SherrieT205
Hatching
- Dec 27, 2016
- 6
- 0
- 7
I'm a newbie chick momma. I have been reading books and forums such as this (THANK YOU) to educate myself for 3 months. We finally received our order this past Wednesday for our 15 baby chicks. They are mixed breeds and so adorable. I was thrilled to find they all made the journey safely and have been doing wonderfully for the most part. However, I have one (EE) that has had pasty butt since day two. However, it was never bad and I don't believe she was ever completely blocked up. Just dirty on the backside. It has been very easy to clean with a cotton ball and warm water and I would put a dab of vaseline afterward. Yesterday after I cleaned her and put her back in the brooder she seemed to be panting (had her little head up and opening and closing her beak, no noise). So I watched her for a few minutes unchanged. I removed her from the brooder and put her in another box with her own food and water and have been closely watching her. She was very lethargic for a few hours but seemed to perk up in the evening. I have not seen her eat or drink on her own (I have been giving her drops of water and her water does have the Vital Pack for chicks in it ). Her poop looks normal. Her chirp is stronger and more normal today. All the other 14 chicks seem perfectly fine, running around the brooder, eating, drinking, mingling, etc. I put her back in for a few minutes last night because I feared her distress was coming more from me cleaning her bottom and then being separated and alone (she calms down when we hold her). However, I am so fearful she may have something that can make all the others ill so I took her back out. She made it through the night and seems a little stronger but still no signs of eating/drinking on her own. Poop seems normal. I am hoping someone might be able to give me insight as to how long I should observe? Is there anything else I should be doing? All my chicks were vaccinated for Merek's and I am feeding them medicated crumbles (and offered crumbled egg yolk the first few days but no one seemed interested in that). Temperature in the brooder has been 90-93 on the warmer end and I keep the food and water on the opposite end of the heat source. The rest of the chicks seems very content and run (even try to fly) from one end to another. This one looks healthy in all ways beside the seemly more labored breathing and little activity and lack of eating and drinking. Can this be normal behavior for some baby chicks? She was the largest upon arrival, so by no means a runt. Thank you for your help!
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