He's still alive but....

[klesoine]

The chick made it through the night but he's such a mess with dribbled kaytec over him now I"m afraid the other chicks will think he's food and peck him. He looks terrible but he's still chirping. I'm afraid to clean him for chilling him. Is there a way to feed him besides an eye dropper?

 

[Chickn chick 46]

Hi, I went back and read your first post. It sounds like you're doing all you can. Its great that he made it through the night.

I had to help one of my little ones along at first and I put some water on my finger, touched her beak so she had to drink, then dipped my wet finger in the chick food and let her peck it off my finger

Don't know if this will help but good luck. Hope the little guy keeps going

 

[twzlrwho]

If you could get ahold of a syringe that would help with control of flow with the food. And yes I wiped my chicks face after every feed because I didn't want the food to spoil on her face. Also a paper towel under his chin will help catch extera food dribbles. Just remember to feed from the side of the mouth so it doesn't run into the nose. I hope this helps and maybe someone else has another take on it. I am still rooting for your little guy.

 

[twzlrwho]

Oh and also if you can keep track of the amount of food the chick is getting it will help. This way you ensure the tummy is getting full. It took a couple of feeding before I and the chick got the hang of it. You will know if she is satisfied by her actions. If she still chirping after eating, she didn't get full. If she is ready for a nap then that is gold. Hang in there and don't beat yourself up. You are doing a great job. It shows just in the fact she is still hanging in there.

 

[twzlrwho]

I apologize for all the posts. I've only had 1 cup of coffee. Another thing to try is mix the formula and put it in a small dish and then dip the beak of the chick. See if she will eat like that.

 

[jenni2142]

I used a oral syringe sold for infant meds and mixed the formula with a little less water to make it a little thicker. It came with a cap so I could premix and keep in fridge. I would squirt a little out of the top and she would eat it up, looked like a worm.

 

[Mahonri]

Chicks can be resilient. I had a little salmon fav pullet that I was certain was a gonner, but it's doing great now even if it is the runt of the little flock.

 

[quiltnchik]

Does anyone know if you can feed a chick like you do Parakeets or Cockatiels? When I was raising them, I would just attach a short piece of aquarium tubing on the end of the syringe, then gently place the other end of the tube in the bird's crop and dispense the food. It made it MUCH easier and I didn't have to worry about aspirating the baby birds. Will this work with a chick? I would think it would because they have crops just like all other birds, but wanted to know for the future "just in case."

 

[klesoine]

Thanks to all of you for caring so much to share your knowledge and experience. Here's the update: He is still very much here. I have made the formula a bit thicker and he pecks at the food on the end of the dropper and swallows it. He does that until he is done. He lets me know if he's had enough. If another chick comes over to peck at the food I haven't been able to get off his neck he gets feisty and defends himself. He definitely does not want to be isolated and chirps very loudly until I put what seems to be the more mellow of the chicks in with him. Right now he's sleeping while standing.

 

[cochinbantam-lover]

I'm so glad for your little chickie!