chick wont stop peeping constantly

[heather1976]

So, we just had 7 of 11 eggs hatch on our first try at incubating eggs. Five hatched on 6/15 and two more hatched on 6/16. I moved the first 5 to the brooder when they were dry the morning of the 16th and let the one that had just hatched that morning stay in the incubator with the other one that was still trying to hatch so it could dry off and get strong enough to walk and not be picked on by the others. Just today (6/17) I moved that one to the brooder since it was walking fine. Now it is standing in the middle of the brooder incessently cheeping non stop. I showed it where the food and water was and the other chicks are eating and drinking fine. Since, in my past experience with having chicks, if one does something like peck for food or drink, the others follow along and do it too. This one isn't following along. Could there be something else wrong? The other chick are not pecking it so that isn't the issue. Thanks for any insight anyone can give me.

 

[ChickenCanoe]

Barring something very unusual, it may just be uncomfortable. Do you have both warm and cool spots in the brooder?
It doesn't hurt to dip the beak in water to make sure it drinks.

 

[azygous]

Recently I had a chick that was cursed with "failure to thrive". Very early on it had very painful pooping problems, both diarrhea and then constipation. It chirped non-stop, and when it pooped, the chirps escalated as it performed this function, then tapered off to the non-stop chirping again.

My advice is to watch this particular chick very closely. Once chicks begin eating and drinking, they should be making regular, if tiny, poops. Watch it for pasty butt. It's the first thing to indicate problems. But be very careful to use oils to clean its vent as this part of chick anatomy is very susceptible to irritation and swelling.

 

[ChickenCanoe]

Good points.
I like to get a probiotic into chicks early to ameliorate the problems associated with digestion in new chicks.
This is what I use.
http://www.gro2max.com/
Plain yogurt works too.
I use plain kefir in fermented feed.

 

[heather1976]

I have a cool side and a warm side of the brooder set up. I have been checking everyones little butts for signs of pasting up and they are all clear. I also dipped each chicks beak in the water to show them where it is. I will try the yogurt next. Is there a possibility that it misses the other chick that is in the brooder who it spent the most time with alone? Could a baby chick even recognize a specific hatch mate? Thanks for the replies.

 

[azygous]

I would go with my hunch about the complaining chick being lonely for its mate back in the incubator. If you put it back there so the two are together again, and it stops its complaining, then you'll know that's the problem.

 

[ChickenCanoe]

Good point.

 

[heather1976]

I will be moving the other one to the brooder this evening but that little one has splints on its feet to try to correct some curled toes and some splayed legs so I'm hesitant to put it in with the others right away for fear they will peck at it.

 

[BlackBriars]

I think your chick just hasn't figured out the drink/eat thing yet.

Just this morning I picked up thirty baby chicks from the post office. I brought them home and put them in the brooder after dipping their beaks. They all seemed fine with only one undersized chick.

I was amazed at how quickly they started drinking and eating while cycling by the heat lamp, all except one chick, the undersized one that chirped constantly.
She would go from the heat lamp to water/feed area and back but never drink or eat, so I dipped her beak three different times, and still she would not drink even then. She was so stressed I began to think she wasn't going to make it. A few times she pecked at a spot on another chick or their umbilical or a speck on the floor but never food.

Eventually she pecked in the water dish and actually drank tilting her little head back. A few minutes later she took several more drinks and seemed to calm a little. Probably about 20 minutes later she strolled past the feeder and pecked at some food the other chicks had kicked from the feeder. Then she pecked at it again and suddenly it was as if a flood gate had opened. That little chick began eating with a frenzy but rarely from the feeder. Nearly all of the food she ate had been spilled out. I watched her as she then napped a bit under the lamp and returned to eat and drink again. Once she started eating, I never heard her chirp again.

 

[coleco]

One possibility could be for some reason that chick could be blind, can it see you when you reach in to grab it?