen it drink a few times and it's poop looks like, well, chicken poop ( like the rest of the flocks).. I realy don't want to loose her, is there something else I should be looking for or doing..help!

I wouldn't push the water. If you force it, you can actually force it into the lungs and make your problem worse. If it is drinking on its own AT ALL, leave that part alone. If you are worried that it isn't drinking enough, you can add water to it's feed and make a wet mash -- just make sure you dump it once a day and start fresh in the morning.

I've had chicks that did the "gulping" thing, actually adults also. I worried about respiratory issues and have given them vitamins in their water and once I treated with antibiotics because I had sneezes along with it. Does it just "gulp" once in a while or constantly? Is it panting? Any sneezing, runny nose, runny eyes, discharge? Can you feel its crop and notice it growing larger and getting smaller in between feedings?

I'm most concerned that you're saying it isn't growing and developing like the others but the eating and pooping normally is a good sign. Hopefully somebody else will pop in this thread with some other ideas and thoughts.

Susie

She gulps constantly for a while (a couple of hours)and then stops.. no panting,sneezing, runny nose/eyes,or discharge and I've looked her over thoroughly. I have noticed that her crop is emptying between feedings and I found her perched at the top of the box this morning. She seems to be doing better, I'm just worried about putting her back in the coop if she has something contagious and if she can't compete with the others :-( (I guess I'll just keep her in the bathroom)

Does this gulping occur soon after she eats or drinks? I had a chick who also when through sort of the same deal, and it turns out that she had problems once the food got into her crop...I guess the best thing to relate it to in human terms would be acid indigestion, or hiatal hernia. The food would move too quickly through, though some would get stuck in the airway, which explains why my chick was not developing normally, since it wasn't absorbing much nutrients from feeding. This was just one of the "crap happens" situations and had nothing to do w/ how we were caring for her. Sadly, after hearing from the vet what her affliction probably was, I decided to end her suffering. Hopefully this is not the case for you, but I just wanted to let you know, since you described such similar symptoms. Good luck!

:-/ I hadn't noticed if the gulping came after feeding or drinking (I hardly saw her drink at all), I would just walk in the room and she'd be doing it.. even when she was sleeping, like once when her neck was all stretched out, I thought she was dead until I saw the gulping.. she seems to be doing better this evening, actually ate a meal worm and jumped and flapped when I put her on the bathroom floor (most activity I've ever seen in her!) and isn't gulping anymore.. I'm hoping that whatever it was that got a hold of her has lefther for good, although I'm keeping her in the bathroom for a while just to keep an eye on her.... (chickens!!??)
Talk about 'crap happens' I found one of the chicks in the coop dead, looked like it had been half way, head first, dipped in laquer.. (?) after thiking about the possibilities, I came upon 'snake', why it didn't finish it, I don't know.. the next day I was doing work on the coop and I saw the chicks run by with the snake chasing them!! I threw my pliers at it grabbed a shovel and ran around the coop. I caught the naughty thing and took it to my vet for ID-ing(Texas rat snake). No wonder it didn't eat the other chick, it was too big! now why would it try again? go figure..

Glad to hear your bird is perking up :)

and Egad about the snake incident! I've never had to worry about snakes getting my chicks, since all we have are small ones which would only tackle very small babies. I guess the question of why would this snake try again on something too large is the same as asking bwhy do humans keep bunches of caged birds and feed them and clean up after their poop. lol.

Well, I've returned her to the coop and she seems to be holding her own in there even though there are a few bullys. and LOL anonymous!!! yes we must wonder why indeed.. I've had another bad incident with a snake. One got in the coop somehow and killed two birds (one was a favorite silver laced cochin cockerel.. :-( ..I found them dead in the coop, head slimed down to the shoulders, no blood, no feathers missing just dead birds. I've heard that the smell off sulfur will repel snakes so I've placed it in a wide band under the perimiter of the coop and have taken to locking the chicks up at dusk after going through the whole place witht a flashlight just to be sure.. I guess I've gotten a little paranoid... I haven't lost any more and am seriously thinking of getting geese( I hear they'll keep snakes away)..