Chick's Odd Way of Drinking. Is she OK?

[SuperChickRuth]

We have a friendly, spunky Buff Orpington chick. She hatched at Privett last Wed. We bought her from a reliable feed store on Sat (two days ago). We are relative newbies. (Thank you so much for this website!) Chickie appears to be completely health. She's very active and endearing.

Chickie has an odd way of drinking water. As my son is becoming extremely attached to her, I thought I should post and ask if there is a problem lurking. She moves her neck way back when drinking water. On Sat., I even saw her fall over. It was comical, but . . . Now when drinking she moves her neck back and often sits down. Has anyone seen this before? Any thoughts on whether she's going to be OK? Thank you!

 

[azygous]

That's how chickens drink. They dip their beaks into water, then tilt their heads back and let in trickle down their throats.

However, your chick may have a vitamin deficiency causing balance problems. Get some Poultry Nutri-drench from the feed store or Walmart and give that to her or make a "tea" that all the chicks can drink and benefit from.

 

[SuperChickRuth]

Yes, I know how chicks and chickens drink. This is noticeably different. Chickie isn't just tilting her head back. She moves her head way back and often sits down to drink.

We started the chicks on Sav-A-chick Electrolyte in their water Sat night. Will that do or should we try to find Poultry Nutri-drench?

Thank you!

 

[azygous]

Electrolytes aren't vitamins. You need chick vitamins. Nutri-drench is a special formula that by-passes the intestines and gets the vitamins absorbed directly into the blood stream for maximum effectiveness. If your chick is in trouble, this would be the best way to go.

 

[SuperChickRuth]

Electrolytes aren't vitamins. You need chick vitamins. Nutri-drench is a special formula that by-passes the intestines and gets the vitamins absorbed directly into the blood stream for maximum effectiveness. If your chick is in trouble, this would be the best way to go.

Okay, thanks! We're using Nutri-Drench on one of our other chicks that's doing poorly now- we think she's blind.