chick too sleepy? - UPDATE

I have this one speckled sussex chick who sleeps a lot more than the others. Even when she is awake she walks with her eyes closed. She is eating, drinking, and pooping and sometimes I see her running and playing. She almost always has her eyes closed or mostly closed though, even when she is running around. She spent the whole night complaining but she isn't complaining anymore, just being a chick. Maybe I am worrying for nothing but she just doesn't seem "normal" like the rest. Any thoughts? Naturally she stands out so she has become my favorite. I call her Cricket (because it seemed like she never stopped chirping all night). If there is something wrong with her that I might be able to fix I'd like to be able to help her out!

A bit more background, I cleaned her feet off early this morning since she had some stuff crusted on them. None of the other chicks had that problem. I made sure she was warm and dry before putting her back in with the others. She is a tiny bit smaller and slower than the other chicks but not to the extent of looking stunted or lethargic.

Are you sure she isn't blind? In any case, you may want to give her some poly-vi-sol (human infant vitamin with NO iron) and see if that may help brighten her up. Keep an eye on her and see for certain that she is eating.

does the crusty stuff seem like a skin issue?
there was a chick with sore feet that had a skin issue over on the disease section. there are lots of pics of it
he used tea oil as I recall, not sure exactly
if the crusty reoccurs you may want to check that out

was cricket the last one born?

My last one hatched is the smallest and gets bumped around alot but is coming along
doesnt' seem to be growing as fast as the others

I bought Cricket and her sisters at a couple of days old so not sure what order they were born in. Her feet looked like they were just dirty, the skin underneath is clean and yellow like the rest of her foot. I don't think that Cricket is blind, she doesn't bump into things, but I have considered that she may be light sensitive, but for what reason is a mystery. I can't pick up new Poly-vi-sol until tomorrow (ran out 2 weeks ago) but when I get it I will give some to her and the others. Her crop is full at the appropriate times and I've seen her at the food dish chowing with the rest.

I would use some antibiotic ophthalmic ointment in her eyes two or three times a day for a few days. Available at feed stores, usually Terramycin here. It is possible she has an infection that is low grade enough that you can't see symptoms, or maybe a scratched cornea that you can't see. Might be unnecessary treatment, but IMO is worth the try, not like giving systemic antibiotics. JMO.

thanks for the suggestion ddawn! I will try that too.

Thanks to the "YELLER" thread I discovered part of Cricket's problem. She wasn't drinking. I thought she had been since I saw her at the waterer with the other chicks but then I realized I had never seen her actually dip down and drink. I dipped her beak every couple of hours for the last day and a half and she finally went to the waterer on her own this afternoon. I do think she may have some vision problems because she tests the water level before she starts drinking and she always goes to the same spot on the waterer, but now that she has figured out where the water is she goes back to it frequently. Ever since the first beak dipping, yesterday morning, she has not been doing the constant loud peeping. Her eyes are now fully open all the time too.

So now I pass on the suggestion, if you have a new chick who is constantly peeping try dipping it's beak again, maybe it just hasn't figured the water thing out yet.