March 3rd, I got my first shipment of Chicks.
We had a total of 15 shipped, but more than half died on the way.
When we first opened the box, the smell of the dead babies was horrible, and we got the few babies that were alive out.
We Checked for Pasty Butts and put the little Fuzz-Balls in the brooder, then dipped their beaks in water.
We were about to throw out the box with the dead chicks, when a chick that was on top of the "dead" pile rolled it's head.
I just about died when I realized it was still alive, although barely.
I tried to lift her out of the box, only to find out she was "glued" to the dead chicks she was lying on, and the only way to get her off of them, was to get the 2 chicks she was lying on out of the box, and run them all under warm water to dissolve the "glue" that was holding her down.
What we think happened, is that one of the chicks died immediately after they were put into the box for shipping, and the rest of the chicks started pecking at it. The body-cavity was open, and the innards were spilled out. Our little chick laid down on top of that to take a nap, and got "Stuck" when the juices in the intestines dried up and "glued" her to the chick she was lying on.
She was stuck lying on her side, with her leg stuck underneath her.
She stayed like that thru the trip. Unable to move. For almost 2 DAYS!
When I finally got her "unglued" from the dead chicks, I wrapped her in a small towel, and immediately moved under the heat-lamp with her. I rubbed her gently over and over, to get her circulation going, and started "Physical Therapy" on the leg that was all curled up, and she was not able to move. I didn't put her down until she was all dry.
She could not stand, much less walk, and she would not eat or drink. The only way she could get around, is if she used her only "functional" leg to "push" herself along the ground and kind of "flop" from one place to another.
I gave her some sugar water, and then pulled out a blender. I threw the Chick Starter, Chicken Egg-Yolk, Duck Egg-Yolk, Gatorade and Yogurt into the mix, and let it go for about 10 minutes to make it "pasty".
I used a syringe, and hand-fed her until she was stuffed to the MAX.
I kept going with her Leg exercises all day, and woke up every hour thru the night, sleeping next to the brooder.
I had her separated from the rest of the babies in a small shoe-box with towels on each side, so she would stop lying on her side, on top of that leg. I put the box 1/2 way under the heat-lamp, so if she got too hot, she could push herself away. Occasionally, for the next few days, I would put her in with the other chicks, so she didn't get too lonely. But ALWAYS supervised.
The next day she finally tried to stand up, only to fall down. But she kept on trying, and by the end of the day, she was able to stand up when she leaned on something.
The next day she was able to stand on her own. And tried to take steps.
The following day she was able to walk, but fell down after a few steps...
A few days later she was running almost as good as the rest of the chicks she arrived with.
I had to Hand-feed her for over a week, and when I finally saw her peck at the food on her own and drink, it literally brought me to tears.
So we named her Luckie.
Luckie is almost 8 weeks old now, and is the BIGGEST out of all the babies.
She is the most active too.
It's so rewarding to see her thriving so well. You could never tell what a hard start she had at first.
And remembering her hand-fed, and SO stuffed that she would fall over from her crop being so full always makes me smile.
Anyhow. I thought I would share this story. Maybe it will give someone hope to not give up when they see a chick in need of help.
Below is a Photo of Luckie as a New-Chick, and a Photo of her now.
We had a total of 15 shipped, but more than half died on the way.
When we first opened the box, the smell of the dead babies was horrible, and we got the few babies that were alive out.
We Checked for Pasty Butts and put the little Fuzz-Balls in the brooder, then dipped their beaks in water.
We were about to throw out the box with the dead chicks, when a chick that was on top of the "dead" pile rolled it's head.
I just about died when I realized it was still alive, although barely.
I tried to lift her out of the box, only to find out she was "glued" to the dead chicks she was lying on, and the only way to get her off of them, was to get the 2 chicks she was lying on out of the box, and run them all under warm water to dissolve the "glue" that was holding her down.
What we think happened, is that one of the chicks died immediately after they were put into the box for shipping, and the rest of the chicks started pecking at it. The body-cavity was open, and the innards were spilled out. Our little chick laid down on top of that to take a nap, and got "Stuck" when the juices in the intestines dried up and "glued" her to the chick she was lying on.
She was stuck lying on her side, with her leg stuck underneath her.
She stayed like that thru the trip. Unable to move. For almost 2 DAYS!
When I finally got her "unglued" from the dead chicks, I wrapped her in a small towel, and immediately moved under the heat-lamp with her. I rubbed her gently over and over, to get her circulation going, and started "Physical Therapy" on the leg that was all curled up, and she was not able to move. I didn't put her down until she was all dry.
She could not stand, much less walk, and she would not eat or drink. The only way she could get around, is if she used her only "functional" leg to "push" herself along the ground and kind of "flop" from one place to another.
I gave her some sugar water, and then pulled out a blender. I threw the Chick Starter, Chicken Egg-Yolk, Duck Egg-Yolk, Gatorade and Yogurt into the mix, and let it go for about 10 minutes to make it "pasty".
I used a syringe, and hand-fed her until she was stuffed to the MAX.
I kept going with her Leg exercises all day, and woke up every hour thru the night, sleeping next to the brooder.
I had her separated from the rest of the babies in a small shoe-box with towels on each side, so she would stop lying on her side, on top of that leg. I put the box 1/2 way under the heat-lamp, so if she got too hot, she could push herself away. Occasionally, for the next few days, I would put her in with the other chicks, so she didn't get too lonely. But ALWAYS supervised.
The next day she finally tried to stand up, only to fall down. But she kept on trying, and by the end of the day, she was able to stand up when she leaned on something.
The next day she was able to stand on her own. And tried to take steps.
The following day she was able to walk, but fell down after a few steps...
A few days later she was running almost as good as the rest of the chicks she arrived with.
I had to Hand-feed her for over a week, and when I finally saw her peck at the food on her own and drink, it literally brought me to tears.
So we named her Luckie.
Luckie is almost 8 weeks old now, and is the BIGGEST out of all the babies.
She is the most active too.
It's so rewarding to see her thriving so well. You could never tell what a hard start she had at first.
And remembering her hand-fed, and SO stuffed that she would fall over from her crop being so full always makes me smile.
Anyhow. I thought I would share this story. Maybe it will give someone hope to not give up when they see a chick in need of help.
Below is a Photo of Luckie as a New-Chick, and a Photo of her now.
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