Help- sick chick

[happyhens]

This chick is a golden laced Wyandotte that is 10 days old. She is standing miserably in the corner, and will be far away from the other chicks. She was eating a little this afternoon, but now is showing no interest at all in eating. She will drink a little bit if I dip her beak into the water, but isn't trying to drink by herself. I have seen her act like she was straining (to poop?) a couple of times, but nothing comes out (excuse me, this is hard to explain in a tactful manner!). I haven't seen any abnormal looking poo. Any help or advice would be appreciated! I don't know what to do for her, poor little thing. She looks so miserable

 

[dlhunicorn]

are you feeding medicated starter? (cocci is the most common ailment)
Make sure she drinks sufficiently and eats sufficiently... dyhydration will kill your bird quicker than the original ailment

 

[happyhens]

Yes, I am feeding Formax medicated chick starter. I looked carefully in their bedding, and didn't see any blood, so I doubt that it is cocci. I dip her beak in the water every couple of hours, is that enough? Is there anything else at all that I can do for her?

 

[s6bee]

Are the other chicks allowing her to eat/drink? If not seperate her if you can, make sure she's not too warm or too cold, maybe a little sugar water would help? How old is she?

 

[happyhens]

Yes, they have a large feeder and waterer that are both filled at all times. There isn't a lot of competition for food or water. She just doesn't show any interest in eating or drinking. She is 10 days old.

 

[s6bee]

Just get her some sugar water. I'm not sure of the ratio but I would assume not much. Or you can try some electrolytes if you have a packet?

 

[happyhens]

I'll try gatorade. Thanks for the idea.

 

[s6bee]

No not gatorade. Too many salts in them I think. Someone else might know if it's Ok, but I thought I read it's not.

 

[happyhens]

I use gatorade with my rabbits if they are sick, or during extremely hot weather. They like it, and it never hurt them. The chick drank about 2 beak-fulls of gatorade last night, and this morning is looking quite a bit better. It ate just as energetically as the other chicks! It still looks a little rough, but it is doing much better. I do wonder what was wrong with though. Thanks for the advice.

 

[s6bee]

Just be careful. I know some folks on here have used it but I like to follow the advice of MissPrissy ( she's a great source of knowledge on this site and people seek her out when trouble arises) and she urges against it for it's sodium content. If you go ahead and use it, I would dilute it.
Good luck