3 day old chick looking unwell and acting strangely

[leia_and_friends]

Hi all. I got 7 chicks 3 days ago, and have been really enjoying them. One of them, Stevie, a Naked Neck, has been acting strangely and looking unwell for the last 2 days. She was completely fine until yesterday - before then she was super active and quite stressy, so I'm wondering if now she's just tired and exhausted.

She is or was quite attached to me - yesterday she was cheeping when she heard my voice (and she can tell the difference between my voice and others!) Now, she sleeps a lot, not getting up much, and not eating or drinking as much as the others. I tried giving her some mashed boiled egg and dipping her beak in the drinker, but none of these really worked. When she sleeps, she pecks, "drinks", and bobs her head in her sleep - quite restless. She stops this when I pick her up and cover my head with her hand, making it dark. So maybe she's not used to sleeping with the light from the heat lamp?

Also, she had a dried dribble of poo coming out of her vent, which i extremely gently peeled back and snipped off half an hour ago. She seems a little skinnier than the rest of the chicks, too.

All the chicks have been vaccinated against Infectious Bronchitis and Mareks, and they have coccidiosis medication in their crumble and drink. Should I just leave her to rest and recover, or would cuddling her help? She seems to sleep better when I hold her. And also calm down.

Thanks in advance for any help!

EDIT: I just fed her a whole lotta water with an eyedropper. She was really thirsty! I overdid it a bit; but she's definitely looking better and just did a satisfying albeit watery poo. Her crop is already gone down.

 

[Fluffyflufffluff]

I hope you can send pictures. Its gonna be easier to analyze the possible sickness if ever. Or better yet, Just bring her directly to the Vet. Good luck.

 

[leia_and_friends]

Thanks! She's looking better - I did an update above.

 

[DobieLover]

It sounds like failure to thrive.
Is she active now that you got water into her?
When you say you over did it with the water, what does that mean? Did she start to gag like you accidentally aspirated her?
If she continues to be lethargic and just stay under the heat source, that is not a good sign.
Keep an eye on her for constipation. I know you wrote that she had a watery poop but it could go the other way and she can quickly become impacted.

 

[Eggcessive]

Get some Poultry NutriDrench or Poultry Cell this morning. Give your chick a couple of drops daily for electrolytes and vitamins. It is a real boost to chicks who are struggling. Offer water all day. Hopefully, she was just struggling with shipping stress.

 

[leia_and_friends]

Hi, thanks for your advice. She is looking completely better now - she started perking up as soon as I gave the water. I think she did start gagging a bit; I was so excited that she was drinking that I gave her too much, which I felt terrible about. Now she's back to what she was when we got her! Although still quite stressy. But she was like that from day 1...

 

[glassdragonfly]

Hope she continues to do well! Enjoy your chicks,they are so much fun!

 

[leia_and_friends]

Thankyou!

 

[Eggcessive]

Glad that she is doing much better.