Chicks came, three dead and one with pasting and swaying on her feet

[darlingdarla]

So the chicks are doing better this morning but still very weak. Both of them had pasty butt at six AM when I checked on them. I dealt with it and they're both fine now but I really hope this dosen't become a regular thing, I feel like I'm traumatizing them. I'm checking them every half hour.
The silky is still very unstable on her feet and teeters when she walks around, she's also very slow and tired seeming. But she's doing better than yesterday for sure and is keeping up with her sister just fine, I'm about to scramble them an egg, they should feel special, I've never given any of my other chicks eggs.

 

[LaFleche]

Are they already drinking well on their own?

Make sure they have enough and help with the dropper every two hours at least. this might help with adjusting.

I'm about to scramble them an egg, they should feel special, I've never given any of my other chicks eggs.

Yes, but according to you never before have you had chicks arrive in such bad condition. So hopefully this will help.

 

[darlingdarla]

Are they already drinking well on their own?

Make sure they have enough and help with the dropper every two hours at least. this might help with adjusting.



Yes, but according to you never before have you had chicks arrive in such bad condition. So hopefully this will help.

They're drinking pretty regularly, I'm dipping their beaks in their water every once in a while to remind them and they usually take a few sips after I set them down. They're sleeping more than any chicks I've ever had. They aren't interested in the egg at all, I put a few mushed up pieces on a dark towel so they could see it but they just don't care, their crops are full and they are eating the feed pretty easily now.
I'm keeping a very close eye on them and set myself up to work in the room their brooder is in.

 

[darlingdarla]

The silky is doing really well, she's active and eating and drinking fine and hasn't pasted since yesterday morning.
Now I'm worried about the d'Uccle, I had them out this morning for the first time since they came. They were napping on my shoulder when the d'Uccle lost her balance and fell off me, I was sitting against the wall so she only fell about a foot to a foot and a half onto wood floors. I think she fell upright, I immediately looked her over and returned her to the brooder. She's walking around and eating and drinking but acting more mellow than usual, she keeps yawning like she's adjusting her crop and scratching her face. I don't know if I'm imagining it, but she's got me worried, I feel horrible.
I have nutridrench coming in the mail today, and otherwise I'm still keeping them warm and giving them electrolytes in their water.

 

[LaFleche]

Well, that was unfortunate. The poor little thing might have a headache and maybe even twisted her neck.

Watch her carefully and better leave them in the brooder for at least a week to recover totally before taking them outside again.

 

[darlingdarla]

Well, that was unfortunate. The poor little thing might have a headache and maybe even twisted her neck.

Watch her carefully and better leave them in the brooder for at least a week to recover totally before taking them outside again.

I can't believe I let it happen, I think I may have nodded off for a second, and she just fell. I am not messing with her at all.
She's not as active as she was before. She's drinking readily and often and is pecking at food, but I don't know how much she's getting. I've got nutridrench in their water now and I'm hoping that gives her a boost.
She did come out from under the heating pad quickly this morning and walked around for a while, but not as excited as before.
Otherwise I'm just letting her rest and leaving it alone, I feel horrible this happened.

 

[LaFleche]

I feel horrible this happened.

Don't beat yourself up, accidents happen all the time.

 

[darlingdarla]

My d'Uccle is pretty much the same today. She's sleeping a lot and drinking a lot, she pecks at food but she's not eating as much as the silky and her crop is usually small. I still have nutridrench in their water, both their droppings are pretty liquidy and kinda dark in color.
She's gaping and scratching her face really often too.
I guess there's nothing else I can do. I'm keeping her warm and making sure food and water with nutridrench are readily available. I feel terrible, two days ago she was a really active healthy chick.
Everything she does in this video is mostly all she does, she walks around and will flap her wings from time to time, but mostly she just sleeps. She also never chirps, will only make noise when I pick her up which was only once earlier today when I changed their paper towels.

This is one of the silkies droppings.

 

[LaFleche]

If she was bruised by the fall the swelling of the tissue, which might cause her discomfort, will start to go down after 3-4 days.

Apart from that she seems bothered by the pinfeathers on her feet pinching trough. Might even be that the growing muffs obstruct her view.

Did you inspect her for lice?

Try again offering millet mixed with some hard boiled egg (they often prefer the egg white) and oatmeal.

What kind of brooder do you use, is this some kind of terrarium? If so they might lack fresh air and in consequence become sleepy.

 

[darlingdarla]

If she was bruised by the fall the swelling of the tissue, which might cause her discomfort, will start to go down after 3-4 days.

Apart from that she seems bothered by the pinfeathers on her feet pinching trough. Might even be that the growing muffs obstruct her view.

Did you inspect her for lice?

Try again offering millet mixed with some hard boiled egg (they often prefer the egg white) and oatmeal.

What kind of brooder do you use, is this some kind of terrarium? If so they might lack fresh air and in consequence become sleepy.

I thought for sure I was going to lose her last night. When I picked her up to put her under the heating pad she just went limp. I was woken up this morning by very loud chirping and when I turned on the lights, the silky chick ran out and the d'Uccle followed a few moments later. She ran around with her sister flapping her wings and getting excited. She lost her energy quickly and is back to how she was yesterday, but maybe a little better.
She's trying to chirp today, once when I took her sister out of the brooder to check her and once a little while ago. Her chirp is more like a strangled clicking sound.
They both drank water but neither are very interested in food, their droppings are still watery but have some solidity so I think they're eating some when I'm not watching. Both their crops are very soft, like they're only filled with water.

Her muff is probably bothering her, it's getting wet when she drinks and the nutridrench is sticky too.
I have looked the silky over for lice since they both seem to be preening a lot, my adult birds had a small mite infestation three weeks ago which I treated with permethrin powder. I've been very cautious when going between the coop and the brooder because of this. I don't see anything on them or in their brooder but I could be wrong.
I don't think I have millet or oatmeal but I can boil an egg for them now and go to the store later.
My brooder is one of my old terrariums, it dosen't have any kind of covering, not even a screen lid. I'll add a hardware cloth covering when they start flying out but that shouldn't obstruct their fresh air at all. I also have them in an air conditioned room but away from the vents so there's no draft.

Also, thank you so much for your help. This is my third time with babies and I've had a chick come with a deformity, I've had to treat a bad coccidiosiss infection, but this is nothing like that. I've had chickens for three years now but I'm still a newbie when it comes to little chicks.

This is one of the d'Uccle's droppings today, I just thought it looked a little weird.