Chick sleepy + shaking head a lot?

[Dr Evy]

Hi guys. My chick who has a slipped tendon has been especially sleepy lately and as we were putting him in a sock for therapy I noticed he was shaking his head a lot. He also fell asleep like this

When I touched him he woke up and started eating again. I thought maybe the sleepiness was from the stress of putting him in the sock but I’m not sure. He’s not shaking his head anymore but he was doing it a lot earlier while I was holding him and when I was just watching him before we put it in the sock. As I was writing this he fell asleep like in the picture again when he was in the brooder with the other chicks he was sleepy a lot too. First, Do you think it’s ok if he sleeps like that? And second what do you think is wrong with him? I’ve already lost one chick and I really don’t want to lose another.

P.S I just stopped giving them probiotic water, for three weeks I was giving it to them.

 

[Wyorp Rock]

Poor chicks.
How old are they?
How long have they been in the socks?

I would give them each 1/4 tablet B-Complex and 400IU Vitamin E daily.

Sadly, I don't think it's a very good sign for a chick to be that sleepy. She may be failing to thrive. Monitor her closely and if she doesn't improve, it may be time to put her out of her misery.

 

[Dr Evy]

Poor chicks.
How old are they?
How long have they been in the socks?

I would give them each 1/4 tablet B-Complex and 400IU Vitamin E daily.

Sadly, I don't think it's a very good sign for a chick to be that sleepy. She may be failing to thrive. Monitor her closely and if she doesn't improve, it may be time to put her out of her misery.

They’re about three weeks old. I just put that one in the sock, the one on the right has been in there a day. I’ll ask my mom if we have the vitamin E.
He seemed fine yesterday though... he eats and drinks fine. Do you think he has an infection? If he does could it spread? I just put him in there so if it could I’ll take him out immediately.

 

[Wyorp Rock]

They’re about three weeks old. I just put that one in the sock, the one on the right has been in there a day. I’ll ask my mom if we have the vitamin E.
He seemed fine yesterday though... he eats and drinks fine. Do you think he has an infection? If he does could it spread? I just put him in there so if it could I’ll take him out immediately.

Only a day? You posted a photo of them in the socks on the 23rd, that was a week ago. I'm sorry, I'm not trying to be difficult, but the timeline is pretty important here.
For birds to be immobile for that period of time, the chances for recovery is greatly reduced.
I don't know what's wrong with both of them. Looks like on your other thread, from the photos they are suffering from a leg deformity (which was mentioned in the posts on that thread).
So they have gone from being able to move around some to none at all? If so, then that's not a good sign.
I'm sorry.

https://www.backyardchickens.com/threads/something-wrong-with-chicks-legs.1460434/post-24337205

 

[Dr Evy]

Only a day? You posted a photo of them in the socks on the 23rd, that was a week ago. I'm sorry, I'm not trying to be difficult, but the timeline is pretty important here.
For birds to be immobile for that period of time, the chances for recovery is greatly reduced.
I don't know what's wrong with both of them. Looks like on your other thread, from the photos they are suffering from a leg deformity (which was mentioned in the posts on that thread).
So they have gone from being able to move around some to none at all? If so, then that's not a good sign.
I'm sorry.

https://www.backyardchickens.com/threads/something-wrong-with-chicks-legs.1460434/post-24337205

Sorry yes that probably sounds confusing. This is their second time in the sock. The first time I put them in there I left them there for three days but I had to take them out because they stretched the sock out too far around their back area and it was causing too much pressure. We though they might prolapse from that. When I took them out their legs looked a lot better so I left them out. But their legs weren’t better so I had to put them back in. Does that make sense? Sorry it’s confusing, I’ve been having a hard time with them lately. So many problems. We determined They have slipped tendons If you search pictures it looks almost exactly like my chicks. Picture below. Sorry for the misunderstanding, thanks for taking the time to respond to me.

 

[Wyorp Rock]

Yes, it makes sense. Thank you for the clarification

Can they walk at all? Have you tried putting the tendon back in place and splinting the legs? I've never had a chick with slipped tendon, but generally it's just on one leg. My understanding is that slipped tendon is very hard to correct as well.

The joints on the chick posted are inflamed. I would try giving the vitamins to see if that helps, but sadly I don't think there will be much of a fix. Vitamins can help support their system a little though.

 

[Dr Evy]

Yes, it makes sense. Thank you for the clarification

Can they walk at all? Have you tried putting the tendon back in place and splinting the legs? I've never had a chick with slipped tendon, but generally it's just on one leg. My understanding is that slipped tendon is very hard to correct as well.

The joints on the chick posted are inflamed. I would try giving the vitamins to see if that helps, but sadly I don't think there will be much of a fix. Vitamins can help support their system a little though.

They can walk but the leg goes backwards so they are just walking on the hock on that side. They’re slow, and the other chicks trample them so that’s why I felt maybe I little more therapy would help, not sure though. We did kind of bandage them back into place but not perfect. Last time we did it we tried to do it perfect, we did but then his feet started turning purple, even though we made sure it wasn’t too tight. It is hard to fix is what I’ve been told but there have been some success stories! Not feeling too hopeful for my chicks though.
I’ll ask my mom if we can go to the store tomorrow to buy the vitamins, unfortunately we don’t have any at home. Hopefully I can fix it enough to where it can at least support their weight, even if their legs aren’t perfect.

 

[Wyorp Rock]

They can walk but the leg goes backwards so they are just walking on the hock on that side. They’re slow, and the other chicks trample them so that’s why I felt maybe I little more therapy would help, not sure though. We did kind of bandage them back into place but not perfect. Last time we did it we tried to do it perfect, we did but then his feet started turning purple, even though we made sure it wasn’t too tight. It is hard to fix is what I’ve been told but there have been some success stories! Not feeling too hopeful for my chicks though.
I’ll ask my mom if we can go to the store tomorrow to buy the vitamins, unfortunately we don’t have any at home. Hopefully I can fix it enough to where it can at least support their weight, even if their legs aren’t perfect.

Keep trying.
Can you come up with a different type of sling for them that you can put them in for short periods of time?
I think as they get heavier, the socks will continue to stretch.

 

[Dr Evy]

Keep trying.
Can you come up with a different type of sling for them that you can put them in for short periods of time?
I think as they get heavier, the socks will continue to stretch.

I’m not really sure what else would work.. I don’t think the cup method would work because my one chick tries very hard to get out. When I woke up this morning his wings were all the way out and he had flipped over his food and water. He’s the one that was sleepy.
I think you’re right about it stretching though. Maybe I could use some sort of not really stretchy fabric. I’ll see what I can find.

 

[Dr Evy]

Poor chicks.
How old are they?
How long have they been in the socks?

I would give them each 1/4 tablet B-Complex and 400IU Vitamin E daily.

Sadly, I don't think it's a very good sign for a chick to be that sleepy. She may be failing to thrive. Monitor her closely and if she doesn't improve, it may be time to put her out of her misery.

Ok so I wasn’t able to get the vitamins yet, but I just needed to ask are those two separate vitamins? I was just searching Walgreens for the whole thing you said to get and apparently it’s non existent .
Also, the chick is way less sleepy today, she’s tried to break out of the sock several times already. Thanks for your help