New to chickens: lethargic chick :( help!

[Eme]

We bought a few chicks from some guy a few days ago. They were in rough shape, in a box in the heat with no food or water and seemed weak. We took them home and all of them perked up except for one. The one eats and drinks, but less than the rest, and is not as active, usually sleeps most of the day and just stands there, separate from the rest. When we pick him up, he doesn't struggle or move away from our hand like the rest do.

I am not sure how old they are, but they aren't terribly young, they have feathers on their wings.

Is there anything I can do?

 

[Sunny Side Up]

Congratulations on the new chicks, sorry you're having troubles with one of them. If you don't notice any other symptoms of illness, runny eyes/nose/poo, then it may just be an inherent weakness in this chick. The best you can do then is provide optimal conditions & leave it up to the chick & Mama Nature. Make sure all the chicks have enough warmth, air, food, water & clean bedding. You can add some sugar or electrolytes to their water, maybe offer them some minced cooked egg to give them a boost. And just watch & pray.

Even under optimal conditions some chicks just don't have what it takes to go on. If your chicks had been stressed it could be too much for the weaker ones. I hope that all of them survive & thrive for you!

 

[oliviad51]

Im not sure what could be wrong...is its vent area clean? Is is smaller then the others? It could just be a runt...Im not sure what else It could be.
Good Luck with your chicks!

 

[Ema]

f it needs electrolytes I would really add 6tbsp of white sugar to a gallon of water, this is for emergency electrolytes, keep the chicks drinking on that until gone and then reduce to 3 tbsp. it worked for mine.

 

[Eme]

Thanks, I cut up some cooked egg, but he wasn't interested. I'll put some sugar in their water.
He has a bald spot on his back as well when we got him, I thought maybe chickens had been picking on him before we got him. Just looked really beat up.
Also occasionally there is some pink colour to his feces, not sure what that is. His wings also hang a bit down, is that normal?

Not really sure what else it could be.. what else can I do?

He's not even the smallest, I think he is one of the largest of the ones we got.

On a side note, what kind of chicken does he look like?

Thank you all for your replies

 

[oliviad51]

The wings hanging down is normal. I always remember worrying about this when I get chicks but then I remember it happens everytime I get them! Hope your chick gets better.

 

[Sunny Side Up]

Watch their poop to see if anyone's passing blood, if so you can treat them with a liquid medicine for an ailment called coccidiosis. Get Sulmet or Corid, sold at most feed stores. Cocci can make a chick feel lethargic.