- Sep 11, 2011
- 12
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Just joined so a bit cheeky to ask for help so soon but it is an emergency.
We lost a hen for some weeks and only found her when I happened to hear cheeping coming from the neighbour's bracken jungle. By the time we found the girl there were only two, comatose, hypothermic chicks. I fired up the incubator and brought them round but at the end of the first day the weaker one gave up and died.
The second one, although drinking alright, cannot be persuaded to eat chick crumbs after 3 days. The only way I'm keeping it alive is feeding it liquid egg yolk from a tiny tube on the end of a syringe. When I try dropping chick crumbs in front of it, make the clucking sounds and push the crumbs around all it does is look confused or try to climb into my hand to go to sleep.
Can anyone suggest anything I can do to get it to eat properly or maybe alternative food. I've just put chick crumbs through the food processor to get a sort of flour. If I puree this with liquid it *might* be fine enough to get through the feeding tube but I'm doubtful. Am I limited to water with it? Is milk acceptable? Can I put in a little sugar for instant energy or can they not digest it?
The chick is constantly getting its backside sealed up and I have to keep cleaning it. I presume this is because it's getting too much liquid in its feed to produce solid droppings. Does this seem reasonable? There is no sign that it is actually sick, it just won't eat to save its life. It cheeps an average amount and has definitely decided I am its mother.
I'm just about to hard boil an egg so I can try crumbled egg yolk (it knows the taste of liquid yolk already...) but if it won't pick it up were are back to liquids again. Could it have brain damage from the hypothermia? I suspect the other one had because it had trouble with its legs. Apart from spraddle which I was curing with pipe cleaner I think it also had weakness on one side which might have been a sign of brain problems. Anyway, I still have one alive so... any thoughts?
All quick help gratefully received.
Brian
We lost a hen for some weeks and only found her when I happened to hear cheeping coming from the neighbour's bracken jungle. By the time we found the girl there were only two, comatose, hypothermic chicks. I fired up the incubator and brought them round but at the end of the first day the weaker one gave up and died.
The second one, although drinking alright, cannot be persuaded to eat chick crumbs after 3 days. The only way I'm keeping it alive is feeding it liquid egg yolk from a tiny tube on the end of a syringe. When I try dropping chick crumbs in front of it, make the clucking sounds and push the crumbs around all it does is look confused or try to climb into my hand to go to sleep.
Can anyone suggest anything I can do to get it to eat properly or maybe alternative food. I've just put chick crumbs through the food processor to get a sort of flour. If I puree this with liquid it *might* be fine enough to get through the feeding tube but I'm doubtful. Am I limited to water with it? Is milk acceptable? Can I put in a little sugar for instant energy or can they not digest it?
The chick is constantly getting its backside sealed up and I have to keep cleaning it. I presume this is because it's getting too much liquid in its feed to produce solid droppings. Does this seem reasonable? There is no sign that it is actually sick, it just won't eat to save its life. It cheeps an average amount and has definitely decided I am its mother.
I'm just about to hard boil an egg so I can try crumbled egg yolk (it knows the taste of liquid yolk already...) but if it won't pick it up were are back to liquids again. Could it have brain damage from the hypothermia? I suspect the other one had because it had trouble with its legs. Apart from spraddle which I was curing with pipe cleaner I think it also had weakness on one side which might have been a sign of brain problems. Anyway, I still have one alive so... any thoughts?
All quick help gratefully received.
Brian
