Hello everyone,
I recently acquired a chick. I am unsure of the age or the breed of the bird. My kitchen scale says the chick is 24 grams. I got the bird yesterday from a local farm store. It was on its back in a very overcrowded dirty tub getting stepped on with a few other birds that had died. When I complained about the condition the animals were being kept in they told me I could have the bird because they couldn’t take care of it.
I wasn’t sure if it was going to survive but after getting it under a heat lamp and getting some water with some probiotics and electrolytes into the bird it perked up a bit and started chirping.
The issue is that it mostly lays down and when it does walk it isn’t quite right. It will just take a few steps and seems to struggle a bit to balance itself. It doesn’t try to run when I put my hands in the box I have it in which makes me concerned that it can’t move that well. I have looked over the bird and I don’t see any obvious injuries but I am concerned that something is wrong. I have noticed it seems to lean more on one leg. I will attach some photos to show what I mean. The down is a little weird looking because I had to wash off a bunch of matted on poop and bedding that were coating the birds back and wing. I was in the process of drying the bird off with a hair dryer and brushing the down up with a soft bristled toothbrush when I took this picture.
I have observed it drinking and eating out of the bowls I have in the box. It will take a few steps and then lay down and peck at the food or drink the water and just sit there. I am worried it isn’t eating enough because it seems so small. The feed I have for it is Dumor 18% chick starter/grower.
It pooped when I had it pulled out to clean the bird so I got a picture of that too. I think it is pretty watery.
I called around today and got a few recommendations for vets that will see chickens if needed.
I recently acquired a chick. I am unsure of the age or the breed of the bird. My kitchen scale says the chick is 24 grams. I got the bird yesterday from a local farm store. It was on its back in a very overcrowded dirty tub getting stepped on with a few other birds that had died. When I complained about the condition the animals were being kept in they told me I could have the bird because they couldn’t take care of it.
I wasn’t sure if it was going to survive but after getting it under a heat lamp and getting some water with some probiotics and electrolytes into the bird it perked up a bit and started chirping.
The issue is that it mostly lays down and when it does walk it isn’t quite right. It will just take a few steps and seems to struggle a bit to balance itself. It doesn’t try to run when I put my hands in the box I have it in which makes me concerned that it can’t move that well. I have looked over the bird and I don’t see any obvious injuries but I am concerned that something is wrong. I have noticed it seems to lean more on one leg. I will attach some photos to show what I mean. The down is a little weird looking because I had to wash off a bunch of matted on poop and bedding that were coating the birds back and wing. I was in the process of drying the bird off with a hair dryer and brushing the down up with a soft bristled toothbrush when I took this picture.
I have observed it drinking and eating out of the bowls I have in the box. It will take a few steps and then lay down and peck at the food or drink the water and just sit there. I am worried it isn’t eating enough because it seems so small. The feed I have for it is Dumor 18% chick starter/grower.
It pooped when I had it pulled out to clean the bird so I got a picture of that too. I think it is pretty watery.
I called around today and got a few recommendations for vets that will see chickens if needed.
