12 Day Old Chick Won't Eat Or Drink - Help!

[O.C.Chick]

Hi. I have three 12 day old Appenzeller Spitzhauben chicks that I hatched. All were fine yesterday..full of energy. But this morning one of them won't eat or drink and seems very low on energy, and not socializing with the other two chicks. Chick hasn't pooped today, as far as I can tell, but all 3 have had lots of liquid in their droppings since hatching (not diarrhea, but just a loT of clear liquid that comes out along with the solid poop)

They are still in the brooder (my bathtub!), with clean towels as bedding...so here are the only two things that I could figure might be wrong:

1. Chick might have gotten too cold at night...Temp was 87 under the ceramic heat lamp, but the chick wasn't under the lamp this morning. I just switched to this heater two days ago, and chicks might be confused since it doesn't put off light?

2. Chick ate an earwig yesterday....Any chance it was exposed to cocci or something else bad?

SO, WHAT DO YOU ALL THINK? IF CHICK HAD BEEN CHILLED, WHAT CAN I DO? AND, SHOULD I TREAT FOR COCCIDIOSIS AS A PRECAUTION? (I HAVE CORID, JUST INCASE)

THANKS!!!!!

 

[chickenlady]

Warm the chick up and check for pasty butt. Make sure it has water. Sounds like it may be getting dehydrated. You can give poly-vi-sol vitamins (without iron). I would not treat such a young chick for cocci. It would not get that in one day. That bug may have something to do with it. Yuk, I hate them.

 

[O.C.Chick]

Chick has been under the heat lamp warming up since this morning....I put a couple drops of PolyVisol in a small water dish and dipped her beak in it...She won't drink. Should I try to rehydrate by giving drops into the beak with a feeding syringe?

THANKS!!!!

 

[O.C.Chick]

Also, no sign of pasty-butt

What are the symptoms of chilling, and will they recover if it's caught quickly?

 

[chickenlady]

I would drip the vitamins on the side of her beak. Generally this will make them take some in. You can also do this with water if she is not drinking on her own. It only takes a matter of a day or two for dehydration to kill a little baby. Keep trying to dip her beak into plain water and get her to drink on her own. Those vitamins have a nasty taste to them, I wouldnt drink them on my own, lol. Some people add sugar to the water, I dont agree with that. Works good for a little bit then they crash when the sugar wears off. Hope the baby comes around for you.

When chicks are chilled, they become very sluggish. but once warmed will bounce right back, maybe couple hours or so.

 

[O.C.Chick]

Thank you! One more question: How much of the Poly-Visol is considered an adequate dose for a young chick? How many drops per day, and for how many days?

 

[muell112]

You can try putting them in a smaller container so they have to stay under the light more - they'll huddle if they're chilled/spread out if they're not. Perhaps the bathtub bottom is cool/coming up through the towels? I'd maybe try some pedialyte mixed with some of the liquid that comes off yogurt to keep hydrated.

 

[O.C.Chick]

Yes, might be a good idea to put them in a smaller area at night...Don't think they've gotten the hang of the new heat lamp yet, since it doesn't emit light.

Don't think there is cold coming from the bottom of the tub, as I have a bath matt and several layers of thick towels covering the bottom, plus, thermometer is reading 87 degrees at floor level.

I don't have pedia-lite, but I'm going to try some fresh carrot juice and kefir (liquid plain yogurt) for the time being, until I can get to the store. That should help with protein and electrolites. BUT, I'm hesitant to force her to eat yet, as not to stress her...So I'll see if she goes for it on her own.

Thanks!

 

[chickenlady]

You can do a search here on the vitamins. I use 2-3 drops twice each day for a week, many on here say different, I have heard 1-2 drops once daily, I use more. You dont want to go beyond a week though.

 

[ChooksChick]

I'm always answering this, and old timers here are going to think I have stock in the company, but...

You can lose a chick sooooo fast when they're young, and the first thing that happens when they feel poorly is they stop eating and drinking...so it snowballs.

My favorite fix for this is to get a bag or container of baby parrot food. It's a powder you mix with water, and you'll want to buy a syringe to use for it.

If you mix it up roughly the consistency of cake frosting, there's enough moisture in it to help them maintain whatever hydration level they currently are- but if dehydrated you'll want to coax them into drinking. As they become stronger from a bit of nutrition they may start eating and drinking again naturally.

It contains concentrated nutrients and probiotics, so it will get a chick over many a hump- I aim the syringe at the beak and just wait for an opening. Usually they will go for it after tasting it.

I always recommend keeping this in your Poultry First Aid kit- it's a lifesaver for older birds too- they'll quit eating when they feel badly, too.



Best of luck!!