HELP chick having hard time

[mommom97]

My granddaughter picked out a baby last Monday and it is having a hard time getting it's food and water to leave its crop. Does anyone have any advice?

 

[Judy]

Is the crop empty (flat) in the morning after it hasn't eaten all night? It is normal for the crop to fill up and stick out a little during the day. If you aren't sure, try removing the food for 8 or 10 hours, and turn off the lights if you can (depending how small it is and whether it needs warmth. You may be able to keep it warm with a heating pad on low for one night.)

If it's still full after a night of no food, try putting a few drops of vegetable oil in its mouth. If the chick is on pine shavings, it would be good to cover the with paper towels or an old towel for a few days, til it learns the difference between food and shavings better. Most chicks will eat a little of the pine shavings. Somethines it's mre than a little.

 

[mommom97]

It's crop was really flat this morning and it was weak.I have it in dirt but Ithink the feed sstore had shaving. I live in the desert so I don't have to be worried about keeping her warm, in fact the other two I got at the same time are also in the house so they don't get too hot.

I have been giving her gator aid this morning, it has perked her up. I've been doing it with a syringe. I will try some cooking oil too and see if that helps her. I'll let ya know.

 

[BantamLover21]

It's crop was really flat this morning and it was weak.I have it in dirt but Ithink the feed sstore had shaving. I live in the desert so I don't have to be worried about keeping her warm, in fact the other two I got at the same time are also in the house so they don't get too hot.

I have been giving her gator aid this morning, it has perked her up. I've been doing it with a syringe. I will try some cooking oil too and see if that helps her. I'll let ya know.

If it is flat, then your chick probably isn't having trouble with its crop. A flat crop in the morning is normal, but most of the rest of the day, chicks have at least some feed in their crop. But if you want to be sure that the chick is fine, you can try giving her some oil.

Dirt might not be the best bedding. Shavings, chopped straw, or coarse sand all make good beddings. Shredded paper can be used, too. And what are you feeding your chicks? Somehow, you need to get the weak chick to eat some solid food. Perhaps try giving it some scrambled or hard-boiled egg, applesauce, or chick feed that has been softened/dissolved with water.

The gatorade is good for getting her strength up, but I'm not sure what the long-term effects of a human drink are on chickens. If you could find/have most of these ingredients, here below is a home-made chicken electrolytes mixture recipe. It was taken from The Chicken Health Handbook by Gail Damerow:

Ingredient: Source:

1/3 teaspoon potassium chloride Salt substitute
1/2 teaspoon sodium bicorbonate Baking soda
1 teaspoon sodium chloride table salt
2 quarts water

You could also mix some sugar into your chicks water to give her more energy.

 

[mommom97]

I was told by a feed store about the gator aid. I just gave her some grits, not a lot, and she is up walking a little and she did poop a little. She is chirping better so I am hopeful this will work. I will keep your recipe handy. Thanks.

 

[cafarmgirl]

How old is this chick and is it outside at night? If so what are your nighttime temps? Are you feeding them chick starter?

 

[mommom97]

I have them inside because it is too hot outside. Our night temps are usually in the high 80's to low 90's. I am feeding starter feed.

 

[mommom97]

I tried all the advice you all gave me, but I lost her. This is probably sound cruel but I did an autopsy and found that her crop had not attached to the stomach. Well I think I was looking at the stomach.

 

[Judy]

I'm sorry you had to go through this. But there is nothing cruel about it at all. It may be hard to do, but I think it's good to know what was happening inside.

It seems a certain percent of them die without our knowing why. This shows that sometimes there is nothing anyone could have done, which at least offers a little comfort.

 

[BantamLover21]

I tried all the advice you all gave me, but I lost her. This is probably sound cruel but I did an autopsy and found that her crop had not attached to the stomach. Well I think I was looking at the stomach.

I am sorry that this happened. But what you did wasn't cruel. Sometimes chickens die for an unknown reason, and doing an autopsy helps us find out why.