help

[chickhelp123]

Help. we have chickens and they are after having chicks. one took two days to come out of d egg and is very week. we took it inside and wrapped it in a blanket. what can we feed it and what can we do. im not giving up on her please help

 

[chooks4life]

Honey is a good 'baby food' for even adults when injured or ill. It's especially good for babies. I would mix a teaspoon in with a cup of water and let it drink that. It can help with shock and many other issues. I've used it with a lot of baby creatures of all species I've tended and it's saved may lives. Raw and unpasteurized is always best. It's a bit of an emergency tonic treatment.

Basically the only thing I know of that you can do is try to get the chick eating and drinking normally. If it's very weak, though, chances are the hatch is not the issue, but rather, there is something wrong with it which may render it unable to live. Babies fade fast if they are not viable. If it hatched under a hen it can be difficult to get it to listen to you when you try to show it food. Anyway, best wishes. I hope I'm wrong about there being something likely amiss with it.

Wrapping it in a blanket may not be a good idea. At that age they can't regulate their own body temperature so it can get too hot or too cold without a mother's body or an incubator keeping it at the right temperature. An external heat source it can move away from if too hot is the best idea. I've only reared chicks with their mothers so can't advise you on that, sorry.

 

[ChirpyChicks1]

If you are going to keep it away from the mother then you need to get a brooder set up with a heat lamp (most recommend a red light), a water container and feeder with chick starter feed. Honey in the water is alright but after the first batch I wouldn't give anymore, the sugar in the honey will draw water into the intestines and cause diarrhea. Diarrhea can then raise the changes of pasty butt

When I brought home my surprise chicks in April I put them in a plastic Rubbermaid tote. The temp in the brooder should be around 95*F the first week and then decrease it by 5* each week. Depending on your location you'll be able to use a normal house light for heat or get a 125w heat bulb. Will you brood them inside?

If you do raise it in a brooder then it's best to get a few more chicks for it to grow up with or you're going to have a very lonely and loud chick.