Chick just brought home yesterday......not doing well!!!

[theFox]

Quote:
If she is drinking put a little sugar in the water and mix it well, you can also add a bit of the feed to the mixture, be certain that you show her where it is and dip her beak into it.

Chicks need to be started on something that they can't eat untill they know what is actually food.

Usually it is paper towels on top of their regular litter.

This prevents the litter eating.

Chickens while very entertaining and otherwise smart are very dumb when it comes to what is actually good for eating. They will attempt eating just about everything, frequently they get into things that are bad for them. When that happens they are likely to die.

 

[Alabama ee]

One of the little chicks I got Thurs is not well. She seemed to have energy Thurs., although her feathers were a little...off. My daughter describes it as a bad hair day.
Today, she is not eating or drinking, and the other chicks walk over look at her and move away. Any suggestions?

 

[theFox]

Quote:
Did she ever eat or drink since you brought her home.

If she did what was it she ate or drank.

 

[fstjmy04]

Hi Im james
I new on here so please bear with me .
I have seen alot of sick chick posts and the first thing I think of is mites unfortunatly for me the infestation has ruined my flock I had to rehome all my reds, leghorns,Barred Rocks
The Silkies are suffering and I cant stop it.
The mites and lice case sickness eyes nose loosing feathers
I am currently searching for a temp shelter for my silkies till the mites in the yard die off.

 

[Alabama ee]

I did not put shavings in yet. Just paper towels. She ate a little chick starter, and some water with suger mixed in. I have not seen her eat today. Not much yesterday either.

We have them inside with a brooder light in a corner. There is lots of roam for them. The temp under the light has been 95.

 

[theFox]

Quote:
Is she still drinking?

If she isn't drinking she won't last that long under a heat lamp.

Sometimes they need to be reminded of where the water and food are as they are under a lot of stress due to shipping, handling, and temperature changes.

 

[Alabama ee]

Update..I just walked in and she ate a little then went and drank some. She still looks off. The others are running circles around her.

 

[Alabama ee]

Thanks thefox. I'll keep an eye on her. On Thurs when I got them, she ate and drank. Her energy leavel was simular to the others. They all just about hopped out of the box. The only thing that seemed off about her was her feathers looked more ruffeled. As time went on, she seemed to
eat and drink less and less. The others are very active and have literally run circles around her.

Do you think she just needs to be food and drink reminded?

 

[theFox]

Quote:
Hi James,

Sorry to hear about your problems there is plenty of information on the site about dealing with lice and mites.

Poultry dust, Sevin (off label, now I understand) , one of the wormers (Ivermectin pour on also off label) are some of the more commonly used methods of getting rid of them. It requires multiple treatments (at least twice) in some cases. If you use the wormer, you still have to treat the area the chicken were in with something else (at least twice).

 

[theFox]

Quote:
Just keep an eye on her and see that she does in fact know where things are.

You need to understand that not all make it and sometimes it is simply the rapid changes they went through that is the cause.

Provide her with the correct food, clean water, a warm place, a few friends she can see and hear, and be patient.