A bird acting out of the ordinary will likely confuse you as a chick raiser.
This article is a quick look at why your chick may be doing this and what to do.
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Chick gasping after drinking:
Chicks need water for life, but if the bird starts to act oddly after it drinks water then you’d understandably start to worry.
Here is why this happens:
Crop adjusting:
If your bird is gasping after drinking water then the bird may be doing this because it is adjusting its crop.
The crop is an organ at the bottom of your bird’s throat that is shaped like a pouch.
This pouch was designed for wild birds.
The crop would allow the bird to quickly eat large amounts of food, while exposed out in the wild, store this food, and then allow the bird’s body to digest the food when the bird is in a safe location and not out in the open.
Because your bird is young the bird may be drinking a lot of water, too much water at one time.
The young bird does this because it doesn’t know how much water is enough for it.
This large amount of water will be stored in the bird’s crop.
If the bird takes in too much water, then the crop may fill and this may be uncomfortable for the bird.
If the bird starts to look like it is gasping for air then the bird may only be doing this because it is trying to adjust its crop.
In this case, the bird is not actually gasping for air, but is rather trying to relieve itself of the discomfort it feels because its crop is too full.
What to do:
This is normal, your bird will learn to understand its body and will stop drinking too much water over time.
That being said, it is still advised that you keep an eye out on your bird makings sure that it shows no signs of discomfort or a negative change in behavior along with this gasping.
If the bird starts showing a negative change in behavior then this may mean that the bird is sick.
If the bird is sick then you’d need to take the bird to the vet.
If you enjoyed this article then you may also be interested in other bird related articles. Here are some articles that you may be interested in: Why Does My Chick Look Like It’s Gasping For Air?, What To Do If A Chick Is Gasping For Air, 2 Day Old Chick Gasping, Chick Gasping And Chirping, Baby Chick Vomiting, Baby Chick Leaning To One Side, How To Force Feed A Baby Chick, Signs Of Intestinal Blockage In Chickens, Chicken Keeps Opening Mouth Like Gagging