Newly Hatched Silkie, Can’t Stand, Lays on Side

[ackie]

Can it drink on its own? eat on its own?
I would give it one egg yolk a day just to help it get some protein and not too sure on Gatorade...I never fed Gatorade before. But the electrolytes would help.

You can make homemade pedialyte with salt and sugar in water (google for ratio) so that it doesn't have any funky things in it. I've never used it with birds before but it works for mammals.

 

[cherrynberry]

You can make homemade pedialyte with salt and sugar in water (google for ratio) so that it doesn't have any funky things in it. I've never used it with birds before but it works for mammals.

magic water is great too!

 

[SugaryPanPan]

Can it drink on its own? eat on its own?
I would give it one egg yolk a day just to help it get some protein and not too sure on Gatorade...I never fed Gatorade before. But the electrolytes would help.

No , unfortunately it is unable to really do much on its own. But its wings and legs are kicking and flapping away. Just topples on its side. My syringe is arriving tomorrow, but for the time being should I be hand feeding it? It seemed really uninterested in the egg yolk when I was just having crumbs of it on my hand.

 

[SugaryPanPan]

magic water is great too!

Ok thank you both! I’ll switch to that then. I read someone else on here using Gatorade so I used it, but best to not risk anything. I purchased some Save-A-Chick electrolytes and vitamin supplements which will arrive tomorrow.

 

[cherrynberry]

No , unfortunately it is unable to really do much on its own. But its wings and legs are kicking and flapping away. Just topples on its side. My syringe is arriving tomorrow, but for the time being should I be hand feeding it? It seemed really uninterested in the egg yolk when I was just having crumbs of it on my hand.

You can separate the yolk from an egg and stir it, put it in the syringe and feed it that way. Since you do not have a syringe now...do you have chick feed?

 

[SugaryPanPan]

You can separate the yolk from an egg and stir it, put it in the syringe and feed it that way. Since you do not have a syringe now...do you have chick feed?

I do, yes! Probiotic chick feed, which is being fed to the two other chicks atm. Should I let it peck at that?

Also should the yolk be raw? I was going to cook it and then mix it with water and electrolyte mix, but if raw is better I will do that instead tomorrow.

 

[ackie]

do you have an eye dropper or the syringe youd use to inject brine into a Turkey for cooking? or maybe a medicine you have for something else came with one and it could be washed?

 

[cherrynberry]

I do, yes! Probiotic chick feed, which is being fed to the two other chicks atm. Should I let it peck at that?

Also should the yolk be raw? I was going to cook it and then mix it with water and electrolyte mix, but if raw is better I will do that instead tomorrow.

Both raw and cooked works. If they are not eating the cooked version, try the raw. Also you can grab some chick feed and open the chicks beak and drop it in. I do that when I have a chick that is not eating enough. It is easier with pellets or crumble, but I am sure smaller ones may work too. Just be very careful when opening the chick's beak.

 

[CindyinSD]

They don't typically show much interest in food/water until the third day(ish). They come from the egg well-fed & hydrated. When you get them in the mail or a feed store they tend to be 2-3 days old at least, & hungry. From the egg, they haven't been (for me) hungry/thirsty.

I'm sorry you're having troubles. Your little floppy one sounds to me like it's got some neurological problems. I think you're doing what you can; the save-a-chick may work. They can sometimes suffer from nutritive deficits if mommy/daddy weren't getting what they needed to make healthy babies.

I've always ended up losing ones like you describe sooner or later, though. At this point in my chicken journey I would probably cull it in order to keep it from unnecessary & (probably) unrewarded suffering. It's a sad thing, but nature doesn't always come through for baby chickens. I know you're gonna try, and you should absolutely do that if it's what's in your heart to do. Just understand; if it doesn't work, it's not unusual and it's not your fault.

 

[ackie]

I know you're gonna try, and you should absolutely do that if it's what's in your heart to do. Just understand; if it doesn't work, it's not unusual and it's not your fault.

I second this.