11 day old chick not doing well, help me dx

[mcclucker]

This is my 3rd set of chicks and I have one that is struggling this time. I can’t quite figure out what is going on.

4 arrived from hatchery in mail Tuesday 10/17. One (Easter egger) was weak, had one eye sealed shut, didn’t stand well. I hand fed her water with electrolytes and a slurry of crumble and warm water. I used vetericyn eye gel to lube the eye and she was able to keep it open by the next day. She seemed to improve. Walking, eating, drinking.

A couple of days ago I had moved them out to the garage from the house and last night I noticed she was cold - the others didn’t seem to have any issues but I brought them all back in. She was hunched over and not eating/drinking much. I hand fed her water again and she drank for a long time - like 15 minutes. Didn’t eat much.
Drank a crazy amount of water for a tiny chick!

Today she seems a bit better but is having watery poops. I assume from drinking so much? I hand fed some hard boiled egg and mash again and she is pecking around with the others but is still weaker and rests against the heating plate a lot. She is drinking a lot more than she is eating- from the waterer now at least. She hunches down a lot and squeezes her eyes shut but hasn’t had trouble with the closed eye since day 2.

Brooder is 85 degrees (an old rabbit cage with a brooder plate leaned inside it, towels draped over to keep heat in, and a chick heating pad on the bottom, in my heated laundry room/bathroom. They are all lined up against the heat plate here. The other three are much more active and strong. The sick one is far right. She’s hunched over like this a lot.

What else can I do?

 

[pineapple416]

I recommend to continue giving them electrolytes. You sound like you know what you are doing and know how to care for your chickies. She still looks alert I would just keep an eye on her. Let us know if she gets worse.

 

[mcclucker]

Thank you! She is doing a ton better today. Scratching around like a maniac

I lost one from my 2nd batch at about 5 days old (similar symptoms) and I have always felt like I could have done more to save her, so I’m feeling paranoid!

 

[azygous]

Remember in the olden days when a kid would complain about not feeling well or having a "stomach ache" they were immediately dosed with castor oil? More times than not, it cured the kid.

When I have a baby chick suddenly behave as yours is, I dose it with coconut oil because baby chicks can easily get constipated or have compacted crops. The treatment is harmless in the event constipation isn't the cause, but it can save the chick if it is.

I use coconut oil because it's lots easier to stuff into a chick's tiny beak than liquid oil. I break off a pea size chunk and get it onto the chick's tongue. It will swallow it then. I keep doing this until I have a teaspoon of oil in the chick. If constipation or crop issues is the problem, I see results in just twelve hours.