Baby roo problems... please help!

brittshep

In the Brooder
5 Years
Apr 4, 2014
9
3
11
Hello! I'm a first timer, and although I've read and researched until my eyes go blurry, but of course I've had more surprises than I can count. I wasn't sure which forum to post in, so I posted this in the "raising chicks forum,too...
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I have six chicks, all from the same hatch and 2 1/2 weeks old. They have been doing great, are growing incrediblely fast, and I've not had any problems... until this morning. The kids woke me up and said that one of the chicks was bleeding, so I rushed in and found that my little roo had a small spot on his back that was bleeding just a bit. It looked as if he'd had a new pinfeather pulled out. The other chicks, of course, were pecking at the spot (despite the red lamp I have glowing o er the brooder), so I immediately scooped him up, cleaned the spot, and placed him in a separate container with fresh bedding, food, water, red heat lamp, and a plush chicken for company/extra warmth. After crying for a while, he finally settled down and has basically done nothing but sleep all day. He was sleeping as far away from the lamp as he could get, so I keep moving it up to lower the temp. Now it is barely providing any extra heat at all (It's at 77° right now) and he still doesn't seem to want to be under it. He is still eating and drinking and his poop is normal, but he's not really been up walking around the box, scratching, or doing the normal "chick stuff". Is this behavior normal for a chick in isolation or is there probably something else going on? Lonely, bored, depressed, recovering from the wound maybe? I also worry that he's going to get too cold, even though he is voluntarily not sleeping under the lamp ...I know things happen, and I'm prepared for the worst, but I'd feel much better knowing if I'm just being " new parent" paranoid.
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Thanks!
 
Welcome to BYC. At 2 1/2 weeks, I would have the temperature of the brooder at 80 F, and they should have a cooler area to get to. He could be getting sick or be a weak chick, and that is why they are picking on him. Chicks can have internal problems such as a bad heart or kidney/liver problems, but in his age and older, I would watch for coccidiosis. If he has been on dirt at all, that would be a possible cause. They start with lethargy, then diarrhea--sometimes with blood in the worst strains--and then stop eating, and later drinking. If you think that could be the problem, then get some Corid or amprollium and treat all chicks for 5 days, since it is contagious. If you don't think it is a problem, get some chick electrolytes and dip his beak into them a few times every hour. here is some info about cocci: http://www.the-chicken-chick.com/2012/12/coccidiosis-what-backyard-chicken.html
 
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He has never been on dirt, but I am definitely going to keep an eye out... he's never acted sick or weak before; in fact, he's the largest of them all! But you're right: you never know what's going on inside that little body. Thank you so much for your help! :)
 

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