Eggs not hatching Day 21.5

[aprillbailey]

I wouldn't feed day-old chicks mealworms.

I give them mealworms if they're lethargic and not eating enough clearly because of all the extra nutrients put a bunch of them in my hands and roll my hands back and forth until they're nothing but dust and the crumble might be too big I also even though I get the starter food for the ticks I still crush them again before I put them anywhere near the babies way too many stories out there about little chickies choking on the crumble I've heard that egg is good for them but I'll tell you what I gave mine some yogurt because I read that that was even better and they absolutely loved it they would eat it and love it and freak out and then freak out to try to get it off their beak and go running back for more but that's at about a week old if you're doing it before then then it's a necessary thing and you're trying to save a baby life the most important thing especially the first few days is to make sure that they get electrolytes in their water make sure that they get the water and that you can fatten them up because so many of them die from lack of nutrition it's no one's fault it's just nature but help it along and there is bird formula that you can get where you can feed it with a syringe straight into its crop from its beak it goes right from mouth to tummy with Birds you get a baby syringe with tiniest you can find like an insulin one obviously without the needle and then you make baby bird formula and you put it right to the back of their throat make sure you don't get the tongue in there you want to make sure it's on top of the tongue and then you are yes kind of force feeding it but it'll live and that's what's important is it needs you to give it some help right now I don't know a whole lot about chickens but I did raise dozens of different species of inside Birds for almost 30 years and by the way you can get baby bird formula at just about any pet store and even if it's not for chickens right now keeping it alive is more important than worrying about that stuff you can give it the crumbles later right now let's keep it breathing that's a life it's a beautiful wonderful thing you do what it takes I just sucked the mud out of a peacock's nostrils and blew a tiny breath into its nostrils once I got them cleared to save its life we do what we have to

 

[Huntmaster]

@aprillbailey Glad to hear you want and do help birds survive and that is a great thing but there are a few things I would change or delete from your post before inexperienced people do more damage to birds than helping them. Mainly I wouldn't force feed hatchlings/poultry unless it is absolutely necessary and there are some very important precautions to take before doing it especially with small hatchlings. You stated to place syringe on top of tongue. That is not the case should always be off to the side placing it over the tongue will direct it into lungs and will kill more birds than it will help. There are some very valuable threads on here about tube feeding /force feeding that anybody going to try it should read. Everything else just needs some clarification. As far as chick crumble it is ground for chicks already and have never seen a chick choke on crumble designed for them and I have hatched and raised hundreds of different poultry/turkey/ ducks/gamebirds. Some do grind for quail hatchlings, but some feed manufactures recommend against it. As far as feeding chicks other things besides their starter crumble like mealworms or other treats they should have grit in their systems before you give them that stuff, so they don't get impacted. I did see you crumbled the meal worms to dust most folks don't know that feeding them whole or live but there are better options. Soft egg yolks yogurt wetted starter to make a mash. I use nutri-drench in their water and wetted starter mash and for hatchlings in real need give them a drop to side of beak very slowly letting them drink it down themselves a few times a day, there are other products like you stated to use for electrolytes and vitamins that are also good. Not trying to bash you and know you are just trying to help but some of the things you stated need clarification for some less experienced folks. Love your desire to help and that's what most folks here on BYC are more than happy to do. Glad to have you here joining us on BYC.