Heart broken, don't know what happened...

[bambi808]

- I rescued a 3 week old wild baby chick from a dog back in march. I've raised her and had her all the way up until now. On Sunday she wasn't being her normal energetic self. She wanted to stay in her cage all day, barely moving and slept standing up with her feathers poofed out, tail drooping and barely making any peeping sounds like she normally did. I was worried about her and she would love for me to just hold and pet her. I stayed up late that night worried about her and woke up to her sounding close to her normal self the following morning begging to be let out of her cage to roam around. She seemed more energetic, flapped her wings and walked about the house awhile before coming back to roost on me and fall asleep while I petted her. I came home from work last night and as soon as she saw me cried to be let out. I let her out but she was more interested in following me around and having me carry her rather then peck around. I fed her a few pieces of cooked steak which she loved, she gobbled it up. She came to me to roost on me again (i usually put an old tshirt or sheet on my chest and she would fall asleep on me) for an hour or so before I put her back in her cage. I woke up early this morning and found she had passed away... any idea what could have caused this? Did I do something wrong by feeding her some pieces of cooked steak? I am devastated. When she wasn't feeling well I noticed her poop was very watery and white. It also didn't dawn on me until I found her this morning that there was not that much poop when i cleaned her cage last night... totally heart broken

 

[Yay Chicks!]

I'm very sorry for your loss, but also want to welcome you to BYC. I hope that you get the answers you need and learn what you need to learn to perhaps have chicks again. You've learned how fun they can be.
I don't know if it was the steak. That should not be an issue if they were small pieces and the chick had access to grit.
Sometimes poop can become watery if it is hot and the chick is drinking a lot, but that is a guess.
Could the lack of poop indicate pasty butt? Was the chick's vent blocked by dried poop?
Other questions might include type of feed used, etc.
Again, very sorry.

 

[Brand New Chicken Momma]

I'm so sorry for your loss, I don't have enough experience to say what may have happened but I'm sending you hugs

I'm sure someone on this site will have some insight and maybe help to give you closure.

 

[bambi808]

Thank you both very much, can't stop crying...

she didn't have pasty butt and her vent didn't appear to be blocked at all. She was sneezing off and on for more than a month and i was worried about that, but because she was energetic and didn't have any drainage i dismissed it. She did have access to grit and was very finicky about the foods she ate. She didn't care much for the chicken starter or baby mash once her feathers grew in and the worker at the local pet store recommended trying finisher (sp?) food which she loved. So she ate those crumbles and a bit of scratch. I would give her cooked veggies (she didn't really care for raw lettuce or veggies) and even tried giving her boiled eggs which she didn't care for. Even if she seemed a little better yesterday i can't help but wonder if maybe i shouldn't have fed her the steak and if i hadn't, would she be alive today

ugh i miss her!

 

[1livelychick]

so sorry..Her immune system might have been fighting a virus....based on the sneezing on and off. Just a thought Sounds like you did everything you could for her. She was lucky to have you.
Hugs to you...

 

[thndrdancr]

No, dont feel a bit bad about the steak. I feed mine hamburger and steak all the time and they dearly love it. It was a treat that you gave her that she loved and actually ate.

If she had the sneezes, she had some type of respiratory illness and just couldnt shake it. Not sure what she had, but you gave her comfort in her last moments. Had nothing whatsoever to do with giving her the steak so rest assured about that, it probably helped make her feel better even. When any of mine are sick I will give them anything they want in order to get any food in them, so you did right there.

Hugs to you, she sounds much loved. So sorry bout your lil love passing.

 

[carrlr]

Welcome to BYC! So sorry about your loss. I don't think you did anything wrong. I've had chicks seem perfectly fine one day and be gone the next. Sometimes there is no explanation. She was lucky to have you take such good care of her and provide her love.

 

[dmccann]

 

[equine chick]

All I can say is so sorry... But you have come to the right place, I definitely think you need to get more chicks.

 

[bambi808]

I'm so happy I found this site... Thank you everyone for all your kindness and replies, I really appreciate it and it helps so much. I will definitely look into getting more chickens after I stop grieving... They make the best pets and companions