Another new chick, another question

[Charmedlady]

The one I bought says do not mix with water but straight electrolyte just seems strong for a tiny chick? I don't know. The navel is looking a tiny bit better, the chick hasn't pooped at all though, at least not that I can tell. Of course he also hasn't eaten either but still seems perky. Hopefully by the end of the day he will be eating. I am going to have to wrap his toes asap too because they are curled under which I didn't notice last night because I was trying to keep him confined and still so he wouldn't drag his yolk around. I have lots of info on the curled toe fixes so I should be ok in that department. Just waiting for my husband to get home so he can hold the chick to keep it from hurting itself while I do his toes. I should be able to do it in about an hour so that will give him a little rest time. And yes I will be keeping my fingers major crossed also, but if you don't mind I will keep checking and updating this thread. I am just glad there is at least hope for him. Thank you.

 

[sumi]

I would dilute it a little bit. Have you offered it food? I sprinkle food in front of the chicks and keep picking it up and dropping it, to get them interested. Also tap the food with your finger to "show" it where it is. Normally the yolk absorbed pre-hatch would be enough to keep them going for 3 days before they need to eat something, but in this case I'd try and encourage it to eat sooner. I've got my fingers and toes crossed for the little one.

 

[Charmedlady]

I have been giving him half water and half electrolyte in a dropper. He loses his balance when he looks down because of his toes not being straight yet so I was thinking about getting him a nipple type water. But I will work hard on getting regular food into him today. The yolk protrusion seems a little bit smaller today. He made it through his 2nd night so I will just keep doing what I'm doing and hope for the best . Thank you for checking in, you have been a great help in saving his life.

 

[sumi]

I'm glad to hear he's making progress. Fingers crossed it will continue! What you can also do (if he refuses to eat) is mix a raw egg yolk with a spoonful of water and let him drink that. Yolk is good food for new chicks.

 

[MargaretYakoda]

I've had good success with two chicks that had open navels by making a sort of overalls outfit for the chick out of Vetwrap.https://www.backyardchickens.com/t/...after-48-hours-heres-what-i-did#post_13815637
The key I think was getting the vetwrap snug but not too snug. That way every time the chick tried to stand up it forced the navel in. Essentially putting the body of the chick back into a shell-like confine for a few hours.

 

[sumi]

That's interesting! I wish I knew of that when I was dealing with my first preemie. I kept her in half a shell all night while she was absorbing. Didn't get much sleep that night.

 

[Charmedlady]

Thank you for the advice! I actually have something similar to vet wrap here but I am wondering how helpful do you think it would be? My chick hatched a day and a half ago and he still has alot of that blob. I can't and will not cull him : ( but I do really want him to survive. Also I have been putting iodine on him which I do think helps but I know I looked at the vetercyn at the store, do you think that would be good in addition to the iodine? This chick is still not thriving but he keeps trucking and so I do want to help him : ) poor guy also has his feet all bound up because his toes were curled also. Any advice would be appreciated.

 

[Charmedlady]

I did give him a little yolk earlier and he seemed to like it. He is not interested in food though. I mushed up some chick feed with electrolyte and dropped a tiny bit into him and he didn't do well with it. H looks worse now actually. Also someone posted about using vetericyn, what do you think of this? He is still going he just doesn't seem to be improving alot so I am trying to think if there is anything else I can do.

 

[MargaretYakoda]

I've used Vetricyn and Blue-Kote on both chicks I had with open navels. I especially love the Blue-Kote because it stains the feathers and if/when the chick lives, it makes picking it out from it's hatch mates a breeze.

 

[Charmedlady]

My little chick did not make it but I thank you both for all your help. With your help/advice I did everything I could for him but it just wasn't meant to be I guess. I have just cried and cried : ( but he did have 12 siblings hatch that are extremely healthy, I just wish I had been able to save him too. But seriously I was so grateful for the help and will have to start being a more active user of this website because it was a valuable resource in my chicks time of need.