Shaking and wobbly chick

[JesseK]

Hi, I have 16 chicks - 2.5 weeks old. 8 were packing peanuts - feathered legs, maybe cochins? Anyway, all of them look great except for one. He hasn't grown as fast as the other packing peanuts - he is quite small, almost half their size. I noticed today that he is shaking quite a bit and just wants to lay down. If he gets bumped by another chick he will get up and walk around, but very wobbly. He uses his wings to steady himself and ends up falling over. Then he sits down on his haunches for a few moments and then lays down.

Is there anything I should do for him? The rest look very healthy. Should I quarantine him?

I have them in a large box in my garage - no drafts. It has been getting cooler at night - in the low 40s, but the chicks don't seem to huddle at all. They are on pine shavings.

Thanks!!

 

[seminolewind]

At 2.5 weeks old they still need heat, like about 80-85 degrees and room to move away from the heat.. And he may be cold. Aside from that make some mash with feed and warm water and see if he'll eat that, or put some on your finger .

 

[JesseK]

Sorry, didn't mean to be unclear. They do have a red heat lamp on one end of the box. They go under it at night but not a lot during the day. I will try some mash for him, thanks!

 

[chickenzoo]

Might dose him with a little Corid just encase. Also a little liquid bird vitamin.

 

[leadwolf1]

Might dose him with a little Corid just encase. Also a little liquid bird vitamin.

X2

 

[JesseK]

Well the little guy didn't make it. I was out of town the last two days for work. When I left he looked okay - I got him to eat some mash and he seemed interested in eating and drinking after that - but still very sleepy and wobbly. My boyfriend took care of them when I was gone - he got some Corid and put it in the water. He said last night the little guy was looking pretty sickly - just wanting to sleep. This morning when I checked on them he was still alive but partially covered in wood shavings, laying on his side and only moving his legs a little bit. The other chicks were just running over him. I put him down.

I will go through the treatment of Corid just to make sure the others are alright. Any ideas of things I should watch out for with the rest? Could he just have been a sick little guy? He was so much smaller than the rest.

Thanks

 

[jaded79]

We had a chick that did that when it was about 3 weeks old. Our neighbor said sometimes they are born with a kind of nerve problem (don't know if it's true or not!). Ours was very wobbly when trying to walk and trembled a lot. He just wanted to sit down all the time. We eventually had to put him down (at about 4 weeks old). Hate to hear that you had to go through it too...

 

[leadwolf1]

With the really weak ones, putting the medicine in the water isn't enough. You need to dose them every two hours until they are well on their way to recovery. I'm sorry you lost the little guy. It may just be that he was a case of failure to thrive.