Any odd behavior in your bird means that there is something going on with the bird.
Investigating any odd behavior is important as this can save your bird’s life.
If your chick is gasping and chirping this article will help you figure out why
Table of Contents
Chick gasping and chirping:
A chick who chirps at you is trying to get your attention, and a chick gasping can mean that there is something wrong with the bird.
Here is why your bird is doing both:
The bird is choking:
Gasping is one of the telltale signs that your bird is choking on something.
Because chicks are so small, they can choke on even the tiniest of things
Other signs that indicate that your bird is choking include coughing, neck extending, and flapping of the wings frantically.
Birds have evolved to be able to remove almost anything that may be blocking their throats, hence the coughing, but sometimes they can’t remove the obstruction on their own.
The bird may be chirping because it is trying to get your attention and is trying to get you to help it
What to do:
If this is happening with your tiny chick stay calm, freaking out will only make the bird freak out.
This will only make the whole situation worse.
Help the bird by opening its mouth and looking to see what is causing the blockage, and how deep the blockage is.
If you can, reach in with a pair of tweezers, or your fingers, and get the obstruction out
If this doesn’t work then flip the bird over, holding onto its legs, and swing the bird while it is upside down.
Gravity and centrifugal force should get the object out.
If this doesn’t work try the Heimlich maneuver, or, take the bird to the vet
In future, make sure that your baby birds are only fed foods that are small enough to easily get down their throats.
In addition, if there are foreign objects in your bird’s brooder, make sure that they aren’t small enough to fit into your baby bird’s mouth.
Baby chicks are very curious and will pick up and eat a lot of things, it is advised that you take precautions to keep this from happening.
The bird is sick:
If the bird is not choking then your little chicks may be sick.
A variety of diseases can cause excessive chirping, and gasping.
Some of the diseases that may cause these symptoms include gapeworm, aspergillosis, fowl pox, infectious bronchitis, laryngotracheitis, bordetellosis, and mycoplasma gallisepticum.
Your bird will show other symptoms when sick, and the combination of symptoms that the bird shows will help you figure out what the bird is suffering from.
What to do:
The first thing that you’d need to do is isolate the bird.
Isolating the bird will help keep the other birds from becoming infected, that is, if the other birds aren’t already infected.
Make sure that the bird has its own food and water while in isolation to keep its body running
Because there are so many conditions that your bird may be suffering from it is recommended that you take your bird to the vet for an examination, a diagnosis, and, hopefully, treatment for its condition.
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 After Drinking, 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
