New member... Help with new chicks!

[mcvrxjen]

I Just received my new chicks from MM hatchery and all seem well except for one, and not sure if i should worry! I put some sugar water in the cage and used an old spoon with spots on it to get them to drink (they peck at the spots and it tricks them into drinking, ha ha!) One of my little hamburgs was a little sluggish when she arrived so I wanted her to drink first, and she started just sucking it down. I was relieved at first, but noticed every time she drank she tipped her head up and opened her beak and stretched her neck like she was having a hard time actually swallowing it. None of the others were drinking like this... And then I got really worried when i tipped her forward a little to put her back in the cage and all the water that she had drank came back out of her beak... She still keeps trying to drink though! Can chicks have some sort of esophageal deformity or something that would do this... Has anyone ever seen this or is it just something common that happens and she will get over it?

Help!

 

[Country Cluck]

My chickens do the same thing on occasion especially when they think the water is super good or they have a lot of water in their mouths. Every chick and chicken is different, so you can't judge everyones behavior based on anothers. I am so glad that you have hamburgs as well. I got one from MM myself and she is very nice looking, but she is quite shy with the other girls and would rather kind of hang out by herself. She does not run from me or anything, but she is just not as hyper as they advertised on the website is all.

 

[mcvrxjen]

I think the hamburgs are just a beautiful breed! I bought 2 of those, 2 columbian wyandottes, and 2 partridge rocks this time. I have just successfully raised some assorted reds (still trying to figure what assortment i bought at TSC) and what I thought were australorps, (but now know are black Jersey Giants) a couple of months ago, and got bit by the chicken bug! I just separated the 2 hamburgs from the others (they are tinier and are getting a little run over by the others) in a small cardboard box beside the main brooder. I will watch them and see how they do. You are right, they seem a little more sluggish than the others, despite the fact that everywhere i have read said they were kind of hyper! Thanks for the reassurance, I am a worried chick mom!

 

[mcvrxjen]

Poor little thing just died, now the other one is doing the same thing, she will drink then after a few minutes she will dribble all the water out of her beak again, looks syrupy.... Has anyone ever seen this? Its just the two spangled hamburgs- all the others are just running around like little water bugs, eating and drinking.

 

[Marie1234]

I would let the hatchery know if it is just one breed that has issues then it is a problem at their end. Sorry you are dealing with this.

 

[chickpip]

We just got our chicks today from MM and some are hamburgs. One of the hamburgs isn't looking good at all. She is always sleeping and gets up a little bit and isn't really chirping like the others. Hmm. . .

 

[Penturner]

I had three chicks hatch last Friday. On Saturday all three where getting dehydrated. I got them to drink by dripping water from a syringe for them. One was doing the hard to swallow thing as well. It has since gotten past it but you just have to figure out a way to give them water in smaller amounts. it's like they want to drink faster than they can get it down.

Chickpup, I woudl suggest you start with Dehydration with your chick also. It looked very much like my chicks where very sleepy all the time and they woudl nto open their eyes. almost like the light was hurting their eyes. getting water in them made an immediate difference so you don't need to wait to see if drinking helps. If it doesn't you have something else going on. maybe just an extra worn out chick.

 

[Sooner]

I would call MM, they are very good to replace those that die within a few days or arrive dead.

Sorry you guys are having trouble.

 

[sydney13]

my chicks do the same thing. if the other chicks that are not hamburgs start to do it dont worry because this is normal. i would guess that their was somthing wrong with the hamburgs but it doesn't have to do with how they were drinking

 

[mcvrxjen]

The other chick has been hanging on all day... I have been feeding it sugar water out of the spoon, and it will perk up for a little while but then will sleep a lot... Interesting, chickpip, that one of yours has been lethargic as well. One thing I noticed was that its crop (?) is swollen (the little part of their breast that sticks out) more so than the others. I am wondering if it is stopped up or something, I am not too sure about the digestive anatomy of a chicken as of yet... I did call MM, the lady was helpful- she said it can happen from shipping stress. The only suggestion she offered was trying to massage the neck when she drinks... I am not sure if that is helping or not... That chick has the tiniest neck! They are offering a credit, etc, since they have a 48 hour guarantee. Anyway, maybe the breed has the potential to be more affected by stress than others if they are kind of high strung... Still watching!