One chick Pasting Up every morning! Super worried!

[EricaCAL]

Hi all! So I have one chick (out of 6 now - I got a Golden Sex-link today at the feed store) who is pasting up every morning and seems more lethargic than the others. She is my Blue Laced Wyandotte and seems so sweet but she is not as active plus has the pasty butt. The feed store sold me chick electrolytes to add to the water (I have added them) to see if that helps cause she might be dehydrated.

Any other suggestions? Do you think she will make it based on those symptoms? I am praying she does cause she is beautiful and my son is in love with her!!! Thank you so much for any and all help you can give this nervous new mommy!!!!

 

[RonC]

Might try some plain yogurt to get her regulated. Make sure she doesn't get blocked by the dried poop. I have one of mine that is over a year old and don't think she's ever had normal looking poop.

 

[EricaCAL]

Might try some plain yogurt to get her regulated. Make sure she doesn't get blocked by the dried poop. I have one of mine that is over a year old and don't think she's ever had normal looking poop.

Thank you so much for your suggestion...she died just now. I am devastated! I have been crying for the last hour. I cannot believe how delicate this little babies are! How in the heck do they survive in one of those horrible commercial meat farms? My babies are getting loved, fresh water, medicated feed and they have a warming plate that cost me $150!!! I know life is so fragile and special. I cannot believe how upsetting this is.

RIP little Valerie.

 

[lazy gardener]

Erica, I would give them Poultry Nutri Drench. I would also give them a plug of sod from an untreated lawn. Put the sod upside down. What is the temp in your brooder at the warm and the cool end? Too much heat might be an issue.

 

[lazy gardener]

Erica. don't beat yourself up over this. Some chicks simply fail to thrive. Some times it's b/c they have some internal abnormality, sometimes the shipping stress is simply more than their little bodies can handle. At commercial farms, they PLAN to loose a large number of their chicks!

 

[EricaCAL]

Erica. don't beat yourself up over this. Some chicks simply fail to thrive. Some times it's b/c they have some internal abnormality, sometimes the shipping stress is simply more than their little bodies can handle. At commercial farms, they PLAN to loose a large number of their chicks!

Thank you so much for those kind, kind words! I just feel like its all my fault cause she was NOT doing well almost from the minute I brought her home. She just didnt behave like the other chicks I got shipped from MyPetChicken. So all told now I have lost 3 baby chicks since I got them on Tuesday morning. Two died in transit (dead in the box at post office) and my little girl Valerie whom we got locally at the feed shop. The feed shop was nice enough to give me an Americana as a free replacement. She is a little older than the others by about 2 days so they thought she might be hardier? Idk but she seems to be doing very well in the brooder with my other 5.

I am praying we are all done with losses now. My heart cannot take much more loss! I just love my animals so much and to see ANY animal in distress is just soul crushing.

Do you think all my others will make it now that I have had them for 48 hours? All are drinking heartily and eating well. Any and all positive vibes are sooooo appreciated!!!!!! THANK YOU!

 

[FlockofMischief]

Chicks dont do well with regulating their own body heat until they lose their down. Make sure that you have not only a place for them to stay warm but also to cool off. My brooder had pine shavings under the heat lamp and construction grade sand mixed with pine shavings at the other end to help them cool off if they got too warm. Plus the sand mixture encouraged them to start scratching and foraging. If they're huddled together under the lamp they're probably cold. If they're laying separately with their wings splayed out they're trying to cool down.
My Polish and one of my Cochins had a HORRIBLE time with getting pasty butt. I found that rubbing a little bit of olive oil on and around their vent kept the poop from sticking to the down. Also a probiotic mixture in their water helped TREMENDOUSLY (they werent too keen on the yogurt). Hope that helps.
So sorry about your Wyandotte. If the others are eating and drinking I'm sure they'll be fine.

 

[lazy gardener]

You also might want to look into giving them fermented feed. There's an excellent article written by Tikki Jane in my signature about the how and why of FF.

 

[Smoochie]

I'm sorry for your loss. You sound like an excellent chicken mom. I lost a chick too recently and it is always such a bummer when that happens. My chick had a bad hatch and bled too much. I also had one with a pasty butt but kept an eye on it and cleaned it up frequently. I usually feed some finely mashed up boiled eggs the first few days to give the chicks a kick start. They love it! After a few days I wean them off it but then I give it as a treat once in a while and they go bananas.