Paisley as a about 2 week-old chick
Paisley's Story - How to Help Exhausted Chicks
The most common situation we see exhausted chicks is when they are shipped. They undergo a lot at only one day old, so it's not a surprise when we get one or two that look overly exhausted. But it's dangerous. Chicks like this can get trampled by others or smothered. Bu t there are ways to help. This is the story of my standard white cochin hen, Paisley's and what we did to overcome her exhaustion.
*Note; before I begin I would like to note that Paisley was in a more extreme case of exhaustion and this was what we did for her situation. There are more simple, easier ways of dealing with this I'm sure but this is what we did and it worked.
July, 2015
Our first flock of chickens was unfortunately attacked by dogs while we were away, and when we got back the only survivor was Peep, a pullet at that time, Easter Egger. We knew we had to get her new flockmates, and quick so we ordered 4 chicks from Meyer Hatchery; Circuit (Buckeye), Hazel (Speckled Sussex), Frosting (Delaware), and Paisley (standard White Cochin). They arrived early in the morning on July 22, 2015 and we quickly hurried to pick them up!
When we got back we noticed paisley was lethargic and not getting up to eat or drink frequently like her fellow chicks so I, of course, turned to BYC for assistance.
The Cure
I found that feeding her sugar water and regular water was supposed to help, this was after we tried putting electrolytes in the chick's shared water but she would not drink. So I started her first with sugar water, gave her as much she would drink. Then, got a watch and set a timer for 15min and went back out and gave her regular water;
Sugar water
15min
Regular water
15min
..repeat
I did this for pretty much the whole day and towards the end of the day, she was showing improvement! But I kept up the schedule for a few more hours until she was back on her feet running around with her flockmates!
Paisley as a full grown bird!
Today Paisley has been doing very well, she's now almost a 3 year old hen! We have showed her for 4-H every year since we got her and she's done very well! She has only had one health issue since her eventful chick days, a prolapsed vent she made a full recovery from as well. Here's to many more years with her and her flockmates! Thank you for reading!
