Dying Chick? Dead? Help!

[DellaMyDarling]

She was fine last night.
Now she's not.
Found under MHP.
I think she's gone

Boy brought her in, opening her mouth. He said at 6AM she was laying down. He's blaming himself of course because he realized too late he should've brought her in.

Ruh roh. What went wrong?!
What do I do to possibly prevent another?
Crop was full but didn't feel hard to me, it was squishable.
I tried stimulating but I think it was too late.

 

[DobieLover]

She was fine last night.
Now she's not.
Found under MHP.
I think she's gone

Boy brought her in, opening her mouth. He said at 6AM she was laying down. He's blaming himself of course because he realized too late he should've brought her in.

Ruh roh. What went wrong?!
What do I do to possibly prevent another?
Crop was full but didn't feel hard to me, it was squishable.
I tried stimulating but I think it was too late.

Sorry for your loss.
How old was the chick?
Can you provide pictures of your setup?
What are you feeding them?
How many chicks do you have?
Do you have any adult chickens?

 

[DellaMyDarling]

Hmm, important details.

We have adult chickens that are not in contact directly with the chicks (hatched and shipped Monday.)

Just left home, will update with pics.

There were 16 chicks.

Eating non medicated starter. They were vaccinated at hatchery.

 

[Mybackyardpeepers]

Coming from first hand experience, you may not always know why. Especially if it's a chick. Please tell your son not to beat himself up over it, it's not going to solve or change anything. Mine were indoors right under my nose and I lost chicks! Best of luck.

 

[Henriettamom919]

Gosh hon, there could be so many things that can happen even when you do everything perfect it's hard to say! It's hard but especially with shipping/stress sometimes it just happens!

I'm so sorry!

 

[Mybackyardpeepers]

Gosh hon, there could be so many things that can happen even when you do everything perfect it's hard to say! It's hard but especially with shipping/stress sometimes it just happens!

I'm so sorry!

This is my fear. I have chicks coming from hathery soon, first time mail ordering. Thank goodness they don't have far to travel.

 

[chkva]

When I first started getting into chickens, everyone told me to expect a few losses when getting chicks. Sometimes they pass away just from the stress of shipping and some pass away because of natural causes... Sometimes you never even know why they passed away.

Tell your son that it is not his fault, that there will be losses because that's how nature is. I think kids tend to take losses a lot harder than we do as adults especially when it comes to animals because they feel like they were the reason that they passed away... They don't get it's a natural thing in the animal world. We as humans can prevent death with medications, doctor's, and other means but animals just let nature take it's course.

I'm sorry for your loss and your son's Thank you for being a parent who's allowing their child to grow up raising animals because we need more animal people in this world!

I know when I first started with chickens and lost a few chicks, I took it personally and I felt like it was all my fault. Fast forward to today (4 years ago), I lost an Easter Egger to a Raven (I let my chicks free range for maybe 2 hours while I went grocery shopping and it was lifting my chick away as I pulled in the driveway) and told that Raven I hope you choke on it! Then went and bought 2 Jersey Giants so when I let them free range in a few weeks that raven will have one heck of a time!

 

[Henriettamom919]

This is my fear. I have chicks coming from hathery soon, first time mail ordering. Thank goodness they don't have far to travel.

Try not to worry too much! Lots of people get shipped chicks and everything is fine. How many and what kinds are you getting? (Chicks are like crack to me and I'm not above secondhand chick enjoyment! )

 

[DobieLover]

Hmm, important details.

We have adult chickens that are not in contact directly with the chicks (hatched and shipped Monday.)

Just left home, will update with pics.

There were 16 chicks.

Eating non medicated starter. They were vaccinated at hatchery.

It sounds like the little one just failed to thrive.
Make sure the rest are active, check for pasty butt regularly and make sure everything single chick is eating and drinking.
Looking forward to the pictures. They often answer lots of questions.

 

[DobieLover]

This is my fear. I have chicks coming from hathery soon, first time mail ordering. Thank goodness they don't have far to travel.

Some things that you'll want to do and look for. First, provide electrolytes in their water for the first 3 days. Second, make sure each and every chick is eating and drinking when they arrive. Third make sure that the brooder is not too hot or cold. Brooding with a MHP or a brooder plate is far superior to a heat lamp.
I also recommend leaving lights on 24/7 for three days so the chicks can eat enough to gain strength and recover from the shipping stress.
Watch for pasty butt and for chicks just standing in front of or staying under the heat source. They will need extra support immediately in the form of poultry nutri drench or equivalent. Saturate a q-tip PND and touch it to the side of their beak so it wicks in and they drink it if it's required.