I brought home 5 chicks late Sat. (seller told me they were a couple of days old from a hatchery) One little RIR just wasn't as active as the others but I wasn't immediately worried because she was keeping up with them, eating and drinking.
The next day she was about the same. Day three, Mon., I suspected something may be wrong with her...but still unsure because she is the biggest and had the longest wing feathers...as a newbie I thought maybe they weren't droopy but just longer. Tues. about the same until the evening, then it was real obvious she was not doing well. She was not eating and drinking as much and was having trouble staying upright. I really didn't expect to find her alive this morning. I started giving her sugar water, then made a mixture of her medicated starter mash with the electrolytes/vitamin water. I fed her with the syringe. She perked up and took a few drinks of water with some prompting. Still unable to stand on her own, eyes closed...I've been doing this throughout the day. This evening before tucking her in for the night I made a mixture with mashed boiled egg yolk, some starter mash, and the vitamin/electrolyte water. Again I fed her with a syringe (a 1 cc. syringe that I cut the skinny end off of so that it will take up the mixture). I've been feeding her .2 cc each time I give her some, times five, so 1 cc. per feeding. I felt her crop and it seemed good, but certainly not overly full.
The question I have is: How much per feeding should I be giving her. It's been a long time since I've done hand rearing and I don't remember. I know that it is possible to choke a bird by overfeeding it so I want to be careful...at the same time I'm afraid I'm not giving her enough. Next question: How many times a day should I feed her? I offered her water every couple of hours today and food about every three hours. I didn't really offer her much food this morning, but every three hours since this afternoon. Since I didn't give her much this morning I'll probably do another feeding tonight. I'm not used to hand rearing feathered birds where I can't see the crop!! Makes it more challenging.
She does not have blood in her stool, her stools look good, her vent is clean, she is now separated from the other chicks and is kept on a heating pad with some overhead light...the temp is closely monitored and is fine.
Thanks for reading all of this...I really want her to make it...this is my second attempt with my first flock so this whole experience has been stressful to say the least.
The next day she was about the same. Day three, Mon., I suspected something may be wrong with her...but still unsure because she is the biggest and had the longest wing feathers...as a newbie I thought maybe they weren't droopy but just longer. Tues. about the same until the evening, then it was real obvious she was not doing well. She was not eating and drinking as much and was having trouble staying upright. I really didn't expect to find her alive this morning. I started giving her sugar water, then made a mixture of her medicated starter mash with the electrolytes/vitamin water. I fed her with the syringe. She perked up and took a few drinks of water with some prompting. Still unable to stand on her own, eyes closed...I've been doing this throughout the day. This evening before tucking her in for the night I made a mixture with mashed boiled egg yolk, some starter mash, and the vitamin/electrolyte water. Again I fed her with a syringe (a 1 cc. syringe that I cut the skinny end off of so that it will take up the mixture). I've been feeding her .2 cc each time I give her some, times five, so 1 cc. per feeding. I felt her crop and it seemed good, but certainly not overly full.
The question I have is: How much per feeding should I be giving her. It's been a long time since I've done hand rearing and I don't remember. I know that it is possible to choke a bird by overfeeding it so I want to be careful...at the same time I'm afraid I'm not giving her enough. Next question: How many times a day should I feed her? I offered her water every couple of hours today and food about every three hours. I didn't really offer her much food this morning, but every three hours since this afternoon. Since I didn't give her much this morning I'll probably do another feeding tonight. I'm not used to hand rearing feathered birds where I can't see the crop!! Makes it more challenging.
She does not have blood in her stool, her stools look good, her vent is clean, she is now separated from the other chicks and is kept on a heating pad with some overhead light...the temp is closely monitored and is fine.
Thanks for reading all of this...I really want her to make it...this is my second attempt with my first flock so this whole experience has been stressful to say the least.
