- May 31, 2012
- 31
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- 22
I ordered 8 chicks (my min. allowed order for my area was 7) from Mypetchicken.com. They were shipped on Monday and arrived this morning. When I got to the post office they told me that they believed I lost some because the boxed smelled horrible. I had to ride 12 minutes home with my two children in the car and a box that smelled like death. I got home I tried to open the box without the children in the room, my 2 month old was crying, my 2 year old could not be distracted.. he just wanted to see the chickens. I was able to open the box without him being able to see inside though. I had one very very dead chick and another who had been trampled almost to death. The remaining 6 seemed fine but they all had the nastiness from the dead one on them. I had to call my friend who's farm is down the road to come and help me. I have never owned chicks before and was at a loss of what to do with the injured chick.
We gave the chick electrolites and put her in a box by herself in the brooder, so she could still be under the light. She was holding both legs out to one side and wouldn't move them, so my friend said she believed I was going to loose that one too.
Fast forward a few hours later... I pulled the chick out of the box again to give her more water with electrolites and see if she would eat. She took the water happily and ate one crumble out of my hand. She is now moving both legs and actually putting weight on one of them, but since she is still not putting weight on the other she still isn't standing. She will move both wings but when I hold her she holds one of the wings out. She doesn't act as if she is in pain at all, even when I am moving her legs and wings, and she doesn't appear to have any visible injuries. She is wide eyed and is chirping at me as I hold her. I am at a loss of what to do now. She seems to be getting better and is all fluffed out and pretty but how handle it if she continues to not stand? She is also covered in the nastiness from the dead chick because she was laying on her. My friend said they would clean themselves and she didn't suggest that I got them wet but this chick reeks and I am not sure she can reach her back where the nastiness is. Can I clean her up somehow? My house still reeks of death and I think it is mostly her. What do I do now? Would she be acting like she is in pain? How do I help her?
Also... The chicks are pecking at each other beaks. Is this normal? It really doesn't seem too aggressive and they aren't drawing blood or anything. Part of me wonders if it is because they have the stuff from the dead chick on them but they are only pecking at each other's beaks, not feet or bodies. Is this a "pecking order" type thing. They are all different breeds and are only days old.
We gave the chick electrolites and put her in a box by herself in the brooder, so she could still be under the light. She was holding both legs out to one side and wouldn't move them, so my friend said she believed I was going to loose that one too.
Fast forward a few hours later... I pulled the chick out of the box again to give her more water with electrolites and see if she would eat. She took the water happily and ate one crumble out of my hand. She is now moving both legs and actually putting weight on one of them, but since she is still not putting weight on the other she still isn't standing. She will move both wings but when I hold her she holds one of the wings out. She doesn't act as if she is in pain at all, even when I am moving her legs and wings, and she doesn't appear to have any visible injuries. She is wide eyed and is chirping at me as I hold her. I am at a loss of what to do now. She seems to be getting better and is all fluffed out and pretty but how handle it if she continues to not stand? She is also covered in the nastiness from the dead chick because she was laying on her. My friend said they would clean themselves and she didn't suggest that I got them wet but this chick reeks and I am not sure she can reach her back where the nastiness is. Can I clean her up somehow? My house still reeks of death and I think it is mostly her. What do I do now? Would she be acting like she is in pain? How do I help her?
Also... The chicks are pecking at each other beaks. Is this normal? It really doesn't seem too aggressive and they aren't drawing blood or anything. Part of me wonders if it is because they have the stuff from the dead chick on them but they are only pecking at each other's beaks, not feet or bodies. Is this a "pecking order" type thing. They are all different breeds and are only days old.