Help ! Chick dying....

[rayb]

Our one Black Star has suddenly gone down hill very fast. They are two weeks old and all the other chicks seem healthy and vibrant. This little girl is very lethargic and laying down. She is smaller than the other chicks so I don't know if that is from something being wrong for a time now or she is just small. The other chicks are a RIR, two EE's, and 14 White Rocks.

Anyway, is there anything I can do? There is no obvious sign of injury. She does not try and get away when you pick her up and she is normally the hardest one to catch. Her craw (spelling?) seems to be filled with air or water, no feed so she isn't eating. She was perfectly healthy last night when we took them out in the yard. There are no poisons or chemicals in the yard. We live on 10 acres so no neighbor issues.

I've dipped her beak in a little sugar water to try and give her some energy but she isn't even trying to drink it.

Any suggestions?

Ray

 

[arlee453]

Sorry your chick is going downhill...

My only suggestion is that if the chick is smaller, it may not be large enough to jostle for position at the feeder, which means less nutrition, which means slower growth, etc until you get a vicious cycle ending with a chick that just fails to thrive.

Not sure if that is the issue here or not though...

What I would do is separate that chick every few hours and offer a warm (not too hot) mash made up of chick starter and warm water. Dip her beak into the mash and see if you can get her to eat any of it. Continue to offer 'alone' time at the feed like that a few times per day just to make sure that chick is getting enough.

I hope she turns around for you!