So I had to drive 1/2 hour away to the only feed store that sells chick feed in small amounts (I suspect mine might be stale and wanted to test the theory without buying another 50# bag) and I opened the door and THERE WERE CHICKS.
Right next to the door. It snowed here yesterday. I'm thinking.... THAT can't be good, all those drafts!
And there in the bin of bantams is a lonely EE chick. He was so cute I picked him up, and discovered that his whole bottom was crusted in poo and nearly bare.
Turns out this chick is over 2 weeks old, not a bantam, and they moved him from the bin of older chicks (located about 18" from the door to the cold outside, I might add) to the bantam bin because he was so much smaller than the others.
I KNOW I should have left him there. He is most likely going to die. But on the other hand he SURELY would have died there.
He is straight run (hence "he") and I can't have roosters. Heck, I can only have 2 more chickens and I already have 5 chicks, so I'll have to find homes for many of them!!!
The little thing sat in my hand, under my coat, without a peep or struggle all the way home.
But it wasn't till I got him home and set him in the booder that I realized how truly stupid I was: I have now risked exposing my healthy girls to something bad. I took him out of the brooder right away after I realized that, and removed his one little poop, but is the damage already done? Probably.
I set him up in another box next to the big brooder, but I don't have another chick feeder and waterer. Little bowls will have to suffice..... but he is not eating or drinking, just standing huddled under the light. I did clean him off with warm water so maybe he is simply traumatized?
He is older than my chicks and more than twice as small as my smallest chick: he looks like a 4-day old. I do not think he is going to make it.
Stacey
Right next to the door. It snowed here yesterday. I'm thinking.... THAT can't be good, all those drafts!
And there in the bin of bantams is a lonely EE chick. He was so cute I picked him up, and discovered that his whole bottom was crusted in poo and nearly bare.
Turns out this chick is over 2 weeks old, not a bantam, and they moved him from the bin of older chicks (located about 18" from the door to the cold outside, I might add) to the bantam bin because he was so much smaller than the others.
I KNOW I should have left him there. He is most likely going to die. But on the other hand he SURELY would have died there.
He is straight run (hence "he") and I can't have roosters. Heck, I can only have 2 more chickens and I already have 5 chicks, so I'll have to find homes for many of them!!!
The little thing sat in my hand, under my coat, without a peep or struggle all the way home.
But it wasn't till I got him home and set him in the booder that I realized how truly stupid I was: I have now risked exposing my healthy girls to something bad. I took him out of the brooder right away after I realized that, and removed his one little poop, but is the damage already done? Probably.
I set him up in another box next to the big brooder, but I don't have another chick feeder and waterer. Little bowls will have to suffice..... but he is not eating or drinking, just standing huddled under the light. I did clean him off with warm water so maybe he is simply traumatized?
He is older than my chicks and more than twice as small as my smallest chick: he looks like a 4-day old. I do not think he is going to make it.
Stacey
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