9 day old silver laced wyandotte can't/won't eat or drink

[kaym88]

This is our first foray into chickens. We have 6 chicks that are 9 days old. All are thriving except the little Wyandotte. She is the same weight she was 9 days ago (35 grams). I have never seen her drink (despite dipping her beak several times and getting a different style of waterer) So I've been giving her water with a dropper. When I do, she appears to have a hard time swallowing. She sticks her neck up and out.... but eventually gets it down. She does appear to be eating (pecks at the starter and loves hard boiled egg and plain yogurt), although I never feel anything in her crop. Makes me wonder if she has a problem in her throat and can't actually swallow? Anybody run into this before? She obviously can't last much longer like this.

 

[azygous]

No, she probably won't last much longer. She likely has developmental issues, and as you already suspect, her organs and digestive system probably isn't all there. She isn't enjoying the advantage of the nutrients in her food, and probably has something wrong with her swallowing.

This condition is far from rare, unfortunately. It's called failure-to-thrive. Most of these chicks die before age two weeks.

You can try to supplement her food with Poultry Nutri-drench. It by-passes the digestive system and the liver and gets absorbed directly into the bloodstream. If anything can give your chick a chance it's this stuff.

 

[kaym88]

Thanks so much for your response. I'd be happy to get whatever might help her right now, but if her insides just aren't right, wouldn't I just be prolonging the inevitable? It almost seems worse to do that to her. Have you ever had the experience where the poultry nutri-drench actually turns things around? They end up thriving?

 

[azygous]

Not exactly thriving, but the chick lived to maturity. It was always small, but it did lead a normal life until a predator got it as it was out free-ranging at around age ten months.

The problem with these small ones is that even if they pull through, they are likely always going to be at a disadvantage. They're smaller than their mates. They may be bullied. They may have reproductive issues, the pullets never laying, and as in the case of my chick, they are more vulnerable to predators.

After my experience with one other failure-to-thrive chick that was very sick, I won't hesitate to euthanize any future chicks that have this problem. They almost never have a chance at a quality life. But there are some folks who wish to try everything there is to give their chick a chance. It's a personal choice and judgement call.