PLEASE HELP: Two-Day-Old is Tiny, Wobbly, Can't Stand Up

[my sunwolf]

Just ordered 25 EE chicks from Cackle, they sent 27, and it took 2 days for them to get here!! I was so scared.

When they arrived, 1 was dead in the box (looked like it had been trampled as it was a good size), 2 were in the process of being trampled and were having trouble standing up. I separated them and gave them sugar water, sprinkled some food on a paper towel, got them really warm.

One of them perked up and is at least able to sit up, sometimes walk around and peck food or drink water.

The other one, kind of runty, still has trouble standing and falls over a lot--can't drink or eat on its own.

Is there anything else I can do for this chick?? All the others are healthy and "skidding" all over the brooder!

 

[Animol]

All I can say is keep caring for them - whatever you do don't put them in with the other chicks, they'll be killed in no time. The best you can do is make sure they can eat and drink and notice if they have any problems that might've occured in travel ie spraddle/splayed leg etc.
You could give them some pick me up chicken drugs but, because of their age it could do them more harm than good...
Wish you and the chicks the best of luck

 

[my sunwolf]

Thanks for your response!!

After a few hours of dipping beaks in the sugar water and holding out feed mush in my hands, both chicks have learned to stand, walk, eat, and drink on their own.

So I put them back in with the others before I saw your comment

One of them just blended into the crowd, but the really weak chick I can still spot because of a piece of poo stuck to its head

It's huddling/running with the others and is actually being a bit of a bully, pecking at other chicks' toes. I guess if it takes a turn for the worse I can pull it back out.

I'm still not sure what was wrong/what is wrong with it. Definitely more uncoordinated than the other chicks, but doesn't look like it has/had spraddle leg. Looks like in transit the chicks piled up, so maybe these two happened to be at the bottom of the pile and got squished.

 

[Animol]

Yeah, it can happen. When I had chicks once they all slept in the same corner and ended up crushing the weaker one, my favourite called Dumpling - now I know wht they always say to put the chicks in containers without corners...
ah well, it seems the chick is doing well and if the other is just normal then I wouldnt worry about it too much

 

[cafarmgirl]

The vitamin/electrolite supplement called Save-A-Chick often works wonders for babies that are stressed and not doing well from shipping. It's amazing how it perks them up and gets them eating and drinking, I much prefer that over just sugar water. I use it for a few days everytime I get new chicks now.

 

[my sunwolf]

My first brooder was a cardboard watermelon box with a wooden plank down to cover the huge hole in its center... that worked wonders for my chicks who had learned how to pile up too well in someone's small backyard brooder box. The box has no sharp corners, instead has 8 sides all at really wide angles, and the chicks literally could not pile up.

And I've got to try Save-A-Chick, I keep hearing good things about it but have always stubbornly insisted that I can make my own electrolytes!

 

[my sunwolf]

The weakest chick is back in the intensive care unit

Did NOT do well overnight in the chilly temps, pasted up, and is once again having trouble standing/eating/drinking. I wish I knew some good breeders near me so I didn't have to ship, I really don't like the stress that the mail trip puts on them.

 

[Roxannemc]

The weakest chick is back in the intensive care unit

Did NOT do well overnight in the chilly temps, pasted up, and is once again having trouble standing/eating/drinking. I wish I knew some good breeders near me so I didn't have to ship, I really don't like the stress that the mail trip puts on them.

Have you looked on Craigs or Ebay Classified? Also you may have a facebook chicken swap for your state.
Might look there.
Still might not find the breed you want but might.I dont like the idea of getting chicks shipped just because of what you are going thru
andsdome die that wouldnt if thye werent shipped.
Instead I incubate.
However thats a whole nother catagory of fun, excitment and stress and its real---ly addicting.
But i did get the breeds i couldnt find any place near me even 3 hours away and didnt introduce any diseases from new chickens to my flock.Shipped you Yo usually dont get a LOT of them to hatch but a few... enough to have what i want and even breed a few.

 

[my sunwolf]

The local poultry swap has people I would rather not buy from anymore, all the birds I've gotten from them have been ill in some way, and most of the very local breeders do bantams without much regard to health. Trust me, I've looked at craigslist. I'm also really specific about what I would like from a breeder. The hatchery chicks, while unhealthy, are better than any I've gotten from breeders around here.

I'm REALLY excited about incubating! I just have to get a flock going first

Most of the semi-local breeders are 3+ hours away and I'm not willing to do that, so shipping it is. Guess I have to pay the price for what I'm willing/not willing to do.

This little one took a turn for the worse and I had to pull it out of the brooder. Now it's literally dying in a box on my countertop, I've culled adults for sickness before but never a chick, so I just can't kill it.

 

[my sunwolf]

Just wanted to update post and say that the two weakest ones died

I'm really convinced it was the shape of the shipping box, but I know there are PO and seasonal restrictions. It's just frustrating, but at least Meyer refunded me.

Still on a breeder quest... guess it's hoping for too much to find someone REALLY local doing quality Ameraucanas! (And not Easter Eggers!)