New chick!

[mapetty]

Our hen has been sitting on eggs for some time. At one point there were nearly 20 eggs under her. In the past few days, almost all of the eggs have disappeared and only two dead chicks have been found. There are no signs of where the eggs or chicks have gone.

This evening, a single chick was under the hen. Due to the issues with the other chicks, we promptly moved him to a box with a heat lamp (kept at roughly 98 degrees) He is very, very pale. His eyes and beak have been shut for the past hour. There is a wad of goo, for lack of a better word, around his rear end. Part of it looks bloody, and there is trash stuck to it.

We're not quite sure what to do... any help would be greatly appreciated!

Marsanne

By the way, this is the first chick we've ever had - the original chickens were several months old when we got them.

 

[nurse_turtle]

You may need to put his beak to the water until he's stronger. It may be too late if he looks that bad. Do you guys have black or rat snakes there. That could explain where your eggs went.

 

[mapetty]

How often should we be offering water? I stuck his beak to the water and he looked like he drank a little, but not much, then he promptly laid back down. He doesn't seem to be able to stand on his own.

 

[mapetty]

This is what he looks like right now... I'm just concerned. I'm not sure what happened to his rear end area or if it is normal. He is breathing well, but just laying around.

 

[mkcolls]

Make sure that the chicks vent is not blocked by poo. If it is and just gently crushing it does not remove it or the "trash" you described, use very warm water and a cloth to loosen the poo, dry the area completely, even a blow dryer held 6-8" from the chick and moved frequently so that the chick is not burned.

Get Save-A-Chick and apple cider vinegar (ACV) with mother (a natural ACV) and add it to the water. Offer water every few hours, or as tolerated by the chick.

Put a stuffed animal in with the chick for something to cuddle up to.

Keep the chick warm, and be prepared, the chick sounds very weak and may not make it. I'm sorry since this is your only survivor this little one is so frail.

Good luck.

 

[mkcolls]

Wow, your description did not do this little ones condition justice. I recommend that you repost under Emergencies/Diseases/Injuries and Cures with your pictures. Good luck

 

[mapetty]

The little guy didn't make it. He lived for several hours in the box, but that was it. My son is very sad, because that was the last egg the hens had. I've read a lot of information on here yesterday and today and there were so many things we did wrong - we didn't separate the hens, for one thing. We may try again once they start laying again, but right now they aren't giving us any new eggs.

 

[mkcolls]

I'm sorry for your loss.

I'm sorry for your son. That baby didn't have a chance. Thank you for posting the outcome.

I kept thinking about the description in your first post. You lost a lot of eggs. Is it possible that you have a predator, maybe a snake as nurse turtle mentioned? It is not normal to have that many eggs just disappear. Also, the damage to your chick may have been an attempt by a predator to consume the chick from the vent. It is not normal. Sorry, I don't mean to cause more pain, but you may want to check the area that your broody hen was in for openings, breaks, and signs of a predator before you set any more eggs.

 

[California_chickie]

I'm sorry for your loss.

I'm sorry for your son. That baby didn't have a chance. Thank you for posting the outcome.

I kept thinking about the description in your first post. You lost a lot of eggs. Is it possible that you have a predator, maybe a snake as nurse turtle mentioned? It is not normal to have that many eggs just disappear. Also, the damage to your chick may have been an attempt by a predator to consume the chick from the vent. It is not normal. Sorry, I don't mean to cause more pain, but you may want to check the area that your broody hen was in for openings, breaks, and signs of a predator before you set any more eggs.

I agree with mkcolls. This seems like a predator issue. I'm sorry for your loss.