Help with babies

[Laurenj915]

My first ever chicks shipped on Monday (1 day priority express ) they are still not here. I am hoping to get them tomorrow (Thursday). I am expecting them to be DOA or very close. My question is... what would you rec feeding them to give them the best chance. I have been looking on these boards and see grow gel, electrolites, sugar water, some kind of vitamin droplets I can get at the feed store... What do you think is best?

I will do anything for them, I am so upset that they are probably dying in a box right now. Plus I am 6 months pregnant so I am super sensitive about any kind of baby at the moment.

 

[GitaBooks]

I really hope your babies get there safe.

I would suggest having the brooder all set up and warmed. Check them as soon as you arrive and bring them straight home. If it is a long drive than bring some sort of heat pad, but don't handle them yet. Get them straight into the brooder and dip their beaks in warm (not hot) water with electrolytes, vitamins, or some sort of booster. Get them hydrated and get them warm, don't worry about food at first. Any chicks that seem really weak should be tucked under your shirt or somewhere warm and quiet so they can just rest for a few minutes. Than get them drinking some before setting them into the brooder.
Some may die after arrival, this is to be expected in cases like this. However, you can minimize by regaining their strength, keeping them calm and warm, getting them hydrated, and cleaning off any droppings on their rear end. Give them a surface that is easy to grip and keep everything calm. After they have all gotten a drink than you can spread some food out on paper towels, where they can see it and begin to feed.

I hope it all works out! Best of luck!

 

[TBirdsTheWord33]

I really hope your babies get there safe.

I would suggest having the brooder all set up and warmed. Check them as soon as you arrive and bring them straight home. If it is a long drive than bring some sort of heat pad, but don't handle them yet. Get them straight into the brooder and dip their beaks in warm (not hot) water with electrolytes, vitamins, or some sort of booster. Get them hydrated and get them warm, don't worry about food at first. Any chicks that seem really weak should be tucked under your shirt or somewhere warm and quiet so they can just rest for a few minutes. Than get them drinking some before setting them into the brooder.
Some may die after arrival, this is to be expected in cases like this. However, you can minimize by regaining their strength, keeping them calm and warm, getting them hydrated, and cleaning off any droppings on their rear end. Give them a surface that is easy to grip and keep everything calm. After they have all gotten a drink than you can spread some food out on paper towels, where they can see it and begin to feed.

I hope it all works out! Best of luck!

GitaBooks has given excellent advice. Whether I pick up my chicks in person or have them shipped, I always use electrolytes. I have had especially great success with Nutri-Drench, especially when caring for weak, high-need chicks. Once your babies are eating, plain yogurt (I use an organic whole-milk variety) and scrambled eggs are good options.

Oh, and I completely understand you regarding your sensitivity to all things baby. I am 7 months pregnant with my third child and the maternal hormones are really kicking in!!!

Best wishes to you and ALL your little ones, both human AND chicken. Please let us know how everything turns out, and if you have any other questions, just ask.

 

[Blooie]

I can't top the good advice you've been given. But let me say this, and hope it makes you feel a little better. I had chicks shipped last year, and the weather dive-bombed on us. We were below zero all week before, and the day they arrived (a full day late - shipped on Monday, received on Thursday) temps were 17 to 19 below zero. They sat in the loading area at the Casper, Wyoming sorting facility over night, and it hit 24 below there that night. I was a nervous wreck - but lost 4 chicks out of 25. Any loss is hard to take, but when I think of what losses I was expecting I thought that was pretty good! It's not unusual to lose one or two who just plain fail to thrive, in addition to shipping stress, and it's hard to know if they would have made it even without the shipping delay.

Fast forward to this year's shipment. Same exact scenario, except it was warmer - more like 15 degrees. Ordered 8, got 8, and lost none at all. Kept them in the house the first night just to make sure they were all doing okay and then outside they went! I brood all of my chicks outdoors in the run, regardless of the weather. So keep the faith - they may arrive in far better shape than you are anticipating! Good luck!

 

[TBirdsTheWord33]

Blooie, you are absolutely right! I love your optimistic spirit. It IS truly amazing how strong little chicks can be, as your experiences prove, and because of this, it is best to hold onto hope. I like to think of my first 5 girls as survivors...they have survived 7 months of me bumbling my way through chicken keeping!

 

[Blooie]

Blooie, you are absolutely right! I love your optimistic spirit. It IS truly amazing how strong little chicks can be, as your experiences prove, and because of this, it is best to hold onto hope. I like to think of my first 5 girls as survivors...they have survived 7 months of me bumbling my way through chicken keeping!

Oh, I know! I look at my original girls now and wonder, "Did they survive because of me or in spite of me?" My poor learn-on babies are now beautiful grownups with personalities as individual as their appearances, and to show that they forgive me or the overheated brooder, the lights on them all night long, the daily catch and release so I could clean the brooder, and evicting them at 5.5 weeks to an unheated coop complete with snowstorms, they give me lovely eggs. Isn't that nice of them?

 

[TBirdsTheWord33]

Oh, I know! I look at my original girls now and wonder, "Did they survive because of me or in spite of me?" My poor learn-on babies are now beautiful grownups with personalities as individual as their appearances, and to show that they forgive me or the overheated brooder, the lights on them all night long, the daily catch and release so I could clean the brooder, and evicting them at 5.5 weeks to an unheated coop complete with snowstorms, they give me lovely eggs. Isn't that nice of them?

Yes, those "learn-ons" sure are gracious to bless us with eggs! In spite of going blind in one eye because I didn't know how to help her, our beloved Baby comes running and follows us around the yard, talking and rubbing our legs like a little cat, begging to be picked up and loved. That's her in my avatar, spending time with her absolute favorite person--our little boy. If you look closely, you will notice her shrunken eye. It's a wonder...

 

[Laurenj915]

Thank you so much for your help! I did use the nutradrench when I got the chicks this morning. They had that at my feed store. They are all alive! I have 13 seeemingly heathly happy chicks. Thank you again!

 

[GitaBooks]

Awesome! I'm glad they made it!

 

[Blooie]

Oh, Lauren, that's wonderful news! It's just childish, and so nasty and rude to say, "I told you so......" so I won't.

But honestly, these little critters are stronger than we give them credit for sometimes, and once again they've proved it in the best way possible. I'm so glad for you! Now, pictures.......those of us who are done with chicks for the year can't get enough of looking at new chicks!!