weird acting chicks help!!

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stephdbarb

stephdbarb

In the Brooder
5 Years
Jul 22, 2014
29
0
24
Brooktrails CA
We just picked up six leghorn pullets from TSC about 4 hours, ago. So far they've been very quiet, extremely mellow. Usually our chicks are cheepy, energetic little things that sleep in a pile.
These are just kind of laying around not in the usual chick pile but just all around the tub they're in. Possibly breathing heavy.. They seemed ok in the store. Should I worry?
These guys are inside away from my coop/flock. We're washing hands after handling the chicks. Is there anything else I can do if they're sick??
 
Are they drinking water? That's very important. When you get chick's from a place like TSC, they could be going under a lot of stress. Make sure they are at least drinking some water! Or they could also just be really mellow and tired. Hope they get better!
 
stephdbarb said:
We just picked up six leghorn pullets from TSC about 4 hours, ago. So far they've been very quiet, extremely mellow. Usually our chicks are cheepy, energetic little things that sleep in a pile.
These are just kind of laying around not in the usual chick pile but just all around the tub they're in. Possibly breathing heavy.. They seemed ok in the store. Should I worry?
These guys are inside away from my coop/flock. We're washing hands after handling the chicks. Is there anything else I can do if they're sick??
Click to expand...

Are you sure of the brooder temp? It sounds as if they may be a bit too warm. Did you introduce them to water by beak dipping? Put some electrolytes in the water too. Smash their baby crumbles, sometimes they are too big at first.
 
I dunked their beaks in water with Apple cider vinegar, they drank a bit and perked up some, piled up under the lamp and went back to sleep. Keeping my fingers crossed they'll be fine.
 
I only say that because from what I understand they are a bit more laid back and some even say lazy. I've never had them before so I don't know.
 
If I were you (which I'm not, so please just take this as an opinion of mine), I would ditch the apple cider (for now) and add some vitamins and electrolytes to their drinking water. Apple cider has a very potent smell and taste and if they're not used to it, they may not drink as much as they should and will become dehydrated and fatigued and once that happens, they're more prone to every opportunistic thing that comes their way. Also, if you haven't already put a thermometer in their brooder with them, do so now. You need to know what the temperature is in order to assess whether or not they may be ill. If the temp is 95 degrees and they're all spread out around the brooder and no one is panting that's good. If they're all piled on top of each other directly under the heat source, they're too cold and if they're all spread out as far from the heat source as they can get, they're too hot. Both of these extremes can make baby chicks act the way that you are describing. How is your brooder set up? Keeping them out of drafts is a big one too. Let us know how they're doing and what the temp is in there with them and I'll hope for the best.

-kim-
 

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