I am currently treating a chick born with wry neck. This site has helped me enormously. I have followed all the recommended courses of treatment and we are not seeing great results but it's only been 1-1/2 weeks. I did find a way to support the neck so she can eat on her own and not fall backwards. It's a hair roller used like a neck brace lol. A spongy soft flexible dollar store hair roller. I formed it into a teardrop shape and cut the extra length off with wire cutters. Imagine hanging a hot show around her neck with the ends hanging down. Lightly squeeze the ends together so it won't slip off but be REALLY CAREFUL with the tiny little neck. Mine is a bantam Cochin so she's especially small. It has helped enormously with her stress level and flailing about! She is actually able to eat on her own although I am still dropper feeding her vitamin water. Oh! These rollers are available in different sizes for bigger chicks or full grown hems etc.
I REALLY HOPE THIS HELPS SOMEONE OUT THERE! Y'all have been SO very helpful to me the last month so I'd like to repay the favor
Rubber catheter type feeding tubes come in "French" sizes from 3-34. The smaller the number, the smaller the tube. The smallest one I use is an 8, and I use that on all baby chicks. The sizes I use most are 8, 10, 16,18 and 30.
Here is the size 8
Here is a tip for sick baby chicks needing extra TLC & fluids or ones that are having a hard time drinking on their own
Saturate a Q-tip in water (or vitamin water) and hold it to the side or tip of their beak, the water will make its way into the beak without you having to pry it open, and can easily be done one handed, easy no mess way to help them drink without aspirating or stressing them.
Here is a tip for sick baby chicks needing extra TLC & fluids or ones that are having a hard time drinking on their own
Saturate a Q-tip in water (or vitamin water) and hold it to the side or tip of their beak, the water will make its way into the beak without you having to pry it open, and can easily be done one handed, easy no mess way to help them drink without aspirating or stressing them.
I wish I'd figured that out sooner, I aspirated a chick once trying to use a syringe and I felt SO terrible! So I figured I'd share in case it could save any other lives!
Caring For Sick Baby Chicks
Sometimes a chick will be born un-equal to the others.
He or she may not be strong enough to feed themself's and their owners may not have the heart to cull them.
It's cruel to leave a baby chick (or chicken) to suffer, so here is my tips for saving a weak chick.
Feed the chick a mash. My own recipe is called 'Chick Oatmeal'. Here it is:
Half a teaspoon of coconut oil.
Half a teaspoon of brown sugar.
2 and a half Tablespoons of chick crumble.
1 teaspoon of plain yogurt.
Add boiling water until it is easy to feed.
Feed this by placing a spoon of it under the chicks beak and tipping it back in the bottom jaw.
Take short breaks for the chick to swallow.
If your chick get's pasty bum rub it off gently with a warm, wet cloth and discountinue the sugar in the feed. Sugar can cause pasty bum. Make sure that the 'pasty bum' is not an umbilical scab.
Feed the chick around every 4 hours. I recommend 8:30 AM, 12:00 PM, 4:00 PM, 8:30 PM, 12:00 AM, 4:00 AM, and 6:00 AM if the chick can't feed itself or feeds itself very little. It pays off in the end if done right!!!!
Good Luck!
Chicken19
