best way to "end" a little chick

[Minky]

shes an adorable welsummer, 3 weeks old. she is very much alive, but about a week ago she started to lay around and not do much- other chicks were trampling her- she'd just lay there. When she walks, she shuffles, and her wings go down to balance, Then she just lays there all day. I have had her separated for 4 days now in a cat carrier on our house. She is eager to eat yogurt but nothing else.

I will give it 4 more days and then i think I should put her down. If its a broken leg, will it heal? Whats the point of prolonging this?

 

[azygous]

Try some vitamin therapy. A chick can have a vitamin E deficiency that causes pooR motor function. Give the chick one gel cap of vitamin E 400iu once a day. It would also help to give it one tablet of B complex. These are people vitamins and they'll work fine for chickens.

If the chick continues to get worse, the fastest most human method of euthanasia is to take sharp scissors and cut the head off.

 

[Minky]

how would she have vitamin deficiency? There are 20 of them and she is the only one who is like this. I am feeding organic chich starter, scrambled eggs 2 x week, and free ranging them on clover/grass etc?

What is poop motor function? did you mean poor motor function?

 

[cbass422407]

shes an adorable welsummer, 3 weeks old. she is very much alive, but about a week ago she started to lay around and not do much- other chicks were trampling her- she'd just lay there. When she walks, she shuffles, and her wings go down to balance, Then she just lays there all day. I have had her separated for 4 days now in a cat carrier on our house. She is eager to eat yogurt but nothing else.

I will give it 4 more days and then i think I should put her down. If its a broken leg, will it heal? Whats the point of prolonging this?

I've found that you just never know. It seems like most of my chicks go through this to some degree or another. In my last batch of chicks, there was one in particular that laid around all the time. I thought something was wrong with her legs but now, in hindsight, I think they were just tired from her body size increasing rapidly. I've had some I thought were definitely on their way out turn out to be just fine. Some that seem perfectly healthy end up dying suddenly.

As long as they have water and food, and no apparent injury, I just let them be. When I've separated them when they start to act this way, mortality seems to increase.

 

[cbass422407]

how would she have vitamin deficiency? There are 20 of them and she is the only one who is like this. I am feeding organic chich starter, scrambled eggs 2 x week, and free ranging them on clover/grass etc?

What is poop motor function? did you mean poor motor function?

Make sure there is no blockage in the out end.

 

[cbass422407]

Make sure there is no blockage in the out end.

Additionally, I would be very cautious of administering additional supplements or vitamins. Your feed and free ranging practices should provide sufficient diet.

 

[lazy gardener]

If a chick is not metabolizing feed well, it can get into a starve out situation, or failure to thrive. Where did you get your chicks from? Is she pooping? Do you have Poultry Nutri Drench available to you? What are you using for a heat source? Sometimes, weak chicks need a bit more heat than the rest. Does she have option to get closer to the heat?

As for euthanizing, I use a sharp pair of garden clippers. I wrap the chick in a paper towel, place the clippers in position, fold the towel over the top (saves me from having to "watch"). Do a quick snip and drop the chick into a waiting paper bag. The bag can then be buried in the garden.

 

[Minky]

She is in a cat carrier with a heat pad on 1, she uses it on and off. When its on 2 she lays beside it, so I think 1 is good.
She is pooping. toothpaste with lumps today.
Got her from a private hatchery on a nice farm, guy was an ass but the rest of the chicks look and seem great, his place was clean and a small-ish operation.

She walked about 10 feet today. Because i was poking her butt repeatedly. She takes tiny steps- looks a bit bow legged, and her toes walk on the toes from her other foot. She uses her wings a bit for balance while walking. She lays down every foot or two. when she lays down, often her wing is folded weird so it sticks up .

I have mixed a very small amount of org.chick starter into the yogurt, which she did not seem to mind.

 

[BlueChai]

I would try giving them nutri drench and some boiled egg, try to get her to eat something other than yogurt. Sorry this is happening to you, raising chicks can be hard sometimes. Usually when I get chicks that are this ill, they die.
If she has no improvement in a few days, I would end her suffering. My usual way of putting down chicks is to get my partner to pop their head off. He just twists and they are gone in less than a second. Although, I would never do this myself. I feel most people wouldn't have the heart to do it this way.

 

[Minky]

she wont touch the egg at all. its in there.