First-time chicken keeper. I noticed this chick, smaller than the others, and prone to getting bullied by a pretty feisty chick was sleeping a little more than the other 4 yesterday but it would get up and be eating and drinking, and I attributed it to the travel stress. I have been cleaning the brooder changing out (paper towels on puppy pads) religiously, and they've been on non-medicated game bird stater crumbles (I would have chosen medicated if I could have found the high protein), Sav-A-Chick electrolytes (and today I mixed up the probiotics pak with it), and a little cooked egg yolk yesterday and more today. My plan had been to change to preventive Corrid in their water in a day or two and bring in some soil for a dust bath. Now I wonder if non-medicated feed was a mistake?
This chick usually slept in the smallest part in the back of the Mama Heating Pad. This morning I couldn't find a fifth chick and it turned out to be her, in a crevice between the MHP pad and the blanket draped over it, but on the outside of the wireframe. She shot of out there when I lifted the blanket. Later in the morning she was in the MHP sleeping, but did eventually come out and eat and drink, and she had some egg yolk too. She did go back into the MHP sooner than the others. This afternoon she has been in the MHP, not going in and out at all. When I peeked in there she was sitting and sleeping again in the smallest part. Later I took her out and her legs were very weak, she wouldn't stand in my hand. I put her in a little box around the vertical waterer to keep the other chicks away temporarily and showed it to her and she drank a little. I got a drop of Nutri-Drench on a toothpick and gave that to her, then a few more drops of the regular waterer from the nipple. Then I read up on coccidiosis and mixed up a treatment batch of Corid powder and changed the waterer to that, mixed up a drench of 1/2 tsp in 2 tsp water and put that on her beak, she drank a little. But I think it's too late. She slept in my hand for awhile, extremely weak, and now I've put her in the far back in the MHP again, thinking that it's warmer in there and against the pad than on my hand. She moved her legs to crawl as I put her in there, but now I see her legs are off to the side and she doesn't look good but she is breathing.
I feel very bad about this. P
oor little bird! I know sometimes things happen that I can't prevent, but if there is a mistake I've made I'd like to know about it. I attached pictures of the brooder, and then a picture of two of the chicks, the sick chick is much like the small yellow-er one in the back but this is not her, there are only two that look like that and I think she was under the MHP when I took the picture. Two of the others have a black stripe on their heads and one is plain bronze like the one in the foreground. I got them on Tuesday ("estimated hatch date" was July 6th), from MyPetChicken. Ideas or anything else I can try?
This chick usually slept in the smallest part in the back of the Mama Heating Pad. This morning I couldn't find a fifth chick and it turned out to be her, in a crevice between the MHP pad and the blanket draped over it, but on the outside of the wireframe. She shot of out there when I lifted the blanket. Later in the morning she was in the MHP sleeping, but did eventually come out and eat and drink, and she had some egg yolk too. She did go back into the MHP sooner than the others. This afternoon she has been in the MHP, not going in and out at all. When I peeked in there she was sitting and sleeping again in the smallest part. Later I took her out and her legs were very weak, she wouldn't stand in my hand. I put her in a little box around the vertical waterer to keep the other chicks away temporarily and showed it to her and she drank a little. I got a drop of Nutri-Drench on a toothpick and gave that to her, then a few more drops of the regular waterer from the nipple. Then I read up on coccidiosis and mixed up a treatment batch of Corid powder and changed the waterer to that, mixed up a drench of 1/2 tsp in 2 tsp water and put that on her beak, she drank a little. But I think it's too late. She slept in my hand for awhile, extremely weak, and now I've put her in the far back in the MHP again, thinking that it's warmer in there and against the pad than on my hand. She moved her legs to crawl as I put her in there, but now I see her legs are off to the side and she doesn't look good but she is breathing.
I feel very bad about this. P
