Cull chick?

[Mill Chick]

I had one egg that was pipped in the wrong end for over 24 hours so I went and assisted him. There was no bleeding and I got him out but he just laid there on his back and would kick his legs around every once in awhile I tried putting him on his feet but he just fell down again. I think he has curled toes and maybe some neurological problems but I don’t know because I have never had any before with curled toes or major problems like this before.it has been like 12 hours and not much has changed And if I should cull what way would be the least traumatic?

 

[Altairsky]

Don't cull too early. Give the chick 2 days, and if there is no improvement then you can think about culling.

 

[HollowOfWisps]

Assisted hatched chicks take much longer to get on their feet than chicks that hatch on their own. I give them at least a full 24 hours in the incubator and after 24 hours I give them some poultry cell. Usually that does the trick.

 

[Mill Chick]

Assisted hatched chicks take much longer to get on their feet than chicks that hatch on their own. I give them at least a full 24 hours in the incubator and after 24 hours I give them some poultry cell. Usually that does the trick.

I don’t have any right now would honey and apple cider vinegar work also? I have heard that it does?

 

[HollowOfWisps]

I don’t have any right now would honey and apple cider vinegar work also? I have heard that it does?

The honey has sugar which can help to a degree. I think vinegar in water is about as useful as plain water. I know a lot of people on here use it which is fine, but I wouldn’t count on it saving a weak chicks life. Poultry Cell is a comprehensive vitamin supplement that I have used for years for weak chicks and breeding stock. I have found that many weak chicks are weak due to being born with a vitamin deficiency. Once they get the b vitamins in particular it really helps to strengthen them up. I actually started giving it to my breeding stock before letting them hatch eggs or collecting for hatch. I noticed a big improvement in the health of the chicks. The last few hatches my broody hens set and I incubated, the eggs all hatched on their own and the chicks were up running around within a couple hours of hatch.

 

[Altairsky]

You can give multi vitamin for human babies if you have some available.

 

[Mill Chick]

The honey has sugar which can help to a degree. I think vinegar in water is about as useful as plain water. I know a lot of people on here use it which is fine, but I wouldn’t count on it saving a weak chicks life. Poultry Cell is a comprehensive vitamin supplement that I have used for years for weak chicks and breeding stock. I have found that many weak chicks are weak due to being born with a vitamin deficiency. Once they get the b vitamins in particular it really helps to strengthen them up. I actually started giving it to my breeding stock before letting them hatch eggs or collecting for hatch. I noticed a big improvement in the health of the chicks. The last few hatches my broody hens set and I incubated, the eggs all hatched on their own and the chicks were up running around within a couple hours of hatch.

Is this what you are talking about? My local tractor supply has it in stock.

 

[tviss711]

I'm hoping your baby improves with poultry cell! As far as curled toes go, I'm not sure the extent of your chicks' curly toes, but I had a chick that had her outer toes curled out quite a bit and she did just fine. Never had issues with bumblefoot or anything as she got older and she scratched, walked, roosted, and bathed just fine. If they are more severe, there is a thread around here somewhere where you can make them little "boots" to straighten out their toes when they are young! I probably would have done this for my chick, but by the time I found the thread, she was too old to attempt it with. But she managed fine with her little curly toes!

Keep us updated! Hope your baby perks up soon.

 

[Ridgerunner]

Some chicks are just not meant to make it, but that does not mean you don't try. About half of the chicks I help do make it.

I don't know how well that product will work for that chick in the short term. When I give a chick something I want sugar for instant energy. My goal is to get it enough energy that it can eat and drink on its own. The vitamins and other stuff in that product can help but I don't see anything I recognize as giving it immediate energy in there. Still, if you have it you can try it.

When I have a chick like that I take a medicine dropper and put a drop of liquid on the tip of the beak. It usually swallows that so I keep it up until it stops drinking it. I do not put anything down its throat as I don't want to block its breathing passages.

I use hummingbird liquid as I always have some on hand. Some people dissolve sugar in water and use that. There are products you can get at the feed store that work well but I don't know if that is one of them. It will depend on what the deficiency is. If nothing else it gets liquid in its body so it is not dehydrated.

All you can do is try. Good luck and let us know how it goes.

 

[CabritaChicks]

I’ll add this little tip for anyone hatching chicks: when they’re still absorbing their yolk sac and looking a bit wobbly in those first 24 hours, apple juice can be a gentle lifesaver. Just a drop (I use a syringe) of natural, no-sugar-added apple juice can help hydrate them and give a quick boost of glucose and vitamins. It’s easy to find, easy to use, and way better than trying to force-feed them something complicated when they’re still figuring out how their feet work. You can also just microwave some chopped up apple and water in the microwave- and tada! apple juice. Apple cider vinegar is hard on the crop, so I would avoid unless there is a definate fungal infection and the chick is 7 days old.

Think of it like a baby smoothie—just a drop to perk them up as they transition from fluffy egg blob to actual chick-in-charge. Ive used it on parrots for decades.