Help with baby chick.....I don't know what I should do

[Hambone]

I have a chick who is clearly the smallest out of 16. The other chicks are getting big and she looks to have stayed the same. She seems to be having some problems walking. When she really wants to she can walk/run holding her wings out to steady her. Most of the time she just lays down. I feel very bad for her because she sometimes gets run over by the other chicks. I put her in a box by her self but she just crys until I put her back with her brothers and sisters. She seems to be eating and drinking fine. Her vent is clear also. I did notice that her left foot doesnt look quite right. Kind of looks like maybe something is wrong with it. Im not really sure. Like I said she can walk and run when she wants to but just doesnt do it often. What do you think I should do?

Also these are day old chicks purchased on wed 5-12-10.

 

[Hambone]

HELP!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! AM I THE ONLY ONE AWAKE THIS MORNING.

 

[77horses]

Mmm...Maybe she's a runt chick out of the rest? If she's not getting enough of something in her feed than her growth will be stunted. I've had to deal with a runt chick before (and still am now, even when he's just started crowing, he's still a house-rooster!

) and he was so small because he wasn't getting enough protein, etc. in his food. So I switched him to grower mash (I was originally feeding him just cracked corn...not a good idea.

) and I gave him lots of cooked egg and immediately his growth sped up. Try cooking some plain egg, mash it up, and give it to all of the chicks but make sure the smallest one gets enough, too. Maybe you could even offer some sugar water for her.

Also, if the other chicks are harming her by stepping on her, maybe you should separate her in a different brooder box for a little while until her growth speeds up some?

Good luck and I hope someone with more experience with this will chime in to help!

 

[MissJenny]

Do you have children's/infants Poly-Vi-Sol liquid vitamins WITHOUT iron? Put a few drops in a small cap of water -- to give you reference pf size, I use a baby-food jar lid. Dip the baby's beak to the water two to three times a day. Also offer the baby a special meal of plain yogurt, boiled or scrambled egg and Start & Grow mash. Add a few drops of water to the mash to make it mushy, which makes it easier to digest. You can use what's left of the vitamin water. Separate her out for this meal to make sure she gets it.

As for her foot -- is it kind of curled into a claw? Can you unfurl or straighten it out? If so, you can make a "shoe" for your chick using masking tape. Lay out a piece of tape twice as wide as the foot. Set the chick's foot in the center and fold up each side. In a couple of days the foot should be straightened out. you can do a search on here for "shoe". Do you have a picture of the baby's foot?

Jenny

 

[nuts4chickens]

I had a chick hatch out like that a couple months ago. She hatched out the same size as the rest but the others quickly surpassed her in size and they were double her size in no time. She, too was wobbly and unstable. She would fall onto her back and couldn't flip over. I debated seriously about culling her but I decided to give her a chance.I tried separating her from the others but that just didn't work out. She was a noisy pain! I started by giving her a few drops of nutri-drench every day. That seemed to give her a big energy boost.I also gave her scrambled eggs. After about 2 weeks I gave the nutri-drench to her every other day. Then slowly weaned her off. At 6 weeks she finally started feathering out and catching up and her motor skills corrected. Now she is still much smaller but completely normal in all other aspects. For a while there I really wasn't sure if she would make it but now I'm glad I put forth the effort. Be patient. She might be able to turn around. Don't give up hope yet.

 

[Hambone]

Thank you everyone for the replies. I am going to pick up some nutri drench from tractor supply. I will also feed some scrabled eggs daily. Sorry for no pic. I can not seem to find my memory card for the camera. Thank you and I will keep you all updated in this post on her condition.

 

[Mrs. Fluffy Puffy]

I had a chick that I had to help out of his egg, and he was so weak and couldn't walk and had stuff hanging out his rear and I just knew we wasn't going to make it. But then my mom said why don't you try feeding him some egg yolk? So I cracked an egg open and I got the white out and left the yolk and then I mixed it with some water ( Just a little bit of water mind you. ) and got an eye dropper and fed it to him. I fed him pretty offten and he perked right up and for awhile he wouldn't grown he stayed tiny for around 2 or 3 weeks and finally started to grow some feathers in. So you might try that.

I hope this helps and I will keep my fingers crossed for you baby.

 

[LazoRanchPeeps]

Is there anything i should put into their water or just leave it be. I have 6 chicks at about 5 weeks. They growing and getting their white feathers.. There is one chick that is smaller than the rest. He has no issues whatsoever...she actually seems the smartest out of the 6....shes the only one that comes running to me and sits on my lap and naps. She rarely sits..she likes to stand under light and nap let me know if there is anything to look out for or should do. They are eating Purina medicated starter..No signs of any issues from any of them..FIRST LIL FLOCK ANY ADVICE WOULD GREATLY LOVED

Thanks