newbie question - one chick not thriving

[thepone]

Hi everyone - I'm pretty sure I know the answer to this but wanted to see if there was anything I could do to help a 10ish day old Golden Comet who just isn't thriving. She seems to be going downhill - not eating or drinking enough and sleeps a lot. Figured it didn't hurt to ask. She's in with 7 GCs and 4 Aracaunas who aren't picking on her. Any advice would be appreciated.
Thanks
Alisa

 

[NewGuineaChooks]

Without anything obviously wrong with her, its a bit tricky.... check to make sure her butt's clean, hand water her, try giving her doses of polyvisol maybe, but sometimes they just don't live. :-(

 

[thepone]

Thanks - a follow-up, how do you hand-water them? She's so sweet, at this point just falls asleep in my hands - I can't imagine she'll make it but maybe today she'll bounce back.

 

[NewGuineaChooks]

Get a tiny medicine dropper, or even better, a syringe (such as one you have lying around the house from when someone had their wisdom teeth removed) Hold the bird in one hand, and put drops of water on/in its beak. With mine, I usually only have to put a drop on the tip, and their natural instinct makes them look up and swallow. But, in a stubborn/more ill bird, gently force the beak open by putting the nozzle at the side joint where the top an bottom beak meet the head feathers, and squirt the drops of water in.

Be careful you don't get water in the nostrils on the top of the beak!

 

[thepone]

thank you, I'll try that.

 

[Gindee77]

I just lost a Buff Orp chick yesterday that was exactly as your sounds. I had marked the chick (dot of magic marker on it's head) because a week before it had an over-sized crop from eating shavings. I covered the shavings and it seemed to rally. I'm not positive that is what happened to it in the end, but it was just not eating, or drinking or running around like a chick should...oh, and it felt like a little empty husk when I picked it up, very light and never seemed to get bigger or gain any weight. (The rest of my chicks feel like little chubby chunks in comparison, and they gain growth and weight everyday!) The sick one didn't have any poop symptoms at all.

Yesterday morning before I left for work (I drive a school bus) it actually ate something and drank a little bit. By the time I got home from my morning route about 3 hours later, it was gone. Still with no poop symptoms! I'm baffled.

NewGuineaChooks is right, sometimes they just don't make it. I guess Mother Nature has a way of culling of her own.

I've also lost 3 other chicks, 1 other BO and 2 Barred Rocks that just never seemed right from the time I brought them home. They were always weak, puny and cheeping loudly all the time. I thought I could save them with TLC, but it just wasn't to be. I lost 4 chicks out of 17...not very good odds...over 25% loss... but I don't think it was my fault, I did everything according to the books (and this wonderful forum). The chicks just weren't very hardy. I just hope the other 2 BO's live and my last Barred Rock too. And I hope at least one of those BO's and the BR are pullets!

I'm pretty sure there was no disease or anything like that because all my other chicks are growing and thriving. I guess you can just get runts and chicks that aren't going to make it. It's sort of hard to accept tho...the last time I had chickens I never lost one single chick. Maybe it's just my turn.

Keep us posted on how your chick does.

 

[wegotchickens]

Thepone, I am in the same boat with one of mine. I watered her, have fed her a 'gruel' of water and feed, and more recently fed her a gruel of water, feed and polyvisol. She eats from the hands like she's starving but doesn't eat or drink on her own among the other chicks.

I let all the chicks eat some of her gruel the other day and she seemed more into it since she had to compete with the others (6). And later it looked like she actually ate dry chick starter with them as well. But now her crop is packed and hard and she's back to the non-interest again.

I've been wondering if I should just leave her be. She'd be dead already if I didn't spend the one-on-one time with her. But it's really hard to just give up on her.

Good luck with your little one!!

 

[thepone]

Thanks everyone - I'm no starry-eyed dreamer but hey, if I can do something to try and keep this cute little thing going it's worth it. I just ran home to check on her and actually found a perfect little infant medicine syringe in my medicine cabinet. I got her to drink about a teaspoon of water but she still showed no interest in food or an egg yolk. I rinsed her butt - she was our first pasty butt in the bunch and I've had to tend to her daily for that but it's been getting better (seemingly). Maybe she's just not eating enough to make the same amount of poo. She's just so low on energy, sleeps under the lamp standing up while the others run end to end in their big ole box. *sigh* I trust mother nature but I'll do what I can to disagree with her choosing!
Alisa

 

[thepone]

*ugggghh* ok so i cooked up a yolk as was suggested. when greeny (my sick chick) didn't look at it i left it in the brooder for the others to check out. was that a bad idea? am i going to kill the rest of them if they eat it with no grit? being a newbie at anything pretty much sucks. i'll get the hang of it if the chicks survive long enough for me to learn my lessons! they weren't interested when i left the house but who knows what's going on there now. i need a chick cam!

 

[ChickadeeLover]

My sick chickie, who I have separated likes egg yolk but only when I am not watching. tlc is good to. Good Luck