What is wrong with Tiny? Is he sick? Please help!!!!

I got 6 little chicks as a 'free thank you gift' what I bought a goat yesterday. So, I pulled out my brooder box for them. They are all healthy and thriving except for one. It is smaller than the rest.

Wings seemed huge for it's body and the chick couldn't hold the wings up so I trimmed 1/2 in off of all the flight feathers last night. Wings are still droopy.

The chick is lethargic. Not eating well. It eats, but not much. After a few 'bites' it just stands there for a minute, then crawls back into the corner where they all sleep. I put a little sugar in the water a few minutes ago in hopes that Tiny will perk up.

Any ideas on what could be wrong??? or how I can help Tiny thrive??? Thank you!

The chicks are one to one and a half weeks old

Were the chicks vaccinated for Marek's disease? See any watery poop, perhaps with some blood?
Try some Sav-a-chick for Tiny.
If you see blood in the poop, it's possible coccidiosis.
That is treatable with Corid in their water for 5 days.

CluckerCottage said:

Were the chicks vaccinated for Marek's disease? See any watery poop, perhaps with some blood?
Try some Sav-a-chick for Tiny.
If you see blood in the poop, it's possible coccidiosis.
That is treatable with Corid in their water for 5 days.

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I'll ask if they were vaccinated. I hope that he doesn't have that!
No, no bloody poop.
Soft poop from drinking more than eating, but not watery.

Could Tiny possibly be malnourished? They chicks were all outside in a sort of 'survival of the fittest' environment. The person who gave them to me was more interested in egg production than chick raising.

The person said they were not vaccinated, but they also said that there haven't been any problems with Marek's in the flock. They suggested early signs of coccidiosis.
I will see if my vet has the Corid and Save-A-Chick, or where he recommends that I get it if he does not. Thanks for your help!!

I was going to get him the Corid and the Save-A-Chick for Tiny today but he did not make it through the night. I'll get some anyway so I have in on hand just in case any of my other birds needs it.

Tiny's condition prompted me to take a closer look at the others. One has a mild cross beak that I didn't notice earlier. Two of the chicks have what looks like an air bubble at the base of the neck, where the wing joins the body on the shoulder. I looked it up on BYC and the best I can figure is that the chicks had a difficult hatching that damaged an air sack or something??? Any thoughts?

Chicken5555 said:

I was going to get him the Corid and the Save-A-Chick for Tiny today but he did not make it through the night. I'll get some anyway so I have in on hand just in case any of my other birds needs it.


Tiny's condition prompted me to take a closer look at the others. One has a mild cross beak that I didn't notice earlier. Two of the chicks have what looks like an air bubble at the base of the neck, where the wing joins the body on the shoulder. I looked it up on BYC and the best I can figure is that the chicks had a difficult hatching that damaged an air sack or something??? Any  thoughts?

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Is the air bubble thing on their right side and is it sift and mushy? Is there a gurgling sound when you push on it? What does his breath smell like?

Happ said:

Is the air bubble thing on their right side and is it sift and mushy? Is there a gurgling sound when you push on it? What does his breath smell like?

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Yes to all of the yes/no questions. I couldn't tell if the breath smelled bad, the chicks with the air bubble smell like regular chicks. I couldn't tell if anything was off about the breath.

Research"sour crop" and how to treat.

Happ said:

Research"sour crop" and how to treat.

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Can a chick that young really get sour crop?