I am new at owning baby chicks

[ahannon]

I bought 5 baby chicks from TSC today and one of them is acting weird. It is the smallest one and stays off by itself. It is also very wobbly and just keeps falling asleep. I have looked at other forums and replies and have checked everything and it is all set up correctly with the temp being 92 degrees. Is there something else I should be doing? I have helped it eat a little bit of medicated food and drink some water. Can someone please help with some advice? I was also informed at TSC that they were only a few days old.

 

[Kiki]

Welcome to BYC.
Try to encourage this one to eat and drink on its own by tapping your finger at the food and water.
Unfortunately if it doesn't want to there isn't much you can do.

 

[ahannon]

Thank you. I was worried that it was sick and wouldn't survive. I did put his beak in the water and he did begin to drink. He is now able to stand a little longer. So maybe it is dehydration. Is this something you have ever experienced? Could this be because he hasn't adapted to the new environment?

 

[Kiki]

Thank you. I was worried that it was sick and wouldn't survive. I did put his beak in the water and he did begin to drink. He is now able to stand a little longer. So maybe it is dehydration. Is this something you have ever experienced? Could this be because he hasn't adapted to the new environment?

I'm sure it was stressful for the little guy to move today.
Hopefully he perks up soon but it is common for new chicks to just not thrive for whatever reason.

Be very very careful about forcing anything into its mouth. One drop down the wrong spot in its mouth can kill.
Just encourage drink.

Tomorrow, if possible, go back to your feed store and pick up some poultry vitamins to add to the water.

 

[Kiki]

See if they carry Nutri-Drench. It's really good for chicks like this.

 

[ahannon]

I did read about the vitamins as well. I was wondering about them. Thank you so much. I will be trying them tomorrow.

 

[ahannon]

Nutri-Drench is the name of the vitamin or is this a type of food?

 

[Kiki]

Nutri-Drench is the name of the vitamin or is this a type of food?

It's the vitamin. Hold I'll get a picture for you.

 

[Kiki]

https://www.tractorsupply.com/tsc/product/nutri-drench-poultry-4-oz

 

[ahannon]

perfect thank you so much again.