EMERGENCY - Should I just put the chick down?

[mmulcare89]

I am usually the one that feeds our flock but while I was away for the past 3 days, my 2 sons ages 7 & 9 were feeding & watering them. My 9 year old left 2 days ago & my 7 year old had told my husband that he fed & watered them but we just found out that he didn't feed or water them but he was just messing around with the new babies. First thing I did when I woke up this morning since my 7 year old left yesterday was I went out to the coops to check their food & water. There was 1 dead chick & 1 that could barely move. After discovering this & empty trays (there's no way that our hens & chicks could empty them that fast) I called my son & he told me that he hasn't fed them since my oldest left.

But I am sitting here with a chick that is believed to be dying due to lack of nutrients & I have been squirting water with a syringe & putting dusty crumble in her mouth. I thought she was dead when I first found her & she has moved + has made a little noise since I started with the food & water but I'm wondering if I should just drown the chick & put it out of it's misery or if there's anything else I could be doing for her. I'm unaware of the long term effects that this chick may suffer if it survives... if any & she's about a week old. I have her wrapped up on me for heat as well.

Please tell me your thoughts & opinions. They are greatly needed right now. Thank you so much in advance.
I plan on having my 7 year old assist me more often so that I KNOW he has been paying attention.

 

[Ol Grey Mare]

So, now comes the hard part - time for that sit down with your kids where you go over the importance of being good stewards to the animals who are entrusted into our care. This isn't about blaming your son or making him feel badly, it is about taking an unfortunate situation and making it a life lesson that will, hopefully, help him to move forward with a better grasp of the gravity of how his actions can have a direct impact on the lives of others and why it is SO important that we do what we say we will do/have done, especially when the lives of others are at stake. He didn't mean to kill the bird - he just didn't think about the unintended consequences of the choice he made to shirk his duty. You don't take him off of chicken duty - you keep him on it, with this being his job EVERY day- those birds eat and drink before he does - and you go along behind him EVERY day and verify that it has been done and, if he hasn't done so at the times he knows he is supposed to he goes right out there and does that chore as well as a few more (or other consequences as per your parenting style). While we have not had a loss of life result, I have caught my kids (when they were younger) not necessarily doing what they were supposed to have done. Leaving an animal without food or water in our home is a cardinal sin........

 

[gander007]

ACV?

So sorry Apple Cider Vinegar and just put in in an eye dropper and do a couple of drops on or in the beak ......

 

[mmulcare89]

I strongly agree!! All 4 of our kids have been assisting & helping on our property so this would simply be the next step. As soon as the spring hit, all 5 of our hens went broody so we have had a lot of chicks lately. We currently have 30 or so. Our last hatch consisted of 14 chicks alone & we still have a hen out in the blackberries sitting on eggs somewhere. Thank you all for your support & advice. That is why I absolutely love to come here. There are so many children these days who haven't a clue as to what responsibility is & end up having babies of their own by age 16. Because of everyone here, I have learned so much & have been able to offer my children something that not all children get the pleasure of experiencing. Again, thank you all for your kind words, support & advice. It is greatly appreciated & our children will walk away from this with a lesson learned + some!!

 

[gander007]

I am usually the one that feeds our flock but while I was away for the past 3 days, my 2 sons ages 7 & 9 were feeding & watering them. My 9 year old left 2 days ago & my 7 year old had told my husband that he fed & watered them but we just found out that he didn't feed or water them but he was just messing around with the new babies. First thing I did when I woke up this morning since my 7 year old left yesterday was I went out to the coops to check their food & water. There was 1 dead chick & 1 that could barely move. After discovering this & empty trays (there's no way that our hens & chicks could empty them that fast) I called my son & he told me that he hasn't fed them since my oldest left.

But I am sitting here with a chick that is believed to be dying due to lack of nutrients & I have been squirting water with a syringe & putting dusty crumble in her mouth. I thought she was dead when I first found her & she has moved + has made a little noise since I started with the food & water but I'm wondering if I should just drown the chick & put it out of it's misery or if there's anything else I could be doing for her. I'm unaware of the long term effects that this chick may suffer if it survives... if any & she's about a week old. I have her wrapped up on me for heat as well.

Please tell me your thoughts & opinions. They are greatly needed right now. Thank you so much in advance.
I plan on having my 7 year old assist me more often so that I KNOW he has been paying attention.

I have raised my kids and grand kids around our chickens and I can tell ya any thing under 10 yrs old need total supervision .......

Your chick needs to be under some heat other then you as your body is not putting of enough heat and that is only on the bottom so a warm room and not in direct sun and are you putting anything in the water even sugar ,,, ACV would be best for now .....

 

[mmulcare89]

ACV?

 

[mmulcare89]

I looked it up & had never thought of giving the flock apple cider vinegar. I use it for our family all of the time so I will definitely add some to water for her. Thank you.

 

[dawg53]

Quote:
Straight ACV down a chicks throat will burn the esophagus all the way down. The usual mixture for a flock is a couple of tablespoons ACV per gallon of water or a glug or two per gallon of water. Draw from that mixture, then administer it to the chick via eyedropper.
You'd be better off mixing a liquid slurry of buttermilk and chick starter and giving it to the chick.

 

[chickisoup]

I always have Nutridrench in my first aid kit for my chooks for just such emergencies. It is a high vitamin/nutrient rich mix that has helped more than one of my birds recover. It is just as natural as ACV but a LOT more beneficial in these cases and many other situations for both young chicks and adults.
ACV is primarily beneficial for good gut health in chickens but is little help when a chick is starving to death.
Listen to Dawg. Feed the little thing. He is very wise in the ways of poultry health and been a blessing to many of us again and again.
Also, Gander is totally correct about the baby needing to be kept warmer, that is critical!

Good luck.

 

[mmulcare89]

I mixed a couple drops of ACV in with some water & administered it with a dropper. She then pooped n stared foaming at the mouth. She had become so responsive before that but I believe she just died. She was swallowing food, opening her eyes & moving a tad. Nothing now :/