avidity
Songster
I know both of these issues have been addressed a million times already, but I'm not seeing much improvement and maybe some new medical discovery has been made in the past week? So here I am, another anxious chicken mom.
I have two problem chicks, both bantams. One hatched on the 2nd: it's sleeping most of the time, and I haven't seen it eating or drinking very much. Sometimes it picks at the food. Yesterday it just dropped whatever food it picked up and then went back to sleep. I dipped its beak in sugar water and electrolyte water every 15 minutes or so yesterday afternoon, and it did look like it was eating a little this morning. But it still isn't zooming around like the others, and I haven't seen it drinking yet. What else can I do?
The other chick is 5 weeks old. I noticed yesterday evening that she was straining to poop, but I think it's been going on for a couple of days. She goes into a sort-of penguin stance and cheeps loudly, and often waddles a little. Most of the time she isn't successful, occasionally she manages to poop a little. During the one clear view I got today, it looked like she almost pushed her vent inside out. Her droppings look dry and maybe a little chunkier than usual.
This morning, I gave her a ten minute epsom salt bath, during which she struggled and succeeded to poop a little. I saw her sip a little of the salt water, and I tried giving her coconut oil and yogurt last night and after her bath (she refused both apart from what I managed to get into her beak). I haven't seen improvement since then, and I haven't seen her drinking yet today or moving around except for another waddle episode. I have rubbed a little coconut oil on her vent. She hasn't been very keen on eating the coconut oil or yogurt, even when mixed with her usual feed, and she's so small I'm afraid I'll hurt her if I try to force feed her more, well, forcefully. I'm going to pick up the smallest syringe I can find today, but is there another way I can encourage her to take the coconut oil without help?
Both chicks are fed non-medicated starter crumble mixed with water and a little ACV. We serve it more soft than soupy. They also have access to fresh water, sugar water, electrolyte water with probiotics, grated carrot, a small bowl of dirt, and yogurt mixed with crumble (no chick has touched that, though lol). Their bedding is pine shavings.
Any advice or suggestions would be very much appreciated!
I have two problem chicks, both bantams. One hatched on the 2nd: it's sleeping most of the time, and I haven't seen it eating or drinking very much. Sometimes it picks at the food. Yesterday it just dropped whatever food it picked up and then went back to sleep. I dipped its beak in sugar water and electrolyte water every 15 minutes or so yesterday afternoon, and it did look like it was eating a little this morning. But it still isn't zooming around like the others, and I haven't seen it drinking yet. What else can I do?
The other chick is 5 weeks old. I noticed yesterday evening that she was straining to poop, but I think it's been going on for a couple of days. She goes into a sort-of penguin stance and cheeps loudly, and often waddles a little. Most of the time she isn't successful, occasionally she manages to poop a little. During the one clear view I got today, it looked like she almost pushed her vent inside out. Her droppings look dry and maybe a little chunkier than usual.
This morning, I gave her a ten minute epsom salt bath, during which she struggled and succeeded to poop a little. I saw her sip a little of the salt water, and I tried giving her coconut oil and yogurt last night and after her bath (she refused both apart from what I managed to get into her beak). I haven't seen improvement since then, and I haven't seen her drinking yet today or moving around except for another waddle episode. I have rubbed a little coconut oil on her vent. She hasn't been very keen on eating the coconut oil or yogurt, even when mixed with her usual feed, and she's so small I'm afraid I'll hurt her if I try to force feed her more, well, forcefully. I'm going to pick up the smallest syringe I can find today, but is there another way I can encourage her to take the coconut oil without help?
Both chicks are fed non-medicated starter crumble mixed with water and a little ACV. We serve it more soft than soupy. They also have access to fresh water, sugar water, electrolyte water with probiotics, grated carrot, a small bowl of dirt, and yogurt mixed with crumble (no chick has touched that, though lol). Their bedding is pine shavings.
Any advice or suggestions would be very much appreciated!
