Chick looses balance and falls backwards

[Jeremy77]

I have a 1 week old baby chick up till tonight he was fine now he is, loosing his balance and falling backwards he will regain his balance every now and then and run for a second only to then stop and fall backwards, He seems very weak and his breathing seems stronger than normal.
I really dont think he will make it through the night but would like to find out what it is for future problems that may arise with the other babys in the brooder. Please help with any info you may have would greatly appriciate Thanks,

 

[dlhunicorn]

many things can cause ataxia (loss of balance)...many are dietary deficiencies (caused by many things incl deficiencies in parents)...biological infiltration of the shell (it is why you should never hatch a dirty or soiled egg)...etc.. Many times giving a few drops of POLYVISOL (liquid childrens vitamin) can help these cases (but in the case of bacterial infection not)... it cannot hurt and often help. One thing to remember though...often a chick (for whatever reason) will not drink sufficiently...especially if weak... this will also cause these symptoms (dehydration occurs VERY quickly...it is the same as salt poisoning and will kill your bird quick!) Monitoring them that they are drinking sufficiently will help avoid many problems... Good Luck!