Six Day Old Chick- Lethargic, dying.

[dalindaleann]

I'm sorry for your loss. I lost one of the 30 I've been raising at about the same age the same way. From what I understand, it was nothing you did. Sometimes it is just a failure to thrive. It's sad when it happens. Hopefully all the rest do just fine.

 

[The_Fancy_Chick]

Hi everyone-

I know this is not the first post about a lethargic chick- but I can’t quite get an answer anywhere.

My 6 day old barred rock chick (by characteristics I’ve sexed her as female) is likely not going to make it. This isn’t my first time raising chicks but I’ve changed just about everything from the last time I did them, last spring. I use the medical pads for bedding now to eliminate chicks eating pine shavings, which happened last year. I switched from a heat lamp to a radiant heat source for the brooder, and I've made their brooder much bigger.

We just got 24 chicks last night, which were 5 days old. We bought them from someone about an hour and a half away so it was quite a trip. I brought them home and made sure the warmer tray was working and that I put it at the right height. The instructions said not to allow any chick's head to touch the warmer plate, so I raised it to the second setting (out of three) because my biggest chick had to duck under it. The brooder had been warming up for about 20 hours before putting the chicks in it. I filled their water with hydro-hen for the night just to make sure we weren't going to have any dehydrated chicks, set up their food, and dipped a few of their heads in the water to show them where it was at.

I lost so many chicks to pasty butt last year because I didn't know anything about it. Every time I started to treat them for it, it was too late- they were already lethargic and gasping in the brooder. I was determined to do everything "right" this time!

When transferring the chicks from the box to the brooder, I checked butts. Anyone that was clean could go in, and anyone that even a hint of dried poo stayed in the box for cleaning. Out of the 24, I had 11 that needed to be washed. I think about 6 truly had pasty butt, and it was BAD. Probably about 1/2 inch of dried feces glued to their vents. I put vegetable oil on a q-tip and gently applied it to their vent and anywhere the poop was attached to them, and put them in the box together. I took them one by one and ran their bottoms under Luke-warm but slightly warmer water, dried gently with a towel, and then blew-dry them on low until they were puffy again and put them in a new, clean box. I'd bring them back to the brooder in batches of 3-4 so they didn't get too cold just waiting for everyone to join them. A few them did projectile poo as soon as the dried clump of poo washed away from their vent. After almost 2 hours of washing and drying, everyone was in the brooder and eating, drinking, and finding warmth. Everyone was lively and I felt so accomplished for catching it before it was problem.

This morning around 9 am I lifted up the brooder warmer plate just to check on anyone under it that I might not have seen yet this morning. There was one that didn't scurry away and just stayed there. My heart sank. I tried to give it a few drops of water and egg yolk but it wouldn't accept it, and I didn't want to drown her. She did take a bit of water but that was it.

When I took her out of the brooder, she felt cold. Like, her down wasn't warm from the plate. I don't know if maybe it is too high? Or if she was cold because she was dying. I am 100% certain that she was one I had washed last night because there was still an oily appearance to her tail end. She didn't perk up when I warmed her in my hands or my shirts, she just relaxed and kind of accepted that she was going to sleep until the end....

She did finally die in my hand/on my (pregnant) belly as I wrote this out. It never gets easier!

My question, I guess, is... Is the warmer plate too far from the bottom of the brooder? Or was it likely her suffering from the effects of pasty butt? Or something else?Everyone else is lively and chirping, they are mostly under the warming plate but they do ZOOM out from under it to get food and water and socialize. My house is about 68 degrees most of the day, I don't think it drops below 65. I can't help but think that I should lower the plate for now until they get a little bit bigger, but I also don't want to dehydrate and overheat all my chicks. Maybe after this batch of chicks I'll be a professional and just know everything!

Thanks for sticking with me!

I had a similar problem, one had a vent prolapse and then constant poopy butt, so we separated immediately, then the feathers got stiff and hard from the constant poop... then the baby chicks started pecking at its sibling!!! By the time I separated her, it was too late. I did exactly as u did. Egg white and liquefied mash, in my sports bra keeping her warm and dry. I bought a thermometer on Amazon for tanks. It even has a magnet! I guess it's for reptiles cuz it tells temp and humidity 24/7. It's the only way I can sleep. And I bought an ostrich feather duster because my 1st batch of chicks LOVED IT. that and a mirror made a huge difference in my chicks. Also a teeny tiny stuffed animal for them to lean on. I bought about 500 medical q tips and use that for their butts after I soak the tips under very warm water for a few seconds. If they are wet, sick, or alone, I make sure the temp is around 102/103 instead of 99/100 for a healthy group.