2 day old chick kicking/scratching at face and falling backwards!

[EsqChick]

I just picked up my 4 baby chicks today. I’ve handled them a few times and they seemed fine. I just went to check on them before putting my human kids to bed and as I was closing the door to the room with their brooder, I heard one of them chirping like crazy and freaking out. So I ran back and found the chick on her back, kicking and flailing about. I thought she just fell over or something so I put her back up right. A few seconds later she started kicking/scratching at her face near her eye and fell back again. So I’m seriouy worried and picked her up and held her for a bit and she was fine. I didn’t see anything on her face or in her eye. I was getting ready to put her back with the other chicks and she did the same thing again. When I finally put her back in she seemed fine and hopped back with the other chicks. I haven’t checked on her for about 10 minutes, but I’m freaking out. Does anyone have any idea what’s happening? Should I be worried?

 

[Wyorp Rock]

How is your chick doing?

If she is still acting this way, a video of her actions may be help or at least a photo of her (love baby photos)

Inspect her eyes to see if there is any dust/debris that may have gotten into them. You can flush the eye with saline or sterile water if you need to.
Also, is she outside/inside? Just in case...check through her feathers for any insects (ants, lice, mites)

Are her legs o.k.? No spraddle or splay leg?

The falling backwards and landing on the back is a bit concerning - hopefully she has not has any more episodes. You may want to offer some poultry Nutri-Drench in the water for a couple of days.

Let us know how she's doing.

 

[EsqChick]

How is your chick doing?

If she is still acting this way, a video of her actions may be help or at least a photo of her (love baby photos)

Inspect her eyes to see if there is any dust/debris that may have gotten into them. You can flush the eye with saline or sterile water if you need to.
Also, is she outside/inside? Just in case...check through her feathers for any insects (ants, lice, mites)

Are her legs o.k.? No spraddle or splay leg?

The falling backwards and landing on the back is a bit concerning - hopefully she has not has any more episodes. You may want to offer some poultry Nutri-Drench in the water for a couple of days.

Let us know how she's doing.

She seems better today. I haven’t seen any headscratching episodes today, but she did peck near her butt (I’ve checked and her vent is clean and there doesn’t appear to be any signs of other issues). Based on an old post I read last night I cleaned Charlotte’s Head with warm water hoping that would help. Don’t know if it is why she’s been better today. I’m still not sure if I should be worried about her picking her tail, but maybe I’ll give that a gentle bath later too. She’s definitely perkier today, and she’s been eating/drinking....so hope it’s all good.

Pictures of her eyes (and because she’s adorable). She’s a Black australorp so her eyes are a bit hard to see in the picture, but I think they look clear.

 

[Wyorp Rock]

She is adorable Australorps are sweet chickens!

I'm glad to hear that she is doing better! Chicks can be a little "itchy" at times all that losing their fluff/getting ready to grow feathers.

The picking at the tail - is she by chance reaching her oil/preening gland (Uropygial gland), it's located just before the "tail" starts - you will find a little "bump". She may already be grooming herself, but I would just keep a watch on her.

A little tub of dirt/sand in the brooder if you have room is always nice too. They will make a mess, but nothing sweeter than dust bathing chicks.

 

[EsqChick]

She is adorable Australorps are sweet chickens!

I'm glad to hear that she is doing better! Chicks can be a little "itchy" at times all that losing their fluff/getting ready to grow feathers.

The picking at the tail - is she by chance reaching her oil/preening gland (Uropygial gland), it's located just before the "tail" starts - you will find a little "bump". She may already be grooming herself, but I would just keep a watch on her.

A little tub of dirt/sand in the brooder if you have room is always nice too. They will make a mess, but nothing sweeter than dust bathing chicks.

Thank you! There is so much to learn! I will definitely keep an eye on her. And I was thinking about the dust bath thing. So I can put that in there now? Thanks!

 

[EsqChick]

I spoke too soon...she had 2 more “episodes” that I know about. The last one happened as I was on my way out abd I heard a chick crying out. Ran over to find Charlotte flailing on her back. She managed to upright herself this time (good, I guess?) - caught her earlier too. Took her out and checker her out and no obvious issue. I’m stumped. Could it be just an itchy chick/feather/some other transient issue? I hope! I’m already so attached to this girl!

 

[Wyorp Rock]

Thank you! There is so much to learn! I will definitely keep an eye on her. And I was thinking about the dust bath thing. So I can put that in there now? Thanks!

Everyone does things differently. Personally, I do put dirt in the brooder when they are just a few days old.

I spoke too soon...she had 2 more “episodes” that I know about. The last one happened as I was on my way out abd I heard a chick crying out. Ran over to find Charlotte flailing on her back. She managed to upright herself this time (good, I guess?) - caught her earlier too. Took her out and checker her out and no obvious issue. I’m stumped. Could it be just an itchy chick/feather/some other transient issue? I hope! I’m already so attached to this girl!

Try giving her some extra vitamins - Poultry Nutri-Drench would be good. You can direct dose her a couple of drops a day. Is she eating/drinking well? If she is struggling with food, offer her wet chick starter.

 

[nightowl223]

If she is eating her food fast, she could be getting bits of crumble stuck in her mouth or even her nares (nostril holes). For that matter, they've got a big open area where we have that soft skin on the roof of our mouths. They don't have the skin, just basically holes straight up into their lower sinuses (don't remember if they have upper sinuses, but that's irrelevant). Crumbles can occasionally get stuck if they gobble their food too quickly. When that happens, they will act like you've described - they'll even tip themselves over due to getting so enthusiastic about scratching and such trying to dislodge the foreign object.

However, the nutridrench or electrolytes/vitamins mix wouldn't hurt anyone, so it's worth a try to give them some, anyway.

(edit to add a missing word)

 

[MrsBachbach]

I spoke too soon...she had 2 more “episodes” that I know about. The last one happened as I was on my way out abd I heard a chick crying out. Ran over to find Charlotte flailing on her back. She managed to upright herself this time (good, I guess?) - caught her earlier too. Took her out and checker her out and no obvious issue. I’m stumped. Could it be just an itchy chick/feather/some other transient issue? I hope! I’m already so attached to this girl!

I think she could have a vitimin deficiency. Crazy chick syndrome or something like that. Can be genetic or cause by a vitamin deficiency. Mom wasn't getting something maybe. Try a drop of vit E oil in the beak. Be careful because you don't want chick to aspirate. Or get some chick vitamins for the water. But if you have Vit E capsules at home get a small drop in her. See if things change. Then put some bird vitamins in the water for them for a few days.

 

[Chelsa'sChicks]

Are any of the other chicks pecking around or at her eyes? Some chicks can see something and get obsessed about pecking it. If this is the case a small mirror or something to distract or play with can diffuse the situation and keep the chick from pecking...