Homeschool Adventure Mom
In the Brooder
- Feb 28, 2019
- 12
- 31
- 39
-First 3 chicks of our own, but did help our co-op/farm friends raise 4 of 60 and all went well!
-My “Amercauna”(not sure if pure breed or Easter Mix? Bought at Rural King) is incredibly small compared to the Buff Orphington & White Leghorn we also brought home.
-First day she seemed fine- eating/drinking but did have pasty butt which I cleaned.
-Day 2-5 was lethargic, falling constantly, always sleeping, oblivious to what was going on around her, getting ran over, falling over “dead” (immediately asleep) tho occasionally ate & drank. I moved her to her own box in the same bin as her “sisters”. They share a lamp and I keep 2 thermometers by my sick baby- 95 degrees average, soft socks to sleep on and a tiny unicorn to cuddle with.
-I immediately researched, hand fed sugar water while I ordered electrolytes & vitamin mix. Sometimes she seemed ok, but definitely weak & mostly slept. She did eat on her own (chick food. Refused egg yolk, cottage cheese, wet food, yogurt, even high protein cat food-nothing but chick feed!), but I did have to hand feed water/sugar-water because she just didn’t drink much on her own. I made sure she is pooping brown & white and watched for pasty butt.
-Yesterday AM- started electrolyte & vitamin water (normal dose for chicken water). By end of day, she was standing better, seemed stronger, getting herself in & out of heat, not falling over “dead”, seemed more aware and started pecking random things & acting like a chicken! Pooping more, eating and drinking more!
-Today- all of the above is better! Alert, eat, drink, poop, etc. I put her in with her sisters and she pushed her way into the best heat, pecked at the wall, napped with them a bit, then one got a little aggressive and I put my tiny back in seclusion. She’s so tiny! And still has only the scraggly feathers on the tips of her wings just like she came. I weighed her today- 1.1oz, barely bigger than the size of the egg she hatched from.
-What next? What else can I do?
-I don’t care if she is a well producing hen, or is “useless” or even a roo who is behind! I just want her to live!
-should I make her vitamin/electrolyte batch stronger because she is ill?
-what should I watch for other than new feather growth & weight gain?
-I appreciate any advice, I’ve learned that it’s pretty normal for chicks to not make it but I want to try everything! I want to be one of the few success stories I’ve read!
-Anybody have happy ending stories of a runt baby?
Thank you!!<3
Amanda, new chicken Mom and very in love!