Need help with 48-hour chick

[Jaguar6]

Hello I am new to hatching and hatched 3 chicks within a 48-hour period. The first one born 48 hrs ago is weak and lethargic. I tried giving him some pedialyte to hydrate him a little (I read that somewhere on here) but would like other tips if people have some to share.

Thanks,

I would like to give him a fighting chance....

 

[newchickmom09]

Well, they don't need food or water for the first 48 hours of life since they absorb the yoke from there egg and that gives them all they need for that time. Since he is past that stage now you should have fresh water and medicated chick starter available for him. You can put about a tsp to a tbs of sugar in about 1 1/2 cups of water mix it real well then get a seringe or eye dropper and suck some of the water in there and drip it (one drop only) right over the tip of the chicks beak. That way you know he/she is getting some of it to drink. The sugar water will give his system a little boost. He probably will like it and try to get more so keep the water just at a bubble before it falls out of the dropper and let him peck at it. If he doesn't then touch it to his beak so it falls off onto his beak then he will drink it from there. You CAN'T squirt it down his throught or he could dround from it. So make sure just a drop at a time. When he gets to liking it then move the dropper to the waterer so then he can realize that it where his water is at. Then you can put the rest of the sugar water in his waterer, make sure to put clean water in everyday. After a day of the sugar water just use regular water. Put some bright colored marbles in the waterer for 1. so he will be more interested and peck at them and that will teach him where is water is and for 2. he won't dround in the waterer if the marbles are in there. If you don't have marbles then clean rocks will work. Make sure you have the chick starter available in a feeder he can reach, sometimes the starter is too large of chuncks and need to be ground down to a finer pouder so they can eat it. You might want to do this for the first 3 days or so.

Good luck and I hope some of this helps!

 

[Jaguar6]

Thanks newchickmom! I will put the sugar in the water right now.