Got new chicks, one is having trouble walking and is sleepy! Help!

[Amaryllis_Agilis]

I just got two new chicks, one is having trouble walking and keeps slipping. It can walk a little on pine shavings, but not any slippery surfaces. I believe it's a female, and I don't know the breed. It's probably just a day or two old. It chirps a lot, but also falls asleep quickly. What could be the cause of this problem and how do I fix it?

 

[azygous]

All baby chicks need a non-smooth surface or they will slip and slide. Yours however, may be suffering from shipping stress. It's still cold in most places and chicks can get chilled enroute.

Give your chick some warm sugar water with Poultry Nutri-drench in it. Do this every hour or so until the chick perks up.

 

[CluckNDoodle]

When you say it's slipping, is it's leg actually shooting out from under it like splay leg?

 

[Amaryllis_Agilis]

When you say it's slipping, is it's leg actually shooting out from under it like splay leg?

Yes, but if it walks on pine shavings, it still walks in a weird way. It almost fell backwards once.

 

[Amaryllis_Agilis]

Give your chick some warm sugar water with Poultry Nutri-drench in it. Do this every hour or so until the chick perks up.

I'll try that, but I don't have any Poultry Nutri-drench.

 

[CluckNDoodle]

Yes, but if it walks on pine shavings, it still walks in a weird way. It almost fell backwards once.

If it's splay leg you can use a thin strip of vet wrap as a little brace to keep the chicks legs underneath it. Once the muscles strengthen it will be able to walk normally. This usually only takes 2-3 days.

I would also give the chick a vitamin supplement as @azygous suggested. If you don't have access to Nutridrench for poultry, Polyvisol WITHOUT iron is a liquid baby vitamin that can be found at most drug stores and some grocery stores and it is safe to use with the chick as well.

If you're able to upload a video to youtube and share the link here that would be the most helpful so that we can see for sure what you're dealing with but even a picture may be helpful.

 

[Wyorp Rock]

I just got two new chicks, one is having trouble walking and keeps slipping. It can walk a little on pine shavings, but not any slippery surfaces. I believe it's a female, and I don't know the breed. It's probably just a day or two old. It chirps a lot, but also falls asleep quickly. What could be the cause of this problem and how do I fix it?

Yes, but if it walks on pine shavings, it still walks in a weird way. It almost fell backwards once.

A video would be good, if not some photos may be helpful. Include some of your brooder as well.
Did the chick walk funny when you first got her or did she start that after she was on a slippery surface? If she started afterward, take a look at her joints (hocks), is there any swelling?

As mentioned, chicks need to be on a non-slip surface.
For the first week or so, I usually line the brooder with puppy pads this is easy for chicks to walk on. For added "traction" you can also place shelf liner over top of the puppy pads, I have done that too. I usually pick up liner at a store like Dollar General, it's $1-2 a roll.
An example of this is in the video at the end of this article.
https://the-chicken-chick.com/spraddle-leg-in-baby-chicks-what-is-it/