Baby Chick in danger

[Jessydny]

8 out of 10 chicks hatched and they have been the the mother hen and all seemed to be going well until today. The last 3 days the hen has been taking them out to free range and I've been supplementing with crushed oatmeal, banana, eggs and scratch.
This evening I found one of the birds far from the others with swallow breath. I checked it for pasty butt but not sure what else to do.
What could it be? I don't want any of the others to die. Any advice.

 

[the1913trio]

How old are the chicks currently?

I was thinking a few possible issues could be the culprit/it could be a combo too of a couple different things:

1.) When the chicks are really eensy and little they often will get food caught in their throat/need a quick drink of water or they get gaggy and short of breath. If they are free ranging and not kept in a smaller brooding area they may perhaps not have water access as immediately close as they need perhaps? I am esp thinking that the scratch chunks may be kinda big for them and hard if they are under a week or two old. Also small chicks (1wk old or less) are ding dongs and not necessarily smart enough to find water not really, really close by and they get dehydrated crazy fast.
2.) Is there something that little one could have eaten on accident free ranging? (like say a piece of metal something, glass, etc).
3.) Do they have access to plenty of eggs? Since it is winter there may not be as much protein around in the form of bugs, and if they don't have either chick feed or plenty of eggs to get up to the proper amount of protein around 18% that could be causing issue.
4.) If they are really little (like less than a week), sometimes you have chicks with something wrong genetically, or starve outs that never really get the idea of eating and drinking. They happen a fair amount even if you don't do any "help outs" at hatching, and they typically crump between 12hrs to 5 days after hatching, and there isn't usually much of anything that can be done.
5.) Chick grit- After the chicks are a couple days old if they need to start eating chick grit, or for sure have access to some sort of outside grit substance that is small enough for them to swallow. The grit is extra important since they are eating whole foods/not eating a specific chick feed.
6.) I usually put some sugar in my water for the chicks the first 24-48hrs to give them a boost while they get their strength and a hang of eating. In addition I add some apple cider vinegar the whole time they are chicks to ward off any coodies and to get their gut flora nice and full of healthy germs to boost immunity.

Hopefully this list may help tip off an idea. There is a really good chance it could be just that particular chick having an issue. It isn't necessarily anything that will hurt any other chick too but I know how it goes being stressed about having more losses/issues!

 

[Sabina]

I had the same problem! As the chicks look quite young, let the chicks and mum roam around and maybe keep an eye on them then maybe a couple of hours later, you put them back in their coop to rest. Dont let them be outside for a long period as anything can go wrong! Make sure theres plenty of water available too. Hope that is useful. Good luck

 

[Jessydny]

Thank you for responding. Chicken little didn't make it.

The chicks are about 2wks old. I've been grinding up eggs shells as grit as well as doing the same for their scratch and oatmeal.
I will start giving them eggs and putting out more water throughout the yard with the Apple Cider vinegar to give them more assess to it.
I'm also in the process of growing them sprouts for added nutrition.
At the moment they in a make shift brooder, where I put down hay or grass, water and some food. Then at night I close it off to protect them from predator. This is where to my surprise one day I found her with her eggs. In a few weeks or sooner I hope I can make them a proper home bec I've never had chickens before. I lived in warm climate so they'll be okay outside.
Thanks for the advice.