3 Day Old Chick Acting very Oddly

[littlels]

I have a chick that hatched on Monday and was definitely the runt of the group. Every time I went to check the broader, she would be smooshed under everyone else. Today, I noticed that her butt fluff was missing. I put her back down in the broader and about 3 other chicks came over and just started pecking at her in all different areas. I've noticed that she doesn't get excited about food and doesn't move around much. I brought her back in the house so she wouldn't get trampled to death and put her back in the empty incubator with a little water with vitamins and chick starter. She peeps once in awhile really loudly, but otherwise she is relatively quiet. She seems to breathe really heavy and if she has been standing in one spot for awhile, she seems to just keep tipping forward until her face is on the floor and her butt is in the air. It looks very strange. I have not seen her eat anything even when I tried to put some on my hand for her. If I dunk her beak in the water, she drinks, but she won't do it on her own. If I open the incubator she comes to my hand and starts cheeping again so she seems to have bursts of energy, but yet overall looks very tired and closes her eyes a lot.

Is the chick just slowly dying and we need to put it out of its misery or is there something we can do to try to help it along if it doesn't have any major problems or if it isn't too late already?

 

[crystal195655]

you might try giving her some sugar water or electrolytes....it may help, but sounds like there may be other problems and she just isn't going to make it. I had a chick that was pretty much the same way, but turns out it was blind and couldn't find the water or food. When I would dip her beak she would drink but wouldn't go back for more on her own. Never did see her eat food, she only lasted 2 full days, the morning of the 3rd day I found her dead...most likely a blessing in disguise.

 

[littlels]

I gave her some water with chick feed mushed in it to resemble baby food (I found that on someone else's post) and she seems to be doing tons better. She still does not eat and drink on her own unless I dip her beak or use a dropper. How did you know that your chick was blind? She opens her eyes now and has started to chirp a lot more. She got very excited when I was feeding her and found the food. She kept eating and eating. Then I gave her a bit of water and again, she seemed to get excited but insisted on walking IN the little water cup. I guess I'm wondering if she's blind too. How do I tell?

 

[LaynaDon95]

Put your hand in front of her and move it towards her. She should try to avoid it if she can see it. I might be totally wrong, but that's what I would try.