Membrane and shell stuck to new chick. What do I do?

[gwendalynn28]

I didn't know cedar was toxic to chicks. I'll get that changed out ASAP! I have some hay in the shed! That is good to know. He's been doing okay on it so far though so it never crossed my mine. Last summer ants invaded my hay so I thought it might be better to put them on cedar since they come in plastic bags. Thanks for the info!

 

[gwendalynn28]

The chick is really happy with his/her new friends. Some of the shell has fallen off on its own. The chick is still pretty small though. I see it eating all the time though with the new friends. I'm hoping that it grows and develops normally. I'm still nervous about trying to get that shell off. The brooder light is on all the time though so I'm wondering if night time will make a difference. The chick is still "guarding" its friends. It usually sleeps standing up and will slowly fall forward onto its beak, then realize it tipped over and pull itself back up. Its funny to watch but it would be nice if it wasn't so neurotic over watching its buddies. They are healthy and normal and most likely not going anywhere. I have to go change the bedding out since I learned this evening that cedar is toxic to chicks! I better get a move on since the sun is setting! Thanks for all the info everyone!

 

[gwendalynn28]

The bedding is know switched out! Good thing I went outside too because an insulator broke on the electric fence and was popping pretty loudly! Its not such a worry now but when it get super hot and dry during the summer it can be a fire hazard. I put the little chick back. The two silkies didn't seem to phased by the changing out. The little one with the stuck shell didn't like it too much. Its now standing under the brood lamp breathing a little heavily. I hope it calms down soon. I feel bad for this chick because it seems to have a nervous break down pretty easily. I'm going to leave it alone the rest of the evening and just check in on them before I go to bed. The house is starting to quiet down too which is nice. The kids are in their room "settling down" for the evening! They have an hour of quiet time in the evening before bed where they are allowed to watch TV, read a book, or play a board game quietly so they can whine down before going to bed. I love it so much!

 

[Lacrystol]

Sounds like things are working out great, that's super, be careful with the hay, I had giving my chickens hay and because it had some green in it, my chickens ate it, sure enough it got caught in one of there throats and needless to say I lost him. I didn't know what the heck was going on with him at the time, he was having a really hard time breathing, I looked down his throat and didn't see anything but sure enough once he past, here it comes all slimmy and wet. By then it was too late, of course, now I would have done things a little different I was told to try putting a q-tip down his throat next to see if I could get what ever it was blocking his airway out. I couldn't understand why or how could a chicken choke on hay when they eat grass all day, but then had to kind of think about it. Grass is a lot more flexible where hay is really tough.. So that's my lesson for you for the day.. LOL.... Plus hay gets molding real quick..

 

[gwendalynn28]

What is the best bedding for chicks then? Sand maybe? An update on the chick. I noticed it looked like it wasn't feeling really well. I was going to wait until today to try to get the shell and membrane off its back, but I changed my mind. I ran the tap water until it was a little warm and then put the chick under it. It was pretty upset at first but while it was soaking under that warm water, he/she liked it and even closed its little eyes and relaxed. It didn't mind so much when I was rolling that membrane off either. I only had one piece of shell on the very tip of the wing I couldn't get off so I took a tiny pair of scissors and had my husband snip it off. The chick did have a dirty vent though that was pretty packed with poo. I cleaned that off as well. I'm hoping the clogged vent was only because the chick didn't have full mobility with the shell sticking its wing to its back. I dried it with the blow dryer on a warm setting, but it didn't like that too well. It chirped loudly for awhile when I put it back in the brooder but eventually quieted down. The silkies went to the other side of the cage and just stared at the tiny chick. I gues they didn't know why it was so upset! lol! I'll post pictures this evening when I get home!

 

[SierraView]

Pine shavings work good for bedding. Watch his vent and keep the poo cleaned off like you did already. Happens a lot to chicks.

 

[Lacrystol]

AWWWE the poor little thing, I use straw for bedding, but I read pine shavings. In the past I have used shredded paper the only problem with that I found is it gets wet and stays wet.. The straw I use I get it from a farmer down the road and it's soft, and small chunks and because it's brown no one tries to eat it alls they do is scratch at it.... LOL..

 

[Lacrystol]

I just had two of my baby chicks that had poop surrounding there bottoms, I almost lost one because he couldn't get the poop out is was so sealed up, hard as a rock.. I had just bought him from a person down the road, they had tons of chick's so I'm sure if I wasn't there to rescue him, chances are he would have died, he was that bad...

 

[gwendalynn28]

The love birds just hanging out!

You can see its back is looking much better without all the stuck on shell and membrane. Still hasn't gained a lot of size. I am going to have to keep a check on its bottom though to check for a clogged vent. He doesn't seem too phased by living with giants! I hope they grow up to be about the same size! Its been eating like crazy today too! They must be hitting a growth spurt! I'll keep you posted on any updates as they arise. I'm hoping everything goes well with this chick from now on! Any ideas for names for this little one and its two titan friends?

 

[TNTRanch]

Pine shavings are fine mixed with a little hay. Cedar is a big NO.
Wood Pellets for horses works well too.