HELP my baby isn't doing well!

[amity3520]

He was spry and fine this morning and in the five or six hours he has just been sleeping and not eating. He drank a bit of water a few hours ago but nothing now. His peeps have gotten a lot less energetic... he is very weak and about 3 days old now. What can we do? His poop was pretty runny/watery a few hours ago.

Very attached to this little guy, he was very energetic yesterday, now he won't even get up when we open the carrier... please help.

 

[amity3520]

Could he just be sleeping? He's been up all day and was napping on my stomach while I was reading earlier... how long do the babies usually sleep at night? And do they get this lethargic? He'll peep quietly when we talk or move him slightly, he's in our hands right now, but he won't really stand on his legs... I'm so scared, it's awful how you can get so attached in just two days.

And his poop was runny but still had some chunks in it... probably a light greenish/yellowish/whitish.

 

[purpletree23]

Until others can answer get some Poly Vi Sol liquid baby vitamins WITHOUT IRON. You can get them at any pharmacy or walmart. Get them tonight. Give him/her a drop on the beak tonight. Put a drop on the top/side of the beak so it can roll into it's mouth so the baby can swallow it and not choke.

Make sure it is staying hydrated. Mix a little corn syrup with water and drop it on the side of the beak like the vitamins or better yet use Gatorade.

What are you feeding it? Mix some feed with the syrup water and see if it will eat that.

What is the temp in the brooder?

What are you using for litter? Did it eat litter by mistake?

Do you have other chicks that this could happen to?

 

[purpletree23]

If he is only 3 days old he needs to be in a brooder where the temp is 90 degrees and has access to water and food because they eat and drink almost constantly. He is probably hypothermic and dehydrated and weak from not eating.

Get him back in the brooder to warm up and follow with the wet food and vitamins.

 

[amity3520]

He's breathing pretty constantly and strongly... his legs feel really limp though. Is this how they get when they're sleeping? His brooder is a cat carrier with a heat lamp at one end, and at night I put a heating pad in there at about 88 degrees. We're using sawdust for litter, he pecked at it a bit yesterday but I'm not sure if he ate any or not. I'll try gatorade... I don't have access to a car/store right until the morning, he's also an only chick, I posted about him a couple days ago. He was thriving yesterday, very strong, and same with today. I am thinking that he has just been up since about 730 with very little sleeping time, and he slept almost completely through the night last night with only a few peeps.

For feed he has been eating normal starter, and his poops were pretty consistently little green plops until they were runny at about 530.

 

[purpletree23]

How frequently has he eaten today? Does he have runny poops because he hasn't had anything in his 'belly'? Warm him up in the brooder and feed him wet mash and get him some liquids.

Take the sawdust out of the brooder and use an old bath towel instead. Sawdust can be dangerous not only if they eat it but if it's made from pressure treated wood he could be poisoned.

 

[amity3520]

Not pressure treated, it's the sawdust all of our other chickens have been using and they're all okay. He's breathing with his mouth open now... Ate fairly frequently I believe, my mother was watching him until I came home at 330 and after that we only saw him eat once, though he was in his carrier for about 20 min unmonitored around 6 and he could have eaten then. I just tried the gatorade and he ate a bit, but he's so weak I'm afraid to try to force anything into him, I will try wet food though.

 

[purpletree23]

Don't force him. He's too little. Just let the Gatorade run down his beak into his mouth. While making the wet food warm him up in the brooder.

 

[purpletree23]

I'm signing off now. Good luck with the baby. He is in good hands and I'm sure he will be better in the morning. Tomorrow give him time to recover and get his strength back.

Chicks don't usually do well alone. Put a small stuffed animal in the brooder so he can cuddle up with it. Don't get it close to the lamp though. You might want to consider getting at least one more chick so he has company when you aren't around. You want him to be happy and not lonely.

 

[amity3520]

There's another 12 coming on Wednesday or Thursday, soon as we could get them... I got some more gatorade in him, maybe some food as well, I'm not sure. Still peeping a bit, and it seems like he's trying to get around, he tries to come to me when I open the door, but his legs have no energy... I'm going to go to bed soon as well, and hope for the best

Thanks for all your help! Greatly appreciated!