help please! 7 day old chick tucking its head and rolling onto its back!

[kl115]

Thank you all for your replies! We brought this baby home when it was just over 24hrs old because the teacher was going out of town and would not be able to check on it over the weekend. It appeared to have an under developed wing but is now using it quite often so I believe the feathers are just a bit messed up. I do want to get another chick for a companion but am afraid to because of the wing situation. I don't want it getting picked on. I'm going to post some links to some videos that that I just took this evening. I just happened to catch the roll over. I apologize for the bad cell phone video!
My 7 day old chick rolling over:

 

[kl115]

My Chickie eating. Its acts normal 95% of the time but then does the roll over on occasion
7 day old chick eating:

 

[gander007]

Ok What to say ..

 

[kl115]

Uh oh... That doesn't sound good gander007! :'(

 

[gander007]

kl115 let's just hope for the best and be prepared for the worst
but with that being said don't give up on the little fellow

 

[hildar]

kl115 let's just hope for the best and be prepared for the worst
but with that being said don't give up on the little fellow

I fully agree. It looks to me like something is wrong with it. The wings are abnormal, however it looked at the food in the first video and yet didn't eat it. That would have been my first concern with it. but that head rolling back like she talked about is normally when they are getting closer to dying. It also seems to be very vocal. I found out when I have had chicks the vocal ones are usually the ones that don't make it. I don't think I have ever seen one of my chicks ever pass by food like that either unless if they were really sick.

Kl115? Is the chick actually eating that food, or just doing hen pecking and throwing it around?? It sounded more like it was throwing it rather then eating it.

Hubby walked by when I was watching the first video, and he said before leaving for work the same as I did there is an issue with the chick, so keep an eye on it. Who knows maybe it will keep going, however it really sounds more like a bigger issue then just a wing problem.

 

[Ernie G]

To me chick really dosent look that bad. My chick was far worse off and survived. Hang in there.

 

[kl115]

:'( I'm already attached to this little one. Especially since it had such a rough start.
It is eating. I can see it chewing, or whatever it is they do. And it does poop a lot! Little poops and big ones!
As far as vocalization, most of the time it's quiet. It gets louder if I talk to it or have to mess with it.
I'm going to try more egg or the vitamins. I hope he can pull through as my 11yo son has named it "Survivor".

 

[kl115]

Ernie G, thank you. I'm glad to hear yours survived! I hope this one will pull through too!

 

[lazy gardener]

KL115: I just viewed your video, and your chick is showing "wry neck" or Vitamin E encephalopathy signs. The fact that it is still alive, and obviously eating is a very good sign. It's possible that it may make a full recovery with some supplemental vitamins, and may need some additional supplementation down the road, but it's worth the effort, as long as you don't let it play in the gene pool! Nutri-drench is the best way to get some good supplementation into the chick. You may need to hand feed it if you don't see it filling it's crop. If you make the feed into a gruel, you can get a bit of vitamin E into the feed. An other option is plain oatmeal prepared to an easy to eat consistency. I had a Vit E encephalopathy chick that was comatose when I started treating it. I started with a bit of Vitamin E, and gave it twice/day. I then added Nutri-drench, and just a tiny bit of selenium... (a few grains scratched off the side of a pill). I used "baby bird hand feeding formula" (mixed to a thick milkshake consistency) because this chick was too ill to eat. I mixed the supplements with the formula, wrapped the chick in a towel, and dribbled some of the formula into the crook of my finger, which I then cupped under the chick's beak. The warm liquid encouraged the chick to "drink" it. Initially, the chick was too weak to stand. I fed it every couple of hours, and had to massage the crop to get it mobilized. On day 2, the chick could stand a bit. On day 3, it was able to stand and drink it out of a spoon. On day 4, it wanted to perch on my finger. I continued treating for about a week and a half, until I couldn't catch it any more. The damage had already been done to it's internal organs, and it developed CHF and had a severe scoliosis. But your chick is in much better shape, and should fare better.

hildar: I agree with you. It's the vocal chicks that are most at risk of unexplained death.