First Run of Cornish Cross Meat Birds and Super Excited!

[Morrigan]

I put some probiotics powder (the save-a-chick stuff) in her water yesterday. I'll make the call tonight on the poor little thing.

 

[JessicaThistle]

I put some probiotics powder (the save-a-chick stuff) in her water yesterday. I'll make the call tonight on the poor little thing.

Hey Morrigan, Is the chick eating at all? This chick is so much like the runt that I had that I am super curious. If she starts to eat will you look really close and see whether or not she is picking up any food or if she is just making the pecking motion but not actually touching the food?

Since we got the chicks from the same place, my curiosity is really piqued.

 

[Morrigan]

I can't tell if she is eating very little, or nothing at all. This morning she walked around the food dishes while the other were eating and pecked at the dirt a bit. She may have been finding tiny bits . . . or just pecking. Then when the tray was pretty much empty, she pecked a few times at the scraps in there. She looked like she was eating, albeit it tiny amounts of food.

When she was isolated yesterday, I couldn't tell if she had eaten anything (I put too much in the dish to tell), but when I felt her crop it felt like it had something in there. Tonight I should be able to get a better handle on it, as I only left her with a Tbsp of food.

 

[JessicaThistle]

I am just so curious if she has the same problem mine did. If she did, I would want to contact Jenks about it because it was just so weird. I had to get down level with my chick when she was pecking at food to see it what she was doing exactly.

 

[duluthralphie]

Morrigan. I have another thought, try to get some yogurt into her using an eye dropper force it into her, These are some of my last chance/ last try ideas, I do not do them all the time. I have forced yogurt into them, I think when they get so weak the gizzard can no longer work so I force things that are "pre digested" like yogurt to try and get the strength up.
up.


I suppose you could chew some chick starter and regurgitate it like a mother bird does..


Good luck, really I mean that! I want it to live so badly, I must have post Camp day emotions still.

 

[Morrigan]

Just got back from syringing a teaspoon or two of yoghurt down the little one. It looked like maybe it had pecked the food in the dish, but not much was gone, if any.

I could hear the yoghurt gurgling into her crop as I fed it to her.

All I can do is wait and see what happens.

 

[white oak creek]

I've had good luck using butter milk on the weak chicks! Heck I give it to the adult birds time to time! I'm no poultry scientist but I did grow up on a broiler farm we used to see really small birds at times our field rep said it was a glitch in the cultivator stock kinda like drawfism with a few other problems I've seen em make it they just don't get very big

 

[JRNash]

Glad everything went off well Ralph,And its good to see your sense of humor going full tilt.lol "real milk" with all its fats I would think would be good for them,in moderation as they say.
Morrigan, if its not eating all,then it should stop pooping. If its using the bathroom it has to be eating something. Doesn't it?

 

[Fire Ant Farm]

@Morrigan, I am following this discussion closely. My current meat chicks are about half Naked Necks, half New Hampshires, total of 23 (I think I've said that here before, but I forget which thread I've posted on). Anyhow, one of the New Hampshires was obviously abnormal from day one - clearly blind, uncoordinated, head slightly "off" in shape, would not open her eyes. I came close to culling right then, but I guess I'm a softie as well when it comes to the fuzzy butts and couldn't do it. She seemed to derive such comfort huddling around with all the other chicks that after I toe punched her on day 2 (so I could keep track of her) and left her in the brooder with observation. The only help she had was a little vitamin water via syringe droplets on the first two days. Then she was on her own - I figured she would find the food and water or she wouldn't.

Well, she found the food and water (and fights like a champ to get to them), has grown with the rest, seems to have developed some limited eyesight, but is still clearly not right. No pecking of her by others so far (she sticks up for herself well and shoves around with the best of them to get mealworms) - she's pretty tough. She's 4-5 weeks old now - and yes, still clearly abnormal, and can't hold her wings quite right, and moves a bit strangely, but she does not seem to have a poor quality of life so far. Some of the Naked Necks take turns cuddling next to her (her fellow NHs are just pushy). I'm seeing how far I can get her, but she will almost certainly be the first to go - whether that ends up being more of a cull than an "early harvest" depends on how her growth curve develops. Four week weights indicated a possible start of a drop off for her curve.

Here she is at 3 weeks:



- Ant Farm

 

[JessicaThistle]

@Morrigan, I am following this discussion closely. My current meat chicks are about half Naked Necks, half New Hampshires, total of 23 (I think I've said that here before, but I forget which thread I've posted on). Anyhow, one of the New Hampshires was obviously abnormal from day one - clearly blind, uncoordinated, head slightly "off" in shape, would not open her eyes. I came close to culling right then, but I guess I'm a softie as well when it comes to the fuzzy butts and couldn't do it. She seemed to derive such comfort huddling around with all the other chicks that after I toe punched her on day 2 (so I could keep track of her) and left her in the brooder with observation. The only help she had was a little vitamin water via syringe droplets on the first two days. Then she was on her own - I figured she would find the food and water or she wouldn't.

Well, she found the food and water (and fights like a champ to get to them), has grown with the rest, seems to have developed some limited eyesight, but is still clearly not right. No pecking of her by others so far (she sticks up for herself well and shoves around with the best of them to get mealworms) - she's pretty tough. She's 4-5 weeks old now - and yes, still clearly abnormal, and can't hold her wings quite right, and moves a bit strangely, but she does not seem to have a poor quality of life so far. Some of the Naked Necks take turns cuddling next to her (her fellow NHs are just pushy). I'm seeing how far I can get her, but she will almost certainly be the first to go - whether that ends up being more of a cull than an "early harvest" depends on how her growth curve develops. Four week weights indicated a possible start of a drop off for her curve.

Here she is at 3 weeks:



- Ant Farm

Oh, she is adorable and obviously hollering about it. I admit that i try and try like crazy to save my ill chicks but about 95% of the time, they don't make it. I guess its the 5% that keep me trying. Of course for me, I have over 1000 chickens and I just don't have the time and energy to try to save every little one that looks a bit small or sleepy. It is really hard for me! When there is that many chickens running around it really can be harder to even see a lethargic one sometimes.