Baby maran just not 'thriving'

[ki4got]

Not thriving can definitely become a problem when raising baby chicks! I had this problem not too long ago when raising my little ones. She did end up dying within two days. Symptoms: doesn't eat nearly as much as the others, can't really stand up straight, sits down a lot, cannot walk correctly, doesn't drink near as much as the other chicks, and just doesn't look right and VERY LETHARGIC! None of these are good sings. Your first reaction will be to provide immediate attention and care to the the little guy. DONT! Put some gatorade in a little cup that it can drink if it wants to and put some finely shredded cheese in the food. Do not separate her from the others. If it has pasty butt, leave it alone and DO NOT clean the butt, just let it be. These tips will give your little chick the best chance to survive. All in all, leave it alone from the others and don't pay it any special attention. Best of luck to you!

i would definitely argue the pasty butt... i've had a couple that had it, and the butt was pasted over entirely. i lost one before i noticed it. since they can't poo it backs up and becomes toxic. unlike others tho, i wait for it to dry a bit then pluck it off as gently as i can, pulling attached feathers with the plug. then no more pasty since it doesn't have any nearby feathers to stick to anymore... yeah they complain some but i'd rather have a live chicken that doesn't like me for a few hours vs one that's going to die if i do nothing. i do not wash their butt, or get it wet to soften first, because that defeats the purpose of removing the feathers that the wet stool is sticking to, causing the pasty plug in the first place.

 

[canesisters]

That's not funny - but sort of is. I had read so much about pasty but before getting these chicks that everytime I picked them up I'd turn them around and check their hinnies. Now, when I pick them up and turn them around - their tails pop straight up like a crazy chicken-butt salute.

edited to add: By the way - both of my speckled sussex have this grey dot just a little below their vent. Guessing it's a sussex thing????

 

[canesisters]

5/25/12
Well, when I got home yesterday afternoon, little Sugar was chirping like mad so I took her out for her mash dinner. She was not interested at all. (?) I gave her some using the syringe and put her back in her private room with the dish. I had a meeting to get to and it was HOT in the barn so I adjusted the light much higher - much more for light than for heat.
When I got home (about 8:00) she was quiet and the food hadn't been touched - at least not enough to notice. Maybe she got too cool with the light so high and the evening coming on??? There was poo all over the towels in the bottom of her area so she'd been doing plenty of that. I took her out again and gave her a crop full of the mash using the syringe. She seemed weaker than I was used to. I put Hurra in with her and settled everyone in for the night.
This morning she was on her side when I opened the brooder. I thought for sure she had died. I let Hurra out and when I reached in for Sugar, she raised her head. I took her out - panicked that if she was this bad off I couldn't just leave her laying there - when I set her on the roof of the brooder, she stood up and went over to peck at her mash... ? ! ?
She ate a little - I gave her a little more with the syringe. She walked around pecking at spots on the brooder roof and chirping....
I don't know WHAT to think. One moment she looks dead - the next she's eating and walking around. When I left this morning, she was sleeping between her bowl and the light.

 

[Izzymoon]

They do sleep on their sides on occasion. Mine sorta stretch out one feather and leg and just pass out. They totally look dead. If she's made it this far, she should be ok.

 

[ki4got]

you should see the quail. first time i saw them all out flat, no twitching or anything, i thought the whole bunch was dead... picked one up even, he was limp. then he woke up and was totally normal. LOL he's my primary roo now, and still does that at times. makes you wonder how they managed to evolve if they sleep like that in the wild.

 

[canesisters]

I'm very sorry to say that when I got home this afternoon little Sugar had died.
She tried very hard but whatever was wrong was just too much for her.
Thank you all for your encouragement and advise. I learned a lot from these 2 little marans and I hope that this thread might help someone else deal with their own little 'failure to thrive' chicks.

Her 'sister' Hurra, who started out in just as bad of shape, has graduated to the 'big kids' pen and is growing and gaining weight and holding her own in the pecking order hula-bulu.

 

[RonC]

Sorry to hear about your little one. Some things just aren't meant to be. Be thankful for the ones you have left and best wishes for them all.

 

[Izzymoon]

sorry for your loss

 

[coolcanoechic]

Awwww, I'm so sorry you lost your baby. You did a fantastic job trying to help her. You are a wonderful chicken mommy.... The rest of the brood are very lucky to have you.

 

[Eowyn2]

I just found this thread tonight, and I'm so sorry you lost your baby Sugar. Sounds like you did everything you possibly could have, she just wasn't going to make it either way. I'm not an expert by any means, but it really sounds like something developmental or metabolic was going on. I doubt something contagious, because the rest of your flock should have contracted it by now.

My friend who got me into chickens (we all need a friend like that, eh?) bought some cuckoo marans this year about the same time that I bought my first chickens (barred rocks and golden-laced wyandottes). When I would post pictures on Facebook of my birds as they grew, she couldn't believe how much larger and more feathered mine were than hers, and they were approximately the same age. Based on that very limited experience as well as what you describe, I wonder if Marans are just slower-growing than the average chicken breed.

Good luck with the rest of your chicks.