Should I be worried about the baby?

[RRLaney]

So this is my first time raising baby chicks...I think we're doing a pretty good job, but one of my 8 day old barred rock chicks seem to be sleepier than the rest of them. She definitely sleeps more than the others but I have seen her eating and she is definitely rambunctious when she is awake. I assume babies just need a lot more sleep and it's normal, but I want to make sure I'm not overlooking something. I've been giving them fresh food and water everyday, they have a heat lamp and a clean brooder and I've been checking their butts to make sure there's no poop stuck over their vent. Is there anything else I can be doing differently? And should i be worried about the little one?
Thanks!

(She's the one on the far left)

 

[RRLaney]

Any advice or thoughts?
Maybe she's not drinking enough water? Is there a way to make them want to drink more...I rarely see any of them drink. I made sure it's not cold and it's in a warm part of the brooder.

 

[azygous]

If this chick is behaving differently from the others, you're probably right in being concerned about it. Does it peep a lot? Like non-stop? Is it pooping? What are you feeding? Wet or dry food?

Your chicks should be drinking regularly to the point where you should see them take a sip every now and then. Did you wet each beak when you first got them? If you aren't seeing them drink, try dipping their beaks and see what happens.

If the sleepy chick continues to behave lethargically, it may have a failure to thrive condition or it may just be slow out of the gate. Either way, it would benefit from Poultry Nutri-drench, a powerful nutritional supplement that is absorbed directly into the blood stream. This could help the chick if it's slow to develop internally. Best to do something about it now rather than wait until it shows signs of seriously lagging behind the others.

 

[RRLaney]

If this chick is behaving differently from the others, you're probably right in being concerned about it. Does it peep a lot? Like non-stop? Is it pooping? What are you feeding? Wet or dry food?

Your chicks should be drinking regularly to the point where you should see them take a sip every now and then. Did you wet each beak when you first got them? If you aren't seeing them drink, try dipping their beaks and see what happens.

If the sleepy chick continues to behave lethargically, it may have a failure to thrive condition or it may just be slow out of the gate. Either way, it would benefit from Poultry Nutri-drench, a powerful nutritional supplement that is absorbed directly into the blood stream. This could help the chick if it's slow to develop internally. Best to do something about it now rather than wait until it shows signs of seriously lagging behind the others.

Thanks so much, I'll definitely get some of that! Im feeding them a dry starter feed. It's nonmedicated. Not sure if that's good or bad. If I should be feeding medicated I'll go pick some up tomorrow.
I'll try dropping their beaks in water too, I haven't done that, thank you!
They all peep pretty regularly, more if I have the lights on. I don't know if I'd say nonstop. I think they're all pooping but in the time I was around today I didn't see either on the barred rock chicks poop. Maybe they just did it when I wasn't watching though.
Thanks again for the good info.

 

[azygous]

Don't go buying medicated feed. I's not really necessary. They'll do fine on the non-medicated. But do try to get them to drink, and the Nutri-drench will be good for them all.

When you get the bottle home, take the weak chick and dribble some alongside its beak so it gets a strong dose. Then mix some in their water so it looks like very weak tea. You want to change the water each day and mix up fresh. I usually do this for the first two weeks until I'm sure they're all off to a good start.

 

[RRLaney]

Don't go buying medicated feed. I's not really necessary. They'll do fine on the non-medicated. But do try to get them to drink, and the Nutri-drench will be good for them all.

When you get the bottle home, take the weak chick and dribble some alongside its beak so it gets a strong dose. Then mix some in their water so it looks like very weak tea. You want to change the water each day and mix up fresh. I usually do this for the first two weeks until I'm sure they're all off to a good start.

Oh perfect! Thanks for your help! I wanna be a good first time chick mama!

 

[chickens really]

I do use medicated chick starter....If Chicks were not Vaccinated for Coccidia, they can get it...It can kill Chicks very fast...I use medicated till 8 weeks.....


Cheers!

 

[RRLaney]

@chickens really
Yeah I've heard mixed things, the lady at the feed store said not to worry about medicated feed either, but I have lost a chicken to coccidia and I really don't want to lose one of the babies! They don't get vaccinations until about 10 weeks right? Or is every vaccination different? I guess that's my next thing to research cause I'm gonna have to vaccinate them all myself.
Anyways, I'm trying really hard to keep the brooder and their food and water super clean but if you think medicated is the way to go I'll definitely pick some up for them!

 

[Folly's place]

In a new clean environment, with no dirt added, there's no way coccidia should be there, so that's likely not the issue here. Some chicks just won't do well, for many different reasons; everyone doesn't always live. Offering god food, water, clean bedding, etc, is what's reasonable to do. She might rally, I hope so. Amprolium added chick starter is essential if your environment (ground) is heavily infected with coccidia, and not needed if there's little or no numbers of that parasite. How do you know? By not feeding the treated feed, and having chicks sicken and die of coccidiosis! It's safest to feed the medicated chick starter for long enough for chicks to be living outside in their new home for several weeks, so they build up immunity to the parasite that's out there. Some of us are blessed with low coccidia numbers, and can feed unmedicated feed with no problems. I've been blessed that way. Other people will have dead or very sick chicks unless medicated feed is used, and for new chicken owners, it's the safest way to start. Mary

 

[chickens really]

No, Chicks are vaccinated as day old chicks....A friend of mine, her parents own a Hatchery...I go by their methods...My birds always live without any common illnesses....I feed it till 8 weeks...Then unmedicated Grower,,,,

Cheers!