need immediate help with baby chick

[bardos]

today was due day, walked into the chicken house, found one baby on the ground, still breathing but very cold to the touch and hardly moving. other babies are running around with mom.at the moment it's midday and at the moment she is in the palm of my hand by the computer recovering body temperature and beginning to chirp. her eyes are still closed, haven't opened. she is becoming more active. any way she can live? what do i need to do?

 

[bardos]

eyes open, warm, much more active, but still not able to move about

 

[DivaExMachina]

In another thread I started, a fellow BYC suggested that I give my weak young chick some Nutri-drench as per this thread:

https://www.backyardchickens.com/t/746509/how-to-deal-with-travel-stress-in-baby-chicks

Apparently it gets absorbed directly before digestion and gives the chick strenth. That might help.

If you can't find it then perhaps try feeding with a solution of dextrose and electrolytes. Obviously also keep it warm. I am not an expert at keeping sickly chicks alive though. Mine ended up dying.

Good luck and please keep us posted.

 

[bardos]

After a while, sitting in front of the computer with the chick in my hand warming, sitting in my underwear and only having the use of one hand, for the foreseeable future, I checked out the chick yes, the eyes had opened, it felt warmed up. It wasn't able to walk with too much agility.

I didn't want to become the chick's imprinted mom. it's a hot day today, I put the chick down on my bed and put on some pants, picked it up again, went out and found the mother in a corner of the chicken house with her other chicks and placed this chick near it. She accepted it... that was what I had been afraid of, that if it stayed away too long she would not re-accept it, it crawled under her and looked warm and protected. That's how I left them.

I don't know what will happen. But I guess I decided to leave it in the hands of fate. I have raised many a baby goat and, as i live alone, I just don't have the time or energy to devote to being mom to a baby chick.

 

[Nuggetirl]

After a while, sitting in front of the computer with the chick in my hand warming, sitting in my underwear and only having the use of one hand, for the foreseeable future, I checked out the chick yes, the eyes had opened, it felt warmed up. It wasn't able to walk with too much agility.

I didn't want to become the chick's imprinted mom. it's a hot day today, I put the chick down on my bed and put on some pants, picked it up again, went out and found the mother in a corner of the chicken house with her other chicks and placed this chick near it. She accepted it... that was what I had been afraid of, that if it stayed away too long she would not re-accept it, it crawled under her and looked warm and protected. That's how I left them.

I don't know what will happen. But I guess I decided to leave it in the hands of fate. I have raised many a baby goat and, as i live alone, I just don't have the time or energy to devote to being mom to a baby chick.

This is probably the best thing to do. If you don't want to brood it until it's old enough to be reintroduced, and then take the time to do that, then just give it back to mom. I'm betting it just got left behind and too cold. If it started chirping and is able to walk, I'd say it has basically the same chance as the rest of them!

 

[DivaExMachina]

How did it go?

 

[bardos]

Went into the chicken house this A.M. (btw I am GMT +2) and she was in the corner where I'd seen her last night, with the chicks covered under wings. I could not see any, so I will have to postpone my desire to find out how it's going. Left my shallow tray of water, as I usually do for newborns, once I lost one to drowning in the normal chicken water holder. I'll go check again in an hour or so when I open the little door and let them out to free range.

It was amazing how cold the chick felt when I first picked her up off the floor and how she responded so well just hanging out in my hand as I was sitting down and surfing the net. But she was still fairly weak when I placed her with the mother yesterday.

 

[Stiggy]

Chicks can make astounding recoveries from hypothermia . And I have seen it many a time. you just need to get them warm until they are up and running then either play mum, re introduce ( not always possible) or add to a brooder of other chicks. we used to use a light ( like those desk lamp ones that get really hot) to keep all manner of baby things alive from sparrows, starlings, chickens and even prem lambs. as long as they can get back to body temp they should be fine, but as they cannot maintain it very well they are more susseptiable which is why they spend so much time under mum as she is nice and snuggly warm

 

[bardos]

Just checked. Things are going well! She is alive and walking and able to follow mom around. She is slightly weaker than the rest, but she looks good. Picked her up and cuddled her again. Think this might be the beginning of a strong relationship. Hope she survives babyhood and that she does not turn out rooster.

 

[Nuggetirl]

Just checked. Things are going well! She is alive and walking and able to follow mom around. She is slightly weaker than the rest, but she looks good. Picked her up and cuddled her again. Think this might be the beginning of a strong relationship. Hope she survives babyhood and that she does not turn out rooster.

woohoo! seems like the worst is over for this baby chick.