Chick behaving strangely

[centralcaligirl]

We have been down to two chickens for a little while so yesterday we brought home two Easter Egger chicks and two Austrolorps. One of the Easter Eggers has been acting strangely every since we got her home. She was probably hatched on Tuesday.

When they came home yesterday, I helped them all under the Brinsea and the other three chicks hung out there for an hour or so and then came out and were able to find the food and water and started eating and drinking normally. But this little gal kept charging out from under the Brinsea and running around the brooder box wall, chirping and chirping fairly desperately and looking up toward the ceiling and acting like she was trying to fly out of the box. She tried many times to hop onto the Brinsea with the apparently goal of going back to the feed store. Eventually she wore herself out and drank some water, but we have never seen her eat and she's looking lethargic and acting, well, sort of depressed to be honest.

I tried dipping her beak in the chick feed while the others were eating and that didn't work. I tried putting feed on the floor of the brooder on a paper towel and that didn't work. I tried moistening the feed and dipping her beak in that while holding her and she would not open her beak and just struggled as hard as she could to avoid the moistened feed. I checked her vent and it's completely clear, so ruled out pasty butt.

I'm at a loss. I guess as a last resort I could eventually try to force feed her with a syringe but I wanted to check with you all to see if there is anything else I could be missing. I should be clear, we aren't watching her all the time so she could be eating at least a little bit while we aren't looking. But most of yesterday and this morning I keep finding the other three contentedly eating together and this Easter Egger under the Brinsea or in a separate part of the brooder box all alone and away from the other chicks. If she is eating, it's definitely not as often or as much as the others.

She is still grooming herself, but is much less active than yesterday, when she was storming all over the place and running the other chicks over. I can't tell if it's lack of food or just that she's having a hard time adjusting. Any advice, greatly appreciated!

 

[azygous]

Have you checked her crop and vent? Vents get clogged and that can make a chick sick. Crops can get clogged if the chick is eating something other than chick feed.

Most baby chicks do not know what a feeder is for. But they do possess the instinct to discover food on the ground. For the first two days after I get new chicks, I scatter dry chick food on the floor, and they immediately start eating it. Try that.

 

[Eggcessive]

About the only thing I can suggest besides doing what you are dojng, would be to give a couple of drops of Poultry NutriDrench from your feed store, or use a similar vitamin with electrolyte. Gatorade or pedialyte at room temperature are good substitutes. You can dip her beak for half a second into water often to get her drinking. The chick crumbles on a paper towel around their feet helps. Sometimes we don’t know what has been going on with them for the few days before we get them. Hope she settles in a makes it.

 

[centralcaligirl]

Have you checked her crop and vent? Vents get clogged and that can make a chick sick. Crops can get clogged if the chick is eating something other than chick feed.

Most baby chicks do not know what a feeder is for. But they do possess the instinct to discover food on the ground. For the first two days after I get new chicks, I scatter dry chick food on the floor, and they immediately start eating it. Try that.

I checked her vent and it's perfectly clean. I also tried the food on the ground and she didn't show any interest in it. How do I check to see if her crop is clogged?

 

[centralcaligirl]

About the only thing I can suggest besides doing what you are dojng, would be to give a couple of drops of Poultry NutriDrench from your feed store, or use a similar vitamin with electrolyte. Gatorade or pedialyte at room temperature are good substitutes. You can dip her beak for half a second into water often to get her drinking. The chick crumbles on a paper towel around their feet helps. Sometimes we don’t know what has been going on with them for the few days before we get them. Hope she settles in a makes it.

That's a great idea I will try that.

 

[centralcaligirl]

So I think what we have here is the case of a slow learner. She was chirping pitifully so I dipped her beak in the water and only after the third time trying and pushing her face really in it for a minute did she figure it out. Then she drank water for the next five minutes with great enthusiasm!

Going with that success I then tried dribbled some really soupy mash into her beak and she did swallow several drops of it. I was then able to get about 10 grains of chick feed down, which she also swallowed (never mind the 40 grains that ended up on the floor). It made a mess but she did get something down and now she's hiding under the Brinsea chirping really loudly in protest of the whole endeavor.

So now I'm wondering, how do you hand feed a chick? What is the most efficient way? I made a huge mess of her and myself getting the little feed down that I did. I also would like to stress her out the least possible. And I'm wondering how much chick feed should she reasonably be eating every day? Thanks to everyone for the help.

 

[centralcaligirl]

Most baby chicks do not know what a feeder is for. But they do possess the instinct to discover food on the ground. For the first two days after I get new chicks, I scatter dry chick food on the floor, and they immediately start eating it. Try that.

@azygous Well it turns out you were right in a way, and not only did she not know how to use the feeder, she actually didn't seem to know how to eat! We ended up rubbing a hard-boiled egg against her beak until a little got in and gradually she started poking it and picking at it. At first it was a mess - a lot of stabbing at the air alternating with bits and pieces of egg flying everywhere, with the occasional chunk going down almost accidentally.

When I put her back in the brooder box I saw her wandering around the feeder while the other chicks were eating. She was looking UP instead of DOWN, opening and closing her beak, trying to find food above her head and circling the feeder. So I picked her up and tipped her upside down with her beak in the feeder and she started poking at it like crazy. Made another huge mess but ate for about 10 minutes. We took a break and then another 10 minutes of crazy making, and now she's passed out asleep, lol.

It's the strangest thing. She drinks water out of the feeder completely normally, dips her head down and gets the water. But for some reason with eating she goes head's up!