I received shipped chicks last Wednesday from Cackle. 17 bantams total. I lost 4 in shipping, and another 3 in the next two days. They all looked DOA and were very cold. I am down to 10 chicks now, and one is a runt. He has very little feather growth and is tiny compared to his flock mates. I am providing and trying the following, since he is moving around some and chirping constantly but not eating and drinking on his own: -ACV, probiotics, and electrolytes in water -Syringe feeding 4 times a day (moistened chick starter with boiled egg yolk). Crop massage after to expel air, or else crop feels like a balloon. Crop empties after about 2 hours. -Separated from the others by a cage in the brooder with his own food and water dishes -Temp is at 99 degrees on the floor with plenty of room for him to move away if too hot -Checked for pasty butt, not present. Cleaned his bottom anyways and emptied his bowel to check poop for abnormalities. -Poop resembled chick starter with lots of bubbles and gas. -No foul odors on chick or coming from mouth -Belly looks and feels as it should, no swelling or discoloration -Legs and feet look good, chick wobbles a little when walking -Eyes and nose look ok, no discharge present, chick spends a lot of time standing still with eyes closed I live in the middle of nowhere, so not much access to any supplies. I did give honey water to all chicks upon arrival and it helped, but I have stopped it now since the rest are doing great. This little one just isn't thriving. He is energetic and tries to get out of my hand when I open his beak to push food. Just not eating/drinking on his own or growing. Should I give it some more time with the hand feedings and see if there is improvement? I would hate to have to cull after putting in all this effort. Any suggestions? Am I forgetting something?
Too many supplements in the water, you're going to overload the chick. lose the apple cider vinegar; leave the electrolytes in the water . for probiotics give the chicken little bit of Greek yogurt vanilla instead of putting it in the water. Also ,if you have room ,put in a second water with just plain water in it so the chicks get a chance to choose. 99 is too hot it should be no higher than 85-90 degrees on the floor. Best, Karen
OK, I will change out the water, it's not like he's drinking it anyways. I don't have any yogurt and the store is 45 minutes away, so I am not driving out there for just yogurt for a chick. I tried raising the heat lamp to cool it off, and he huddled in the corner closest he could get to the heat and chirped loudly for twenty minutes. He is a very tiny cochin bantam with barely any feather growth and he doesn't have much meat on his bones, so I think he's too cold at 85-90 degrees?
