Rescued chick from cat (*Update* Coop page 26!)

[KarenP]

I'm so sorry Elinette passed away. Don't loose hope for the other two, keep trying. And to answer your question i use pine shavings. You can buy them at any grain store as well as walmart. Please keep us posted.

 

[fezlet]

Is safe to mix that corid with the electrolytes? I'm so desperate to find out what is wrong. I don't want to lose Floyd too.

 

[lvchicken]

Hang in there!!

 

[KarenP]

I don't know if that is safe. Make sure they are drinking the water with the corid in it. Sometimes they realize it doesn't taste the same and they don't drink it which defeats the whole purpose. Don't be hard on yourself, if there is one thing i have learned is keeping chickens is not the same as a dog or cat. They become ill very easily and it has nothing to do with the way we care for them. I just started to raise them this summer and have had my share of heart-ache. Don't beat yourself up, just do the best you can!

Karen

 

[fezlet]

I have Floyd outside right now. He's weak but he's trying to scratch and he's eaten quit a few bugs. I hope this is a good thing. He's walking around and doing a little pecking, too. I hope he gobbles up the yogurt the bf brings over and gets some meat on those bones. Keep yall updated.

 

[Pele]

I've been following this thread, and I'm very sorry for your loss

You have a beautiful heart for saving a helpless life and doing everything you can to keep your chicks happy. I do not believe your chicks have anything physically wrong with them, but I do believe that they've been exposed to lethal levels of drafts and cold.

Chicks have no capacity to regulate their own temperature until they get their feathers. Which is why they have a mother to sit on them and share her body-heat in normal circumstances. Now that the weather has gotten colder, your room is full of deadly drafts of cold air, even when you have the heat-lamp on them.

I would suggest blocking airflow on all of the sides by wrapping their cage in a towel (I once used duct tape and a tarp in my poorer days). Be careful to leave the top open for air circulation however, and for the heat of hte lamp to shine down from the top. This will keep drafts out but let air into the cage without compromising their safety.

Pasty butt is a sure sign that your chicks are chilled, it's the biggest warning mark for it. Luckily if you get heat on them soon enough, and block the drafts, they should recover.

Good luck!

 

[fezlet]

Quote:
Thank you so much Pele. I did have them in a dog type kennel and I just now got them a large rubbermade tub to block drafts. Floyd almost has all his feathers now. I think he's about 6 weeks. The little girl i have (who is doing really well) is 4 1/2 weeks old. I've taken him outside today because it was pretty warm and sunny. They seem to LOVE it. Floyd isn't standing still except to rest. He's exploring and grabbin bugs. I still have them out. I'm posting and checking the forum from my phone.

My mom suggested depression/stress. She used to work in a chicken house when she was little and they kept telling me, "they're too hot April." I'm just at a loss. He seems to be doing great outside right now and seems happier. I'm afraid if I put them back in the tub he'll just stand there again and look sad.

He's the only one now who has pasty butt. Calissa has nice and firm poops and isn't losing any weight. I'm officially stumped.

 

[Pharm Girl]

Sounds like you're doing all you can to get Floyd back to his old self. If you have heat toward one side of the rubbermade they can duck in and out as they need to.

This is my brooder made out of a kids swimming pool and a cardboard box. Made a little window for the dog. Can't believe it's lasted through 3 hatches so far. Make sure you have a ceramic heat lamp made specifically for high heat bulbs so you don't burn the house down. The part attached to the shade should be ceramic, not plastic, unless you're under 50W. I think Floyd might still need 75-100W heat until he perks up. Keep that dude warm and hopefully he will make a full recovery soon.

Go Floyd!!

 

[fezlet]

Alright I'm going to get some pine shavings this afternoon. Do you think I should stop the Corid? It doesn't seem to be hurting the EE at all. Going to take yours and Pele's suggestion and put a heat bulb on him tonight. Should I give him some of the yogurt and APV that I get them tonight? It's like a transformed Floyd from going outside to in. Outside he was walking around and pecking at the ground, and even scratching! I bring him in and he falls asleep standing up with his head drooping... he'll take a step and try to extend a leg and he'll hold it, then take another step and try to do it with the other. What's this mean?

I just had their heat lamp on them and Calissa just plopped on her side and started breathing hard and panting! She doesn't leave Floyd's side. I think she'd rather get overheated and die than leave his side for a second!

Here's what Floyd is doing

That's Calissa's poop and Floyd's is just that white stuff back there. Oh God please help my baby make it through this

 

[KarenP]

Don't stop the corid! Keep it in their water for 5-7 days. Give them fresh water and corid daily. Besides having his eyes closed Floyd doesn't look all that bad. When they are sick, their feathers are usually puffed out and droopy.