My baby chick is very lethargic and won’t eat. Please help or I am afraid to lose her!!

[4Dobermans]

I just got some more baby chicks since I had gotten 2 geese and one polish chick. I got 2 silkies, a drizzle with furry feet, a buff Brahma bantam, and a sapphire gem. One of the silkies is drinking but I haven’t seen her eat and she is very tired and sleepy and stumbles. She has black dots on her head and this chipmunk like pattern on it’s back, her names widow. I am really worried about her but she is pooping that white stuff and she is drinking water. Can someone help me? She is really lethargic and sleepy and won’t eat but did drink some water.

 

[Wishing4Wings]

Try giving her a little sugar water. Sometimes it perks them up long enough to get them eating. You may need to assist.

 

[4Dobermans]

Try giving her a little sugar water. Sometimes it perks them up long enough to get them eating. You may need to assist.

I have her some honey water and I am getting some vitamin powder tonight. She is not like on the cuff of death if she was drinking water and pooped white earlier?

 

[Wishing4Wings]

It's hard to tell, but the chick is struggling and will need special care.

How old is it? You have the proper heat?

I had a 3 day old chick with similar issues. Turned out she had an umbilical hernia. I made sure she drank a couple drops of sugar water every few hours and tried to interest her in chick crumbles with my finger. I ended up putting her in a separate cage with one other very calm chick. Took 5 days of care, but she eventually got stronger, ate on her own, and returned to the larger group. In a few weeks she caught up to the rest of the group size wise.

 

[4Dobermans]

It's hard to tell, but the chick is struggling and will need special care.

How old is it? You have the proper heat?

I had a 3 day old chick with similar issues. Turned out she had an umbilical hernia. I made sure she drank a couple drops of sugar water every few hours and tried to interest her in chick crumbles with my finger. I ended up putting her in a separate cage with one other very calm chick. Took 5 days of care, but she eventually got stronger, ate on her own, and returned to the larger group. In a few weeks she caught up to the rest of the group size wise.

It’s the same heating I used for years with my others. I don’t know what to do because she just wants to sleep and not get up. I get a chirp and open eyes rarely. She did pee not just a hour ago and got her the vitamins with electrolytes in a dropper and some honey water.

 

[Wishing4Wings]

I'm assuming she's a few days old and you got her from a feed store?

Sometimes the shipping is tough on them, they get cold or just weren't strong from the beginning. There are others that fail to thrive... sometimes it's not meant to be. If she is warm and you are giving her a little nourishment, that's all you can do for now.

How long have you had her?

 

[4Dobermans]

I'm assuming she's a few days old and you got her from a feed store?

Sometimes the shipping is tough on them, they get cold or just weren't strong from the beginning. There are others that fail to thrive... sometimes it's not meant to be. If she is warm and you are giving her a little nourishment, that's all you can do for now.

How long have you had her?

Just today. She isn’t like completely dead to the world but she is very lethargic and won’t eat. I have gave her electrolytes and hoping she makes it through the night. She tried to stay up but just falls asleep.

 

[Wishing4Wings]

I have a very good local feed store. When they get in a shipment of chicks, they will not sell any of them for at least 24 hrs. This gives the chicks a chance to get over the stress of shipping and they lose very few chicks. Other places, I have heard, will sell stressed chicks.

Hopefully your little one just needs some rest. Let her sleep and see how she is in the morning. I think you've done all you can for now.

Keeping my fingers crossed for you.

 

[4Dobermans]

I have a very good local feed store. When they get in a shipment of chicks, they will not sell any of them for at least 24 hrs. This gives the chicks a chance to get over the stress of shipping and they lose very few chicks. Other places, I have heard, will sell stressed chicks.

Hopefully your little one just needs some rest. Let her sleep and see how she is in the morning. I think you've done all you can for now.

Keeping my fingers crossed for you.

Thank you. I had a duck that I really thought wouldn’t make it. She was super pale and lost all her color and couldn’t walk with her feet. I gave her niacin and she came right back in less than a day. I don’t feed them medicated food because of the geese Could that cause her to be sick. I think she might be better once she sleeps. Thorn, my goose, Slept a lot when I first got her but would eat. Plus if she is that tired she probably isn’t hungry right now.

 

[Wishing4Wings]

The medicated feed is to prevent coccidia. If you see blood in any of the poops, they will need treatment (not just medicated feed). If the chicks have not been on the ground they probably have not been exposed, so non medicated feed should be fine. I doubt she would have picked it up in one day.