4 day old chick not eating or drinking again

[2ndTink]

I have a 4 day old chick that I got on Friday and it has never taken off. I had another thread about it and a second chick, the other chick is now doing great, but this one has taken another downturn.

It was trying to eat a little yesterday afternoon and I saw it drink and poop and I thought we were out of the woods. Today it just lays there, won't open its eyes, and isn't looking good. We've given it Nutri-drench twice today, it "poops" but it's just water and a little string of white stuff. It had food in its crop Friday when we got it home, but it's been empty ever since Friday night. It was starting to peck at food a bit yesterday and I saw it make a couple trips to the waterer.

I'm not sure how much Nutri-drench is ok for her. We gave it a few drops earlier (I weighed her and used the ratio on the bottle), and I just gave her a mix of 3 drops plus 1mL of water, but barely got it to take any of it. It's really weak and it's hard to get it to drink. I've been putting a little drop on the side of my finger and touching it to her beak.

Her little wing feathers have grown a little, maybe half as much as the other EE's. She's breathing a little faster than the others too.

How often can I give the Nutri-drench and at what dosage is safe? Anything else I can try?

 

[TimberLine Homestead]

I would give her Electrolytes and egg yolk room temperature. Probiotics are IMPORTANT you can get them at tractor supply.

 

[Ryguy3684]

I've always used the Nutridrench straight. For a chick that young, I would try and get 1/4 ml in her. 1 drop at a time so she doesn't choke. Like the previous poster mentioned, if you can get her to eat, egg yolk would be great to try as well. Unfortunately, I've had failure to thrive chicks pull through, and some that didn't. Sometimes it's because of nutritional deficiency and sometimes it can be from underdeveloped organs. There's not much that can be done for the latter. Hopefully, someone else has some other suggestions. Good luck with your chick.

 

[2ndTink]

I would give her Electrolytes and egg yolk room temperature. Probiotics are IMPORTANT you can get them at tractor supply.

We got some electrolytes and egg yolk in her yesterday. I got a little electrolyte mix in her today but not much. She's super weak now, won't even open her eyes.

 

[TimberLine Homestead]

Hope she starts feeling better.
We have itty bitty droppers that we used

 

[2ndTink]

I've always used the Nutridrench straight. For a chick that young, I would try and get 1/4 ml in her. 1 drop at a time so she doesn't choke. Like the previous poster mentioned, if you can get her to eat, egg yolk would be great to try as well. Unfortunately, I've had failure to thrive chicks pull through, and some that didn't. Sometimes it's because of nutritional deficiency and sometimes it can be from underdeveloped organs. There's not much that can be done for the latter. Hopefully, someone else has some other suggestions. Good luck with your chick.

I'm starting to think it's more than just her needing more nutrients and she might have something off inside her. I'm just too stubborn to give up, I keep hoping there's something else to try.

 

[Ryguy3684]

I'm starting to think it's more than just her needing more nutrients and she might have something off inside her. I'm just too stubborn to give up, I keep hoping there's something else to try.

A lot of us are the same way here. I do everything I can, within reason. Keep doing all you can and hope for the best, but try not to beat yourself up if she doesn't make. It's the unfortunate part of raising animals. Keep us posted if anything changes.

 

[2ndTink]

Hope she starts feeling better.
We have itty bitty droppers that we used

I've been using oral irrigating syringes, it really let's you control the flow so it's been pretty easy to use. I bought a pack last year after a CX chick had an impacted crop and I was struggling trying to drip water off the end of my finger onto her beak.

 

[2ndTink]

She didn't make it, I'm glad she isn't suffering anymore but it's still hard to see the little poof ball not make it. She's the first chick I've lost, still sad even though we'd only had her 48 hours.

Thank you to everyone for your suggestions and advice, I truly appreciate it all.

 

[Ryguy3684]

Sorry for your loss