Do I have a "sick chick?"

[Balloonjuice]

I just received a shipment of chicks on Tuesday (25 total). All of them are seemingly doing well, but one is acting lethargic. She doesn't seem to want to move around or chirp like the others. If I pick her up she will cheep as much as the others (and in the same way -- it is not a distress call), but she just sits in the brooder. I have "dipped" her beak and she will drink when I do so, but she does not scurry about at all.

If this one is sick should I remove her from the brooder so she doesn't infect the others? Is this common and she'll grow out of it? Has anyone else seen this behavior in 1 out of 25 healthy chicks?

 

[red horse ranch]

Yes. It's possible the stress of shipping or getting chilled affected the chick. I don't think it needs separated unless the others pick on it. Making sure the chick drinks and keeping it warm is about all you can do for it. It really needs to be eating by now but if it won't eat there isn't much you can do for it. You can put some sugar in it's drinking water.
Sometimes it's hard to keep them alive when this happens. It's not uncommon to lose a few of them after being shipped. Sometimes after 3 or 4 days. But we always hope that they will come out of it.

 

[Balloonjuice]

Yes. It's possible the stress of shipping or getting chilled affected the chick. I don't think it needs separated unless the others pick on it. Making sure the chick drinks and keeping it warm is about all you can do for it. It really needs to be eating by now but if it won't eat there isn't much you can do for it. You can put some sugar in it's drinking water.
Sometimes it's hard to keep them alive when this happens. It's not uncommon to lose a few of them after being shipped. Sometimes after 3 or 4 days. But we always hope that they will come out of it.

Thanks for the help, Red Horse Ranch. It will make me a little sad to lose one of the girls, but circle of life I guess. I'm just glad to hear that I'm not going to have to separate her (unless the others begin to pick on her). That would have been almost certain death for her. This is my first batch of chicks and I'm not sure exactly what to expect. Just trying to stay ahead of it -- keeping them warm and protected and providing food and water.

 

[red horse ranch]

Now that they have began to eat and drink you need to check them pretty often for pasty butt. This is real common in shipped chicks. Most people will clean it with a damp cloth being careful not to let the chick get chilled. I usually just pick off the dried poop. This will also pull out a little of down around their vent which will help prevent more from sticking. If the poop is too hard to pull off then you will have to use the damp cloth method. Please don't hesitate to ask for advice since this is your first time with newborns.

 

[Balloonjuice]

Thanks RHR. I checked on her just now and she had died. I removed her from the brooder and buried her quite a distance from the building. Hopefully it was deep enough that she won't attract varmints. Thanks for the tip on the pasty butt. I had read about it and I think a couple of my chicks may need a wiping. There is a green dot on or near or over their vent, so I suspect that's the condition we're talking about, yes?

I was using some longish metal feeders and the chicks had an attitude of "queen of the hill" on it. I just received some plastic feeders with green bases from (am I allowed to say who?) a vendor and the chicks decided they would much rather eat from green plastic openings than from the metal openings.

The other 24 seem to be doing well. Thanks for your help. I found this site last June and have been updating my photo gallery. I found the chicken coop and brooders on the property that we purchased a couple of years ago for our retirement home. Retirement = reclaiming a wilderness. LOL

 

[red horse ranch]

Sorry to hear that the chick.died. I've had of lot of them like that and they rarely survive. More than likely it just got chilled.
The green poop is usually how it looks at first. Once some solid food gets thru their system the poop will be dark with some white in it. That is the stuff that usually sticks to their down. But if the green stuff is blocking the vent it needs to be cleaned off.
I have some of the metal feeders that you're talking about too. And my chicks seem to like the bright colored plastic ones best. Must be the color that they like.
There's a wealth of information on this site. I'm still working my way thru it. But I usually spend most of my time on incubating and raising. I do love the little ones!