HELP -2 Day Old Chick Question!- **PIC**

[CodyChristine]

Hi Everyone, I'm a first time chicken mommy and I have a 2 day old buff orpington chick that was really picky at her butt yesterday when I brought them home. I checked her and she was clean so I left her be. Well, today I noticed she had a little bit of poo on her butt and dried in the fuzz but her vent was open and not shut. I cleaned it all off and put some vegetable oil around the vent with a q-tip. When I did this, I noticed she had picked a lot of the hair off earlier. She is also pretty lethargic and sleepy compared to the rest of the chicks. They are running around like crazy and will plow her over and she's always sleepy. She will eat and drink. I have them on non-medicated starter feed and water with vitamins/electrolytes in it. They are in a brooder in our laundry room and the temp has been consistently 93-96 degrees. I attached a pic of what she looks like AFTER I cleaned her up and put vegetable oil on it (why it looks so shiny) . Any suggestions from all you experts? The others are not picking at her. Should I keep her with them or separate her?

Thanks in advance!!!

 

[debakadeb]

I'm also a new chick mom so can't really help with this. She may just be a weaker chick or have a case of diarreah.

 

[raindrop]

Sounds like pasty butt. Usually it is caused by shipping stress, chilling, etc. Keep the area clean, I usually use a little warm water and then put oil or Vaseline on like you did. Keep trying to get her to eat, offer warm mash of chick starter, maybe mix in a little plain yogurt.
If she won't eat, she may be a failure to thrive chick. Some just don't make it. Good luck.

 

[CodyChristine]

Quote:
Thanks! I keep checking her and she is still eating and drinking so that is good. I hope she pulls through. Do they usually pick the hair off like that?

 

[silkiechicken]

If there was poo stuck, they may have picked it off trying to get the poo off.

 

[Love my Critters!]

When I got my last shipment of cheeps in, I had the same problem with a few of them. I did just what you did. The ones that seemed lethargic or "sleepy" all the time, I made a warm mash in the blender with moistened starter, a boiled egg, and a pinch of sugar. I took the sickly chicks one at a time and hand fed them the mash with a spoon. I held it to their beak and kind of forced them to eat it. It worked GREAT! I fed that to each of them twice in one day and that was all. They continued to thrive and be active, and it also stimulated them to eat the starter food in the brooder. You may give that a try. Good luck. I know it's hard to see them look so weak and sad.

 

[CodyChristine]

Thanks everyone. She is doing better today so keeping my fingers crossed!