Question: Possible sick chick

[ChicksinFL]

One of the 4 chicks we got yesterday seems unwell. We noticed on the drive home last nite one had a very light sounding chirp all the others were very loud. This chick is approx. 10 weeks old and a Silkie, last nite it was friendly and active just like the others and we watched them all drink and eat before tucking them in for the nite. Today it's still up and moving around I watched it drink twice and appeared to peck at the food not sure how much it ate, but it will sit still bob it's head up and down while opening it's mouth. It appears something is wrong with it. Both eyes are open when it's moving about but when it sits still and does the head bob it will close it's eyes. I'll try to get some video of it and post maybe I'm not describing well at all. We got all four from the same breeder they had nice clean areas and no chicks/chickens appeared to be sick while we were there. Here at home they are in a 15sf brooder that is 85 degree's might get up closer to 90 as the day heats up though on playsand with chickstarter in the feeder and a waterer in with them as well (of course).

Any suggestions for what might be happening.. I have contacted the breeder as well just waiting for an reply.

 

[LarryPQ]

Silkies often need extra care--I have found them to be somewhat fragile chicks.

Give her some electrolytes and sugar in her water---get a dropper and put drops along her beak if you need to force-feed her some.

Gatoraid, sugar water, and Pedialyte are all acceptable substitutes if you don't have electrolytes on hand.


Also- check her butt for pasty butt---the less active chicks often sit in their own mess and have issues.

 

[ChicksinFL]

Thank you..

No pasty butt, crop does feel like it is full and we watched it eat and drink some more. It's moving around still with the other chicks just doing that head bob with the mouth open thing.

Should I still try to put eletrolytes in even though it appears to have a full crop.

 

[LarryPQ]

Yes. Electrolytes are not to prevent starvation, but to encourage absorbtion of minerals necessary for the chick's nervous system to send messages to all the corresponding parts of its body. ie- if the chick is dehydrated and low on certain electrolytes, the chick may have problems digesting food, drinking, walking, thinking....

Think of it as being an extreme sugar low. Or a Monday without coffee.

 

[teach1rusl]

So this is the only silkie of the four?? But you're pretty sure they're all about the same age...ten weeks??
Silkies are kind of oddball little birds behavior-wise. To be honest, as long as he/she was eating, drinking, pooing, and moving about normally (at least sometimes, because silkies aren't as active as many breeds), I wouldn't stress too much. One of mine constantly ducks her head and backs away from invisible (as far as I can tell) dive bombing hawks, or planes, or something - they can be very quirky.

 

[ChicksinFL]

All four are Silkies however this is the only one of the four acting in any way odd. My girls are watching them like well hawks..LOL.. so I'll know if anything changes getting worse at any given moment. We do have to leave for about 4 hours in 2 hours so they will be out from under the watchful eyes of my daughters for that time frame.

 

[ChicksinFL]

So my daughter has been concerned and holding this one odd chick, she yelled at me to come see it and held it up to my ear you can hear it breathing sounds congested. Should I call my livestock vet and see if she'll see a chicken I don't think she will though she is my equine vet. She might be able to tell me who to call or is there something else we can do.