Why is my baby chick gasping, unbalanced, and breathing fast?

It sounds like your chick is very ill. Keeping it warm and forcing food and water (a mush of food mixed with water) in an eye dropper every few hours may help to get some nutrition in your chick. It is best to keep it separated from any other chicks to prevent further injury or spread of illness, and to keep contacting your vet to see if you can bring it in for additional care.

Thanks for reaching out about Eggwin. Respiratory concerns as you described could be a tracheal obstruction, fungal or bacterial respiratory infection, enlarged coelomic organs (liver, spleen, renal, reproductive) or other problems. At this age, infections diseases or obstructions more likely. A veterinary visit is recommended the sooner the better as it sounds as if she is in distress. Good luck.

Hi and thank you for your question, It does sound like a respiratory infection, possibly viral. I would involve an avian/poultry vet to have some samples tested. If you have more chicken please keep those separated. If it is viral it will not respond to antibiotics, but some recover on their own. Regards

Thanks for reaching out about Eggbert and including a photo. These baby parrots need to be fed every 3-4 hours, almost as soon as the crop empties. Providing heat and humidity support are very important. Concerns are over some underlying disease (bacterial, viral, developmental) and that is why hen kicked it out of the nest. A veterinary visit might be needed to assess and determine if antibiotics might be needed. Good luck.

Thanks for reaching out about your chick and including photos. The lesions appear like vesicles and a bacterial or viral etiology would be high on the list. A veterinary visit should be scheduled to help with an assessment and provide a diagnostic/treatment plan. This chick should b e separated from others because viral disease are possibly contagious to other birds. Providing heat support in the 80-85 F range can give some aid. Cleaning/dabbing the lesions with a dilute povidine/betadyne solution might help but does not replace a veterinary visit. Wash hands well after handling to prevent cross contamination. Good luck.

Without an exam it would be hard to tell if he is OK. You can do a few things first, such as remove any substrate in his cage that may kick up dust (replacing it with cage lines or newspaper/paper towels can help), and make sure he is not in a drafty room or one with a lot of dust and pollen that could cause sneezing. Making sure he is in a room that isn't too hot or cold and that is free from harassment by other pets or people can also help as panting can sometimes be related to temperature or stress. However, if you are seeing any nasal discharge, he is constantly panting with his mouth open, he isn't eating or drinking, or he worsens or doesn't get better, then seeking vet care is best. If you don't have an avian vet, seeing if any local vets in your area will take a look is a good course of action.

I would recommend taking your bird to the vet as soon as you are able. Respiratory disease can be very serious, especially in small birds. If you have the capability to nebulize at home it could be helpful until you can get her seen. You veterinarian may recommend performing X-rays to help determine what is going on. I hope this helps. Thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach. Best of luck!