Got 36 freedom ranger chicks on Friday 3/23. All has gone well until today...I noticed one chick that wasn't as lively...it just stands in the brooder and does not move much, and I noticed it is much smaller than the rest. Upon closer inspection, his eyes are closed most of the time, however I haven't noticed any discharge or "crust" around the eyes. I have it isolated now, but it's not eating anything, and the last time I checked on it, it was standing in its water dish, not moving. It's very sluggish. I have pretty much just written this one off as survival of the fittest, but if anyone has any suggestions or experience with this before I go ahead and cull, it would be appreciated. I realize that this post may be better suited to a different section of the forum, but quite frankly, I respect the experience of the usual visitors/posters on this section somewhat more than others, so please accept my apologies.
Hi Tarheel2288, if you must cull, I find scissors and a very fast snip just behind the heat quick and effective. It's a bit ghastly but sometimes just has to be done. A single chick not doing well could have major problems. You could try to give it coccidiosis medicine in case, but it's fairly rare that one bird would develop cocci on its own unless it has immune issues. I would suspect some underlying condition like an infection, runting-stunting syndrome, or malformation (speaking as a non-expert). Sorry about your chick, Erica edited typo
