Help! Listless baby chick!

[mallory2013]

My little Delaware 2 day old chick is acting listless. When I went to check them this morning, I noticed that the other chicks were ganging up on her and pecking beneath her eye, and she wasn't moving away. I think that they pecked her so much she has bald spots under her eyes, however the spots may have been there yesterday and I didn't notice. I took her out and applied some Peck-No-More underneath her eyes, and put her back in and the other chicks continued to peck her. I took her out again and put her in the shipping box they came in and put it half way underneath the heat lamp with new shavings as bedding, water that has 4 drops of Nutri-Drench, and mashed boiled egg. She is now laying on her stomach with her eyes closed and frankly doesn't look too good. I have been dipping her beak in the water and she has been drinking, but I haven't seen her eat since this morning. She is still peeping when I move the box. She does not have pasty butt or an impacted crop. Is there anything else I can do to save her? I'm hoping she will just need to sleep it off. Thank you for any help!

 

[sekinkead]

It sounds like you have done a lot already for the chick. I can't think of anything else but to wait and see at this point. Good luck and I hope she recovers.

 

[mustangsaguaro]

Sounds like what I had in one of my chicks earlier this year. Although none of mine picked on the listless one. All the listless one did was stand around and slept standing up. I had no clue if the chick was eating or drinking. But someone suggested to dunk it's beak in the water, which sounds like you are already doing. I dunked it's beak in the water a few times during the day to help it if it was in fact dehydrated. Every time I dunked it drank. Attached is a pic of what that chick looked like in it's stupor. Someone also suggested getting a electrolyte and putting it in water to help. Well, I had gone out and done that and by the time I got home the chick was out of it's stupor. Do you have the same thing going on? Also, newborn chicks do sleep a lot.

 

[Sparkypatriot15]

Hey I have 2 newborn chicks and the smaller one keeps pecking the other one, especially at her eyes. The bigger chick mostly sleeps all the time and I haven't seen her eat or drink, but then again it's only day 1. Will this become a problem?

 

[fried green eggs]

Is the brooder light red? White light bulbs will cause them to peck more. They sleep alot the first day or two. Congrats on the new chicks and Good Luck.

 

[Sparkypatriot15]

White light bulb. I was thinking that maybe buying them a little cat toy, like the colorful balls with rattles inside to occupy them so they'd stop pecking. Would that work?

 

[fried green eggs]

Changing the light bulb to red will help so they won't peck so much and they will rest better at night too. I saw at Lowes they now carry colored light bulbs & are 40-60 watt. You could get a red light bulb - not as hot as the 250 watt infared brooder light.