In need of suggestions for getting a chick to eat

[mle022]

Hello! I picked up some chicks from the local TSC yesterday and found that one is not eating. I spent hours last night frantically searching BYC for suggestions and found lots of info. Thank you BYC!

Background: The chick was just acting sleepy, and I didn't see it eat when all the other little porkers ran to the dish. It just stood there falling asleep. I felt it's gullet and it was clearly empty, but it wasn't completely lethargic and pooping water (that was good at least). I tried sugar water to perk it up, and that seemed to work after awhile. It started pecking at the crumbles I had mashed more, but not actually swallowing them. I tried dipping it's beak in yolk, that worked a little bit, but it was clearly not enough for it to eat. Then I hard boiled egg and crumbled up the yolk. It scarfed that down (yay!

).


I gave it more hard boiled egg yolk this morning, but it's still not eating crumble. I don't want to be giving it yolk so that it survives and is missing out on the other nutrients it needs. So I am reaching out to BYC for other suggestions to try for this little guy/girl and see what all you think. This is only my second time raising baby chicks and the last batch was from a local breeder so I didn't have any issues like this.

What I do plan on doing is stopping by the TSC, after I get done working, and getting some different crumble to see if that helps. But any other suggestions are very much welcomed! I really don't want to lose this little bird, it's one of the two andalusians I picked up and it's little tiny wing feathers coming in already look beautiful.

 

[Mtn Laurel]

Have you tried moistening the crumble? Some chicks prefer that. Add a bit of mashed egg to it to entice her to take it might help, too.

 

[mle022]

Have you tried moistening the crumble? Some chicks prefer that. Add a bit of mashed egg to it to entice her to take it might help, too.

I will try that! Thank you!

Do you happen to know how long they generally need that for? I mean, I'm lucky to be at home all day to give this chick special treatment; but the night time is what concerns me. I was so happy it ate enough last night to have a full gullet before I went to sleep, but I know this won't be enough if it continues to not eat what the others are eating, and I don't want to separate it by itself.

 

[Mtn Laurel]

They normally don't really get in to the whole eating thing until about day #2 as they're living off the nutrients they had in the egg. Providing your little one is otherwise healthy, she should soon take to food and water and be just fine. You can add some probiotics and electrolytes to their water, you can find it in packets at Tractor Supply. Sometimes that gives them a boost, too.

 

[mle022]

They normally don't really get in to the whole eating thing until about day #2 as they're living off the nutrients they had in the egg. Providing your little one is otherwise healthy, she should soon take to food and water and be just fine. You can add some probiotics and electrolytes to their water, you can find it in packets at Tractor Supply. Sometimes that gives them a boost, too.

I will do that. Thank you for your help, Mtn Laurel!

 

[mle022]

Here's the little stinker. I separated it so I could watch it in the office and try the mash. It didn't go over well, it just picked out the egg yolk. Lol. I will try again later, maybe when it's more hungry and will also try the probiotics and electrolytes when I can get to the store.

 

[azygous]

If they don't take to the crumbles moistened with warm water, try crumbled tofu. You might pick up some Poultry Nutri-Drench. It's a super emergency supplement specially formulated for poultry. I sprinkle it over the tofu. Why tofu? Because it's a refined form of soy, the main ingredient in chick feed, but it will be far easier to digest than the crumbles for a troubled chick.

 

[mle022]

It's eating crumbles!!

I tried the tofu with the Nutri-drench and it ate some, but wasn't as thrilled as with the hard boiled egg yolk. But by the time I got back from the store it was pretty perked up (probably from all that yolk). I also added some ACV to the water, as some other threads recommended for pasty butt (which some of the other chicks had a little bit of dingleberries going on, not much, but some).

I also switched them to manna-pro. They were eating the dumor starter-grower, and as soon as I introduced it to the non-eater chick separately, it started pecking at it and actually eating some pieces. So I tossed the remaining Dumor and just put in the Manna-Pro for all of them.

Thank you for the help! It was very much appreciated!

 

[Mtn Laurel]

Congrats! Glad to hear that she's perked up and is eating for you.