Pea green, runny poop in 3 day old chick

[peckerwood]

This morning, I just received my Brahma chicks via USPS from Cackle Hatchery; this is the first time I’ve gotten chicks in the mail. They were hatched on Wednesday morning and today is Friday so they are about 3 days old. There were 5 in the box but, I didn’t see one initially because she was laid out in the bottom of the box. This is the chick I’m having concerns about.

When I first caught a glimpse of her I thought she was dead but, as soon as she realized she was alone in the box she jumped up and started peeping loudly. She took to the waterer just like the others however, she drank more than all the others and took longer to discover food. She’s slightly smaller than the rest, a tiny bit unsteady but nothing too concerning, and she is the only one scratching at her face. She’s the only one that looks a little sleepy- she shakes her head awake when she looks like she’s drifting off to sleep. She started exploring and eating. Now, I’m noticing green, watery gel-like poop in the shavings and discovered that it’s her.

There’s not much info out there, that I can find, about baby chicks with green poop. Anybody else have a clue what could be happening? And if so, what should I be doing for her? ( That’s her in the middle of everyone drifting off to sleep )

 

[Perris]

my understanding is that green poop means she's not eating. You may have to teach her, as you are effectively her broody to show her what is food. Get a bowl of chickfood, pop her down in front of it, and 'peck' at it with your finger while clucking. If the other chicks are digging in, that will reinforce the message for her. If she still doesn't get, you may need to dip her beak into the food too.

 

[peckerwood]

Thanks for your help! I think I started to worry too quickly after they arrived yesterday. I was super nervous about the mail ordering process and had no idea what to expect.

You are correct, when they arrived they hadn’t eaten anything. The hatchery mails them the same day they were hatched which was 2 days before they arrived. I later noticed that the box had a lot of green poop in it as well. I found out that the green poop could be the chicks just processing the yolk.

Last night after their first full day of eating and drinking, there is no more green poops in the brooder. All are doing well and are busy being birbs. Thanks again for your help!

 

[Perris]

that's great news! Good luck with them!