Help!! Just Lost 1 Little White Bantam Delivered Today..

[Chickie Mamma]

Hello, I just lost my little white Bantam that was delivered this morning from Ideal. It did not look well when I took it out of the box, but it perked up a bit under the heat. Now its gone and 2 of the little orange bantams do not look well too. I have 10 and the other 7 have been drinking the vitamin water and eating well. The 2 little orange ones now are not eating and looking droopy. What can I do? They are not sneezing, no pasty butt, just lethargic. I put their beaks in the water and they drank a little. Could it just be from the trip? They are much lighter in weight than the others of the same size. Any suggestions would help. Its not something that will wipe them all out? Thanks..

 

[PurpleChicken]

Some losses are a sad fact whether you have shipped eggs or hatch your
own. Try some yogurt. It may help. Make sure they are getting enough
food and water. Nutrition, and enough of it, has helped a lot of my chicks.

We did lose one of the Australorps but I think it may have been squished
by the water bottle with the way my son was holding the box. One of
the little cochins has infected eyes. I'm considering some Terramyacin.


Again, try handfeeding yogurt and chick feed every half hour or so.
It has worked wonders for some of ours.

 

[CBee]

Aww, don't give up yet! Try rubbing their backs a little with a towel under a heat lamp, and try just a little bit of honey water for them to drink. Maybe you could also try to give them some warm boiled egg, too, if you can force feed. Just keep an eye on them and make sure the other chicks aren't picking on them. I'm sure someone with more experience can help you more with this, but just stick in there. I'll be rooting for you guys!

 

[Chickie Mamma]

Thanks PC.. Just the white one I was worried about, now 2 others. Sorry to hear about the little australorp. That was the only way I thought I could keep them warm. I wiped that little ones eyes with warm water and a little vaseline (I should have mentioned that) maybe thats why it looked a little funky. They were shut this morning. My kids loved the pics. Thank God they were at school when they were delivered, otherwise I would be raising the peanuts..

I will try some yogurt, I hate to lose 2 more! Thanks again for everything!!

 

[Chickie Mamma]

Quote:
Thanks... I will see if I have some honey. I am going to try some yogurt too. They don't seem to want to eat on their own, so I don't want to choke them. Thanks!

 

[BlueMoon]

How long were they in transit? It's been awful cold here.
I suppose you have nothing to lose, but gut instinct is yogurt may be too much for the weakened chicks. DLHUnicorn always seemed to recommend polyvisol. And heat - maybe move the heat lamp closer?

 

[PurpleChicken]

Diana recommends Polyvisol when a chicken vitamin is not available since
Polyvisol is a childrens vitamin that can be found at any pharmacy.
Since you already have a chicken vitamin Polyvisol is not needed.
Diana (DLHUnicorn) also recommends handfeeding yogurt since it's one of the few foods
a chick can metabolize for the first week of it's life. The yogurt also helps
increase the flora in the chickens digestive system.

The suggestion of egg yolks and increasing the heat are both good ones.
Be careful with the heat and use a thermometer. Too much heat can cause
a chick to act lethargic. A good way to test this is to turn off the heat and
guage the chicks' reactions.

The standard breeds that came in that box are all doing very well. I
suspect their body mass both aided them in heat retention and nutrition.
Bantams and silkies, in my experience, are much more fragile than an
average standard.

Again, I have to stress making sure they eat, even if you have to force
them. We have saved many chicks this way.

2 of the 3 cochins you gave me are somewhat lethargic but are eating
on their own. I may have to seperate them from the Australorps.

 

[Chickie Mamma]

Thanks again, the heat seems fine. they are not directly under the lamp. I lost one of the orange ones and the other seems its not too far behind. The others are doing great, eating, drinking, playing. I guess its just part of life. My kids are not going to be so happy when they wake up tomorrow, of course their favorites were the "mushy" ones. I noticed the silkies and other smaller breeds are a little more fragile than the standard breeds. The ones that are lethargic seem to have trouble swallowing. When I give it a little water, it takes a while for it to swallow and it almost sounds like its "crackling". I don't know, I'll worry more if any of the others have a problem. Thanks for all the advice.

 

[PurpleChicken]

Quote:
So sorry.

How many total did you keep?

 

[Chickie Mamma]

I kept the 10 I actually ordered. The 2 that I would be devastated about are the 2 self blue silkies. They seem fine, but I will be down to 7 tomorrow. Hopefully thats it! They threw in a gorgeous little partridge silkie in with the bantam feather leg assortment. The others I don't know the breeds. So there are 3 cute silkies. With my luck, they will all be boys! Please wish me luck that they are not all boys, otherwise ...I will meet you at Tractor Supply.

The self blue silkies are really cute. They are very different.