My baby chick is not growing like the others!

[azer]

4 weeks ago I bought some chicks from a seed & feed store I bought 4 baby Bantams chicks they all look healthy except one little one he won't grow I also noticed he's gasping for air and one eye is closed I clean it and clear mucus comes out. I have been putting eye ointment it opens a couple hours later closes back up. He eats sleeps and drinks like the rest.. is he going to stay that way??? He still looks like a 3 day chick....

 

[azer]

They are from the same breed they both looked the same when I first got them size,color, and feathers.. what's going on with my little one???

 

[loveourbirds]

sometimes chicks just don't do as well as others. that being said, im going to ask a couple questions.
are you feeding medicated starter? if not switch to it, it will probably help.
has it been chilled or stressed otherwise? if so it will have or have had pasty poop on its butt. if this is the case move it away from the other chicks, keep it warm and add some sugar (1tbs per qt.) or vinegar 1 tbs per gallon) if you use vinegar get the type with mother or unpasteurized.

I wish you the best of luck,
brian

 

[azer]

I'll try that thanks Brian!

 

[JustMyCluck0303]

You should separate it quickly. I am a first-time chicken mama. We just had a little runt SLRW pullet die at a week old with very similar symptoms - not growing as well as the others (only about 2/3 the size of our other SLRW pullet)and seemed to have fast, shallow breathing compared to the others. She didn't have clear mucus or swollen eyes but she was congested because I realized too late she was making a clicking noise when she breathed. Initially I had just noticed that she seemed like she wasn't as peppy as the other chicks. She seemed to always be off by herself, didn't have too much of an appetite but I did see her eating and drinking so I didn't think too much of it until I noticed that she seemed to always be breathing faster. Not just faster breathing but it seemed a little more shallow as well. She seemed like she would rather sleep than do anything else. Even caught her sleeping standing up a few times. I didn't think she could have Mareks or Cocci because they were vaccinated and I was giving them unmedicated starter feed, so I just thought maybe she was a runt or that she might just be scared of me and I was stressing her out when I checked on them. She then seemed like she was too weak to bother with eating unless the other chicks weren't at the feeder... like it wasn't worth the trouble if she was going to have to fight to eat. I kept taking extra care of her... forcing her to drink water with electrolytes and ACV, distracting the other chicks at one end of the brooder while I dropped chick starter down by her face so she could eat. The other chicks seemed to take advantage of the fact she wasn't well. They were pecking at her and stepping on her when she was trying to sleep... one deliberately walked right over to her and stood with one foot on her little neck and it seemed to trigger a seizure! She had a really bad seizure. She had been laying down with her head all the way on the ground and from that position when she got stood on (STOOD on, not just stepped on) she immediately shot into the air and onto her back about 8 inches away. Her neck twisted and she convulsed on her back and her legs curled up tightly against her body. Then she stopped twitching and wouldn't open her eyes, but she was still breathing. I was holding her and I thought I would lose her right then. She seemed very weak after and just wanted to sleep. Literally for an hour or two she would not open her eyes. She would swallow when I put water to her beak, but wouldn't open her eyes. After the seizure, I immediately separated her, but since I only have one heat lamp, I put her in her own small (about 10" x 12"x 18" tall cardboard box with shavings, food and water inside the brooder. She wouldn't eat for hours. Then, suddenly she seemed to be on the upswing... She was eating and drinking on her own. I think maybe not having to compete with the rest of the flock made it easier for her to get some nutrition in her body. After about 5 hours on her own she had eaten enough to start pooping because before there had been no activity in that department since she had been on her own.(no, she wasn't pasted up)... I was giving her some chick starter and crumbled hard-boiled egg yolk. I read on BYC she might have an upper respiratory infection because the clicking sound is phlegm or mucus, so I started putting antibiotics (duramycin 10) in the water and making sure she drank it every hour or so. After she started eating and drinking heartily she seemed to start getting very drowsy again. Then the quick, shallow breathing again but still eating and drinking on occasion. Then I went to check on her the next morning and she was on her back in the middle of another seizure but not as violent as the other I'd witnessed. I held her through it and she died a few minutes later. I realize now I should have taken action sooner. I think if I had separated her and started her on antibiotics sooner she might have gotten over the infection. It could have been as simple as me noticing she was having a hard time fighting her way to the feeder because she was so much smaller than everyone else... If I had separated her right away, she might have been able to eat better and be healthy enough to not get sick in the first place. And I wasn't able to start her an duramycin-10 for about 12 hours after I realized she needed it because it was night time and the feed store wasn't open. Some other useful advise for newbies is you should probably keep it on hand BEFORE you need it. It was only $5.99 for the packet.I bought at my feed store. Separate yours quickly so if it is contagious you don't have to be paranoid about the others. I spent the last several days all holding my other 15 chicks up to my ear like a crazy person. Was THAT a click? no, just normal breathing... but was THAT a click?! Still no. My husband told me combined with my own physical unkemptness (spending time shaving your legs and doing hair and makeup are tasks that go by the wayside when you are trying to save a sick baby chick), lack of sleep, and paranoid, obsessive chick-listening behavior I looked like a homeless schizo trying to answer the chicken-phone. Just do yourself a favor and separate and treat them for that mucus. ACV is a great health-booster with electrolytes in water as well.

 

[azer]

Sorry to hear about your little one. I feel so bad to isolate him from the rest but I have to for his own good.. thank you so much for your advice and your interesting story... Hope he makes it he's so cute!

 

[azer]

[/IMG]Sorry to hear about your little one. I feel so bad to isolate him from the rest but I have to for his own good.. thank you so much for your advice and your interesting story... Hope he makes it he's so cute!

 

[azer]

my little guy!!

 

[azer]

My little guy passed away he's in a better place now in chicken heaven!

 

[loveourbirds]

sorry to hear about the loss, but in this business you will lose some its just part of nature. sometimes its bacterial, sometimes a predator gets them, sometimes someone unplugs the extention cord running to your brooder. regardless you always do your best and you will be rewarded.

I see so many people using non medicated chick starter. when you purchase your chicks from a feed store or anyplace they were shipped in, you will always have some week chicks. give them some sugar in their water the day you bring them home and for 3 or so days after. keep them warm and dry, and they will usually flourish. typically you will lose 1 out of your group wether you buy 6 or 60, its just a fact of life.

good luck on future tries and with the other 3,
if there is anything else I can do for you feel free to email me.

brian