HELP, baby chicken won't stop distressed chirping!!!!

[Smoda]

Hi,

I have 3 chickens, 18 days old. My problem is one little chick (Saturn) will not stop chirping. Temperature is fine, all birds are eating well.
2 (Butter-Grumbles and Persnicketts) are as quiet and chilled out as can be.

Saturn will not stop distressed chirp. Temperature, food, hand holding and snuggling does not stop the distressed chirps.

I am at a loss. Saturn is disrupting the sleep of Butter-Grumbles and Persnicketts and I just don't know how else to help her settle!!?

I have been weighing them daily and Saturn is not putting on much weight. The past week Butter-Grumbles and Persnicketts have put on 11-15 gms where as Saturn only 4 gms.

All chicks are different breeds. Australorp, gold laced wyandotte and Saturn is a suspected Wyandotte of some type.

Any advice?

 

[Lozuufy]

Saturn may not be getting enough nutrition, maybe she is eating some bedding and filling up on that or the feed is to large for her to eat enough of. You could try grinding it up a bit in a coffee grinder (we have a cheap one dedicated to grinding up poultry feed). Maybe hard boil an egg and mash it up with their feed for a little extra nutrition. You could also add some Save-a chick or Nutri-drench to their water.

 

[Smoda]

Thanks Lozuufy, this is very handy advice!

 

[Lozuufy]

Your welcome

. Hope she starts growing (and stops cheeping

) soon!

Welcome to BYC also!

 

[ambe0487]

Any pasty butt? Sour crop? I have one right about the same age doing a similar thing. 7 of my 8 have tripled in size but she is almost the same size from hatch

 

[Smoda]

Oh gee, sounds serious. She doesn't seem to have any poo around her bottom. What should I do if it's sour crop? How would I find out? Thanks for the reply.

 

[Lozuufy]

With sour crop her crop would be constantly squishy like a water balloon and her breath may smell really bad like fermented feed (but not always).

 

[Smoda]

I'll have a feel of her crop. I just googled sour crop and it suggested I give her some crustless bread soaked in olive oil to help encourage any blockages.

 

[Lozuufy]

Sorry I have to go offline. If it is sour crop @casportpony probably knows how to treat it, not sure if she's online right now though. Some people give chickens with sour crop a tiny bit of yogurt for pro-biotics or apple sauce or apple cider vinigar to balance ph and help treat it

 

[appps]

I would start by looking at what sort of bedding you have them on? If all they are eating is chick starter then the bedding is the only thing could cause a crop issue. Treatment for sour crop is pretty brutal I would think for a couple week old chick (don't they hold them upside down and massage till they vomit it up?), I would do some more research on signs and treatment in a chick that young first.

In the meantime I would remove the bedding you are using and see if she improves with that gone in case she is just eating wood shavings.