Is my day old chick fixing to die???

[madisonjh95]

I just received 9 day-old chicks this morning in the mail. They were all acting normal and seemed fine when I got home from work. Tonight one of them was acting really sleepy. They all seemed pretty sleepy but this one wouldn’t startle at anything like the others. She would fall asleep standing up and sort of wobble there a little before settling down to sleep. They all have foamy poop but she’s the only one that doesn’t seem to be all there. Is she gonna be ok? How can I help her? I really don’t want her to die..

 

[muddy75]

brooder temp? did you dip beaks in water? is this one eating and drinking appropriately? medicated or non medicated starter? vaccinated or not? vitamins/nutridrench or save a chick available if needed? same breed and size compared to others?

 

[Eggcessive]

I would dip beaks into water with electrolytes and vitamins as often as possible. Day old chicks can survive being shipped for a couple of days without water and food, but not 9 day olds. How long were they in transit, and how many were together? Poultry NutriDrench would be good to give them a couple of drops of to revive them. Did they have anything in the box to feed on? I hope that you can save them all.

 

[madisonjh95]

brooder temp? did you dip beaks in water? is this one eating and drinking appropriately? medicated or non medicated starter? vaccinated or not? vitamins/nutridrench or save a chick available if needed? same breed and size compared to others?

Brooder temp: 97-100 they’re in the garage so temp fluxuates


Dipping beaks in water: yes


Eating and drinking: unsure, this morning they were all eating and drinking the same and tonight she only ate and drank a small amount compared to the others. I had to work today so I didn’t watch them very long


Starter: non-medicated


Vaccinated: no


Vitamins/nutridrench: not available now, wouldn’t be able to run to the store until next week due to tight budget


Size: she is the same size as all the rest

 

[madisonjh95]

I would dip beaks into water with electrolytes and vitamins as often as possible. Day old chicks can survive being shipped for a couple of days without water and food, but not 9 day olds. How long were they in transit, and how many were together? Poultry NutriDrench would be good to give them a couple of drops of to revive them. Did they have anything in the box to feed on? I hope that you can save them all.

I’m sorry, I said that in a confusing way. I got 9 one-day-old chicks. They’re not 9 days old I have 9 of them. So they were in transit over 24 hours and there were 9. There was nothing in the box

 

[Eggcessive]

Okay, I was the one to misunderstand. It says just that. I would reduce your heat so the thermometer reads 90 degrees with a warmer area to get to. Too much heat can be as dangerous as too little. Shipping stress can be hard on the chicks. Depending on how rough the transit was, the best thing to do is to teach them to drink and where food is. With chicks being shipped it can be common to have a weak one, but hopefully you can get it revived. Good luck.

 

[muddy75]

Brooder temp: 97-100 they’re in the garage so temp fluxuates


Dipping beaks in water: yes


Eating and drinking: unsure, this morning they were all eating and drinking the same and tonight she only ate and drank a small amount compared to the others. I had to work today so I didn’t watch them very long


Starter: non-medicated


Vaccinated: no


Vitamins/nutridrench: not available now, wouldn’t be able to run to the store until next week due to tight budget


Size: she is the same size as all the rest

i agree with eggcessive that you may want to lower overall temp at this point and monitor their behavior. i know the feed store here carries small packets of save a chick that are fairly inexpensive and even the big bottle of life lytes vitamin/electrolyte tabs that i purchased were under $10. most of the time issues with young chicks relates to stress/injury during shipping and/or vitamin deficiency. I think you can substitute pedialyte for electrolytes in a pinch and more experienced members may be able to help with other substitutions you can try using things you already have on hand. i understand how scary it can be with new chicks as one of my silkies arrived with injury or defect that has delayed his growth and development significantly compared to the others. I watched him closely, gave him extra assistance eating and drinking, started the vitamins/electrolytes at 2-3 days and left him in with the others and he has survived to 3 weeks!