Gasping chick

[TheBeebs]

So our neighbors surprised us with to baby chicks yesterday after their dog got into our yard over the weekend and killed 2 of our chickens. The 2 chicks are probably 4 to 5 days old. One of them seems perfectly fine but the other 1 was just kind of standing hunched in the Box when they handed them to us. I immediately took them inside and put them under the heat lamp but the one that wasn't doing that good started going downhill very quickly. It breathes very heavily but nothing but open mouth gasping breaths. Then from time to time she will jump up and she is really strong when she does that but then her body will go limp again. After a couple of hours of this she got a little better and was able to stand up and drink a little bit. But eventually as she goes back to laying down and gasping. She has survived the night and still doing the same thing. I know that the neighbors have a little boy of about 5 who was with them when they gave us the chicks. The only explanation I can find is that maybe he held the chick way too tight or had dropped it. What do you guys think. I want to save her is there anything you can advise me to do.

 

[EggSighted4Life]

Check for pasty butt, it's deadly fast and easy to miss.

Also is there too much heat or a place to get away from it if they want?

Are they eating and drinking?

Also... welcome to BYC!

And sorry for your loss.

 

[TheBeebs]

Thank you and thanks for your reply. Yes there is light on only one half of the cage. She eats and drinks the bare minimum when she can stop gasping and can get up which doesn't happen very often. When she is laying down gasping I have been putting drops of honey water Next to her beak . When she touches it she drinks a little bit. So far I don't know if that's helping or not. And her butt is clean.

 

[TheBeebs]

I have raised a lot of chicks but I have not seen anything like this. If I buy chicks from a store I usually hands pick them because I can spot the ones that are not doing very good. Sense this one was given to me I do not know if it was already sick or maybe something happened to it on the way. I find it a cruel joke of life that their dog would kill 2 of my chickens and then they would give me one that is dying...