4 day old chick struggling

[Violanna]

This is Peepers, thus named because she never stops chirping. She is my smallest chick so I have been keeping a close eye on her. I have noticed she isn’t exactly struggling to breathe but she definitely uses her whole body to breathe. She is 4 days old but hardly grown she is still barely able to stand. The other chicks tend to pick on her. Also she just doesn’t have ‘bright eyes’ like the rest of the chicks. She isn’t showing any common disease symptoms, So I can’t tell if she is just having a slow start or is actually sick. Please help!

 

[TesoroSena]

Does she throw up or have spasms? If not, are you putting apple cider in their water? What does her poo look like?

 

[Violanna]

Does she throw up or have spasms? If not, are you putting apple cider in their water? What does her poo look like?

No none of that. I have not added Apple cider, usually it until after 1 week old. And poo is a touch more solid than my first group I raised. But still soft and normal color.

 

[BlindLemonChicken]

I would give her some Nutri-Drench and see if she perks up. I have saved many a flagging chick with it.

 

[Violanna]

I would give her some Nutri-Drench and see if she perks up. I have saved many a flagging chick with it.

Closest place to get that is TSC which is 30 mins away. I’ll see if my local feed store has something similar. Thanks for the advice!

 

[Violanna]

Was able to get a similar water additive at my local feed store and look at this! Peepers has bee guzzling it down! It’s so true that these animals really know what their bodies need! I was worried since she has barely been eating and drinking enough to survive that I wouldn’t get much of the vitamins into her! I’ll keep you updated on if she starts to look better! She was much worse this morning.

 

[BlindLemonChicken]

I have used molasses in the past in a pinch. Sorry I just saw your post. Looks like you found something that works! Make sure she has access to plain water as well

 

[Violanna]

Well a few hours later and she isn’t doing any better and the other chicks were picking on her way too much. So I’m isolating her for 2 hours just to make sure she gets her fill!

 

[Eggcessive]

What is the supplement you got? Is it a liquid or powder? The good thing about Poultry NutriDrench or Poultry Cell is they can be given orally a few drops daily as a boost. Putting them in the water requires them to take a lot of water, so it won’t work as quickly. I would try and dip her beak into her water and food every hour, and make sure that she is warm enough. Check her vent to make sure there is no dried poop stuck.

 

[Violanna]

What is the supplement you got? Is it a liquid or powder? The good thing about Poultry NutriDrench or Poultry Cell is they can be given orally a few drops daily as a boost. Putting them in the water requires them to take a lot of water, so it won’t work as quickly. I would try and dip her beak into her water and food every hour, and make sure that she is warm enough. Check her vent to make sure there is no dried poop stuck.

It was a powder all the liquids they had didn’t have any of the same vitamins. She definitely has had quite a bit of it. I’ve been keeping a very close eye on her all day. In the 25 mins she has been in isolation she has been eating nonstop. I’m starting to think she was just being picked on so much that she wasn’t eating.