are my baby chicks depressed or sick or both?

[emmakate]

ok so i have 3 roughly 2 month old chickens that i raised with no problem. i had 4 but a predator got one. that was my first time raising chicks. i recently got 2 new chicks that are a few days old. i noticed one had something attached to her nostril and i managed to get it off. then i noticed she hasn’t woken up or eaten or really done anything since i got her. she was breathing through her mouth and almost mimicking drinking water in her sleep. i know she was hydrated because i watered her with my finger. when she did wake up it was only for a few seconds at a time. she wouldn’t eat either except for a meal worm occasionally if i gave it to her. i got them medicated feed and one eats it but the sick one won’t eat it even if i hold it in front of her. she was also making this strange sound when she was sleeping. she also has a cracked beak. i mixed some brown sugar, salt, and baking soda with warm water because i heard that would help give them energy. i think it worked because she did walk around a bit. now she’s acting a bit better, she walked around more than yesterday and ate a few meal worms. now i’m kind of worried the other one might be getting sick because she’s been acting a little sluggish as well. i took them outside earlier and all they did was snuggle up beside me and sleep. i think my biggest concern now is that when they’re in the brooder all they do is sit in the food bowl and sleep beside each other. when my other four chickens were babies they would chirp and run around and crawl all over me. when i hold these chicks they don’t do that all they do is sleep. the healthy one won’t even walk around or anything, she will occasionally peck at the feed. i don’t know if they depressed or sick or sad but i need help please.

 

[oldhenlikesdogs]

Do they have extra heat?

 

[emmakate]

Do they have extra heat?

yes they have a heat lamp above them

 

[feathermaid]

Where did you get your chicks? Feed store, breeder?
Are they with your other chicks, or in a completely different brooder?
Try soaking a bit of chick starter in water, some chicks like to eat mash.
The homemade electrolytes are good, but also offer plain fresh water too.
It might help to give some Nutri-Drench.

The only thing I can think of is the chicks were already sick before you brought them home. With a cracked beak, I'm not sure they got a really good start.

 

[bobbi-j]

I agree that they were probably sick to start with. You may want to get some Corid and treat for coccidiosis. I don't know that that's the problem, but it can't hurt. How warm is it in the brooder? Can they get away from the heat? What is the temperature in the coolest part of the brooder?

 

[Audrey Watson]

They were probably already sick when you got them. Like what was said above, where did you get them? Store? Mail order from a hatchery? Did you hatch your own?
The cracked beak is probably an issue, but since the other one is acting like this too it's not going to be the only thing causing a problem. Try feeding them some yogurt for added probiotics. Make sure they are getting enough heat, food and water. Maybe try making a mash(wet the food) like what was also said above. Also, make sure they're not dehydrated, that could be a huge issue.
Good luck!

 

[emmakate]

Where did you get your chicks? Feed store, breeder?
Are they with your other chicks, or in a completely different brooder?
Try soaking a bit of chick starter in water, some chicks like to eat mash.
The homemade electrolytes are good, but also offer plain fresh water too.
It might help to give some Nutri-Drench.

The only thing I can think of is the chicks were already sick before you brought them home. With a cracked beak, I'm not sure they got a really good start.

i got them from a breeder 5 minutes from my house. my older chicks are free range outside and the babies are in a brooder. i haven’t introduced them yet i’m scared the older ones will peck at the babies.

 

[emmakate]

They were probably already sick when you got them. Like what was said above, where did you get them? Store? Mail order from a hatchery? Did you hatch your own?
The cracked beak is probably an issue, but since the other one is acting like this too it's not going to be the only thing causing a problem. Try feeding them some yogurt for added probiotics. Make sure they are getting enough heat, food and water. Maybe try making a mash(wet the food) like what was also said above. Also, make sure they're not dehydrated, that could be a huge issue.
Good luck!

i got them from a breeder close to my house. thank you so much for the advice!!

 

[Audrey Watson]

i got them from a breeder close to my house. thank you so much for the advice!!

No problem. I'm not sure about the rate of healthy chickens that your breeder puts out but if the chicks don't improve I would talk to them about it.

 

[emmakate]

I agree that they were probably sick to start with. You may want to get some Corid and treat for coccidiosis. I don't know that that's the problem, but it can't hurt. How warm is it in the brooder? Can they get away from the heat? What is the temperature in the coolest part of the brooder?

i don’t have a proper thermometer for measuring the temperature in there but i have one on the way from amazon. i have a meat thermometer that i tried a few times today. i don’t think it worked very well but i did adjust the heat lamp multiple times and they acted the same way wherever i put it. and there is a cool spot that they can go to