3 day old - not eating or drinking

[crealbilly]

I picked up 20 day old Jumbo Cornish crosses. I introduced each one to water as I unpacked them. Every one but 1 is running around the nursery yard eating and drinking. The morning of day two I found one on its side in the middle of the yard. I thought it had died but it was still breathing. I picked it up and it was so weak it could not open its eyes. I grabbed a eye dropper and added a little feed and water to it. I open the chicks mouth and squirted it down it throat and placed it in the shade.I came back a hour later and it was standing with its eyes open.

Today is day 4 and I've been feeding this little chick several times a day with a eye dropper and it seems healthy enough but it just can't seem to catch on to eating and drinking by itself. I can't continue to feed it with a eye dropper much longer.

Any help would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks

 

[Wyorp Rock]

I picked up 20 day old Jumbo Cornish crosses. I introduced each one to water as I unpacked them. Every one but 1 is running around the nursery yard eating and drinking. The morning of day two I found one on its side in the middle of the yard. I thought it had died but it was still breathing. I picked it up and it was so weak it could not open its eyes. I grabbed a eye dropper and added a little feed and water to it. I open the chicks mouth and squirted it down it throat and placed it in the shade.I came back a hour later and it was standing with its eyes open.

Today is day 4 and I've been feeding this little chick several times a day with a eye dropper and it seems healthy enough but it just can't seem to catch on to eating and drinking by itself. I can't continue to feed it with a eye dropper much longer.

Any help would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks

You can try mixing the chick starter with water and make a paste similar to oatmeal. Place it in a shallow dish and tap the side of the dish making pecking noise/motion like a Mama Chicken would do, this will sometimes "connect" in their brain that this is food. Then gradually switch to dry starter. If you can get a couple of other chicks to be enthusiastic over the dish while the weak one is present, that may help as well.

You may also want to add some extra vitamins to his water or give him a direct dose (one drop) of Poultry Nutri-Drench.

Unfortunately, sometimes no matter what you do, they may just fail to thrive, but give him a few more days to see if he will come around.

 

[crealbilly]

You can try mixing the chick starter with water and make a paste similar to oatmeal. Place it in a shallow dish and tap the side of the dish making pecking noise/motion like a Mama Chicken would do, this will sometimes "connect" in their brain that this is food. Then gradually switch to dry starter. If you can get a couple of other chicks to be enthusiastic over the dish while the weak one is present, that may help as well.

You may also want to add some extra vitamins to his water or give him a direct dose (one drop) of Poultry Nutri-Drench.

Unfortunately, sometimes no matter what you do, they may just fail to thrive, but give him a few more days to see if he will come around.

Thanks for that - I just tried it and nothing doing... it just stands there chirping. When i dip it's beak in the water it shakes its head to remove the water from its beak. I'll keep trying tapping on the shallow dish of water and feed though. I hope this chick catches on soon. I'll pick up some vitamins at the store later this evening also.

 

[crealbilly]

UPDATE...

I was unable to get to the store for vitamins.

But we named this little chick re re because it just couldn't catch on...

After several attempts of trying to get lil re re to eat on its own in the brooder, last night I gave it a eye dropper of chyanne pepper and water mixed, then set it back out in the nursery yard. It must have figured out it better eat and drink because this afternoon I can't tell which one is lil re re now. All 20 of them are running around the nursery yard eating and drinking and they look a lot alike.

This is the second time hot pepper has saved a bird for me.

 

[Wyorp Rock]

Glad he recovered!

I had not heard of dosing with hot pepper for a weak chick, but if it worked that's great

I wish you continue success and a happy healthy flock.

 

[crealbilly]

Glad he recovered!

I had not heard of dosing with hot pepper for a weak chick, but if it worked that's great

I wish you continue success and a happy healthy flock.

Thanks for your help