Four day old chick causing me some concern..

[CrazyChickens09]

I have a four day old chick who is a lot quieter than the other chicks. It is currently housed with three other chicks that are bustling about and the chick I am concerned about is over in the corner trying to sleep and just overall acts blah. Here is the need to know information:

Brooder Temp- Approx. 100 degrees (now lowered to correct temp.)
Food- Medicated Chick feed (free choice)
Bedding- paper towels
Water- Rural water with electrolytes
Never has been outside or exposed to chickens outside

Poops look fairly normal but I did notice a few minutes ago that when I pick the chick up I can feel crackling under the wings and the chick appears to be breathing harder/faster that the others. I have VetRx, Tylan-50, and some -cyline antibiotics if needed.

 

[ChickensAreSweet]

Brooder temps should be:

First week of life 90-95
Decrease by 5 degrees per week until fully feathered, usually at 6 weeks, even on the head.

Your brooder is too hot.
They easily get overheated.

If you have 100 degrees directly under the light but then are brooding in a large area such as a shed, and the rest of the shed is say, at 70 degrees, then you would be just fine.


But if the whole brooder is 100 degrees and they can't get away from the heat (they always need to be able to get away from the heat even if it is the perfect temp. for them) then they may die.

 

[gander007]

Here take a look at my old brooder it my be real close to 20 years
old but it still works fine ... can you see the ventilation holes in the
side this helps let the heat out and the chicks still have room to
move around and away from the heat .....






See the heater and lights in the background ........


Water feed and correct temps are vital .......

cook up some hard boiled egg's for your chicks to recover from
the excessive heat now just remove the shell and mash up real
good and serve ....









gander007

 

[CrazyChickens09]

ok I got the temperature down to 95. They are in a medium sized open top tub so they have plenty of space to get away from the heat.

 

[gander007]

ok I got the temperature down to 95. They are in a medium sized open top tub so they have plenty of space to get away from the heat.

By this weekend bring it down to 90F in the hottest spot

Good luck and take care

 

[ChickensAreSweet]

Quote: x2

Good job!

 

[farnorth]

Try encouraging it to drink. Some of them don't drink enough at first or need to be shown more than once. We had a chick like that last year and making sure she drank some water (with chick elecrolites in it) every hour she came around after a couple days. She still has the name "Sleepy" though because she was always sleepy and lethargic while the other chicks ran all over and they kept knocking her over. Once she got good and hydrated she was running around with them.