Help...baby chicks arrived today..2 very sickly

[Paintedhorsegirl]

I got 7 polish chicks come by mail order today...Ive alwasy said I would never get chicks that way because i worry of them not making it..Well 2 areent doing well at all. 5 are lively and 2 looked dead but moved their feet when i picked them up...so i quickly got some sugar water and a dropper and started giving it to them...they are in a shoe box in the brooder to seperate them...how often should i give them sugar water...i also have electrolytes, im gonna give them some. what else can I do..I want to save them....

 

[Country4ever]

I would say to continue doing what you're doing, and keep them warm.
Good luck!

 

[Paintedhorsegirl]

is it possible to give them too much sugar water or electrolytes...? I dont want to over do it

 

[Paintedhorsegirl]

one of them is laying on its side but keeps movings its legs real fast like it wants to get up but if I put it up on its feet it falls back over....aaahhh....

 

[Paintedhorsegirl]

well nevermind, they died

 

[Sorin]

I'm so sorry

You did everything you could, there really isn't much else you can do for them when they are like that.

 

[mccabe]

Aloha Paintedhorsegirl. This is probably not what you want to hear, but from someone who has been raising chickens on and off for 30 years, my advice is to consider the good luck of five healthy and put down the two sickly. The healthy ones are the place to put your money, effort, time and attention. The reasons could be myriad. My hens raise my chicks and I've never had a hen raise all she hatched. One gets stepped on, another is born weak or sickly; there are always a few losses. The five healthy will, in time, produce more chicks. I know what you are going through. Women, and mothers especially, are encoded to enrich and improve life, not destroy it. I am the worse. I had a rat attack a one month old baby just a few weeks ago. Brutal attack, but it lived. I kept it alive, hand fed it, kept it in the house. It became a pet. But it quit growing and no longer fit in with its siblings. I couldn't turn it back to the general population. He had tremendous spirit and I just didn't want to face facts. But I finally put him down. Honestly, the five need you. Think like a mother hen. She's face down a chain saw for her babies, but when the writing is on the wall, she turns away and concentrates on those she can still protect, the strong and lucky of her brood. Farming is not for sissies. Best of luck. jeannie mccabe

 

[mccabe]

Oh goodness. I didn't read far enough. Good they have passed. From your description they just had weak systems and probably just weakened until nerve, blood, breathing slowed. My hens have hatched ones that fell over backward and never gained any ground, passing within a day or two. They are fragile. NOW. Watch the others. Skip sugar water and such. Good chick starter, plenty of water, warmth, clean surroundings should be all that is necessary. If another develops any similar symptoms, get rid of it right away. Five out of seven is very good. You obviously chose a good company to purchase your chicks. Good for you.

 

[Paintedhorsegirl]

Quote:
Thank you..Its always sad to lose a chick but now Im focusing on my other 5...they seem to be ok so far...

 

[Country4ever]

So sorry for your loss. You did what you could. Sometimes, there's no solution.