How do you care for a single, weak chick?

NCchickens75

In the Brooder
Sep 22, 2016
21
0
12
I'm looking for suggestions on how to care for a single, weak chick in the incubator during the first 24-72 hours. What's the best humidity for him/her? Can you give a newborn electrolytes?
We had 8 eggs hatch at day 21 & egg #9 was rockin' & rollin', then developed a pip at day 22. The day-old babies began to peck at the egg & eventually, at the new baby as it was unzipping. We removed everyone from the incubator except for the egg & ended up assisting in the hatch at the end of day 22. On the morning of day 23 (today), it had made no progress. We gently washed it with warm water, cleaned the incubator & put it back in. We added the dividers to help it stay upright & then I added a small stuffed animal to comfort it. So far, he/she seems to be getting stronger but I want to give it the best possible chance for survival. Current incubator temp is 99.6 & humidity is 64%.
We are brand new chicken parents - this is our very first clutch. Thanks in advance for your help!

0.jpg
 
Last edited:
You can give electrolytes. I would put a small mirror, or stuffed animal with it, to keep it company while it stabilizes. And, if you do lose it for whatever reason, it's going to happen sometimes :(

Once it's moving/stable, you can move it back in with the other chicks, as long as they don't try to trample it, or peck at it too much. If there's something wrong with it, they may try(or accidentally) kill it.
 
Thank you. Do you know what we should keep the humidity at for her?
Once she's out of the incubator, you don't need any humidity. Just put her under a heat lamp once she's dried off. In the incubator, as things are hatching, you want to keep the humidity around 75%
 

New posts New threads Active threads

Back
Top Bottom