I have a duck that hatched 3 chickens (she took the chickens eggs). The first two hatched a day ahead of the 3rd and they are doing great, but today the youngest (who is 2 days old) started peeping in distress and attempting to itch it's face near it's eyes pretty consistently. After it does this both sides, it pulls it's beak/head back and shakes it a little side to side. While i've always been involved with our neighbors chickens, this is the first time i've been hatching and raising them on my own. The last surprise hatch mama chicken took care of on her own without any trouble. I'm trying to figure out if this is something treatable (mites?) or a neurologic disorder (as it's so repetitive). I don't see any evidence of mites as I know it to look, and we don't seem to have any trouble with anything at all (but we are primarily ducks). They are all enclosed in a small duck house with new bedding and just mama duck so i'm not sure where to go from here. I did some poking around but nothing seemed to fit what we have going on. I put a little DE on my hands (it's a very very fine dust) and rubbed down the baby chick thinking if its mites that should help at the very least, and if it something else it shouldn't hurt. Its peep is very strong and it's down looks very "healthy" but it doesn't really open its eyes, it seems so tired, and i'm thinking with this constant itch it's not getting any sleep. It's finally quiet now under the heat lamp, so perhaps the DE is helping, but i'd sure take any suggestions on other possible problems. I do have some poultry probiotic somewhere so if that's safe to add to the water of one so young, i'll do that as well.
