How do I hand feed a new chick that was rejected?

[Rickster]

My silky, a very young hen, got off her nest after 3 chicks hatched. One is very small and she is ignoring it and perhaps even hurting it. I have taken it away. it is very weak and I need to know what and how to hand feed this chick for a few days until it gains some strength.

I've tried the chick starter in a syringe with water.

Help.

 

[swedishfish]

Pick her up and dip her beak in some sugar water. I like to use brown sugar. After dipping her beak, set her down to let her swallow it. Put her under a nice warm light! Hope she does okay! Is she a silkie too?

 

[ranchhand]

Rickster, first

!

Keep the chick at about 95 degrees, reducing by 5 degrees per week. Maybe get a small stuffed animal for company. Dip it's beak in sugar water, as swedishfish said, and try a little scrambled egg for food. Tap it, to show it how to peck at food. Then a mash of chick starter and water, same thing, tap the food to show it how to eat.

It's going to be very lonely, and I see a potentially difficult time reintegrating it into the flock.

I wish you the best of luck!

 

[Chirpy]

People hatch chicks all the time and they do just great... if they are healthy. It could be that momma knows there is something wrong with this little chick and has 'naturally culled' it by ignoring it.

As stated, dip it's beak in water and then put some 'Grower' feed in with it. If it doesn't start eating you can certainly try to hand feed it as suggested above.

It will certainly be happier with another chick as company. Could you take one of the other two chicks from momma and put it with this one? My broody raised a single chick last year and it did great since it had it's momma as company.

Good luck.

 

[swedishfish]

Maybe you could put a little mirror in with it too, to get it used to seeing other chicks. I put rubber duckies in with mine!

 

[barbara4rb]

I have brought in the late hatchers several times. They spend a day or two inside, being fed yogurt+baby scratch "soup" from a dropper. I keep it warm and covered. We put uncooked rice in a baggie and nuke it. Then put a towel on it, and make alittle nest. The baby settles into the warm rice bed and covered with a towel, and it usually drifts off to sleep and is quiet. The rice stays warm for several hours. When the babies get stronger, they start pecking at the chick starter and walking well, I put them back in with the group.

Last summer I had a momma hen with around a dozen chicks and one hatched out late. She ignored it. I brought it inside, fed it, kept it warm, etc. Little thing cheeped its head off night and day. After a few days, this little one seemed stronger, and I put it back w/ group at night. It ran in and got under momma. She killed it that night. Really hard lesson. I'm guessing momma knew something wasn't right.