Screaming Chick

[JacinLarkwell]

So I have a chick about 6 weeks old now that screams. Constantly.

She is broody raised, but is the only chick out if the 11 that survived (we had a cold snap and she's not the best at keeping track of babies unfortunately).

She has plenty if food and water and space and still fits all the way under mama when she's cold. But she just keeps screaming.

Could it be because she doesn't interact with other chicks? She sees others all day every day (have 3 other clutches as well being raised in the barn with this mama and chick), but her mama keeps a large space between baby and the rest of the chicks.

 

[LaFleche]

Scream as in really scream or do you mean calling for her missing siblings?

 

[JacinLarkwell]

Scream as in really scream or do you mean calling for her missing siblings?

I don't see why she would still be calling. 9 didn't make it passed 2 weeks and the 10th only made it to 3 weeks.

It's like the panicked screeching a chick makes when you swoop into the brooder and pick it up suddenly. Even burrowed under mama when the lights are turned out, you can hear her almost .25 mile away (Our barn is that far from our house)

 

[bobbi-j]

Could be she’s just a talker. If she’s eating, drinking and acting fine otherwise, I wouldn’t worry about it. I had an orphaned chick this summer that acted the same way. I named her Willis.

 

[JacinLarkwell]

Could be she’s just a talker. If she’s eating, drinking and acting fine otherwise, I wouldn’t worry about it. I had an orphaned chick this summer that acted the same way. I named her Willis.

Yeah, but mine isn't an orphan. I just worry that she will wind up luring something into the barn with her calls

 

[bobbi-j]

I had put an older pullet in with her, and she still was noisy. I think some of them are just like that. Hopefully yours will settle down. Willis eventually did.

 

[Ebony Rose]

She could be suffering coccidiosis (parasitical infection, the eggs and parasites live in every square inch of soil on the planet). Chicks are particularly susceptible to being overwhelmed by them as they've not built up resistance to the parasite at such a tender age. The fix, if caught early enough, is amprolium (generic name) in all of their water sources.
My second consideration would be pasty butt, although exceptionally rare when raised by their momma, it can happen. A poopy butt can be a life threatening condition for young chicks. If this is her complaint, then a warm wet washcloth to wash her bum without PULLING or tugging on anything would be the answer.
Chicks at her age and under typically do not scream unless they're unhappy, in pain.
What's her poop look like? Photographs welcome.

 

[JacinLarkwell]

She could be suffering coccidiosis (parasitical infection, the eggs and parasites live in every square inch of soil on the planet). Chicks are particularly susceptible to being overwhelmed by them as they've not built up resistance to the parasite at such a tender age. The fix, if caught early enough, is amprolium (generic name) in all of their water sources.
My second consideration would be pasty butt, although exceptionally rare when raised by their momma, it can happen. A poopy butt can be a life threatening condition for young chicks. If this is her complaint, then a warm wet washcloth to wash her bum without PULLING or tugging on anything would be the answer.
Chicks at her age and under typically do not scream unless they're unhappy, in pain.
What's her poop look like? Photographs welcome.

I have absolutely no way to tell her poop from any other chicks droppings, but I haven't seen any that look concerning in the shavings or floorboards . I initially thought pasty butt too, but I checked and she's as clean as anyone would expect a chicken butt to look.

 

[Ebony Rose]

Glad to hear it's not pasty butt. If she were my baby, I'd start her (and your whole flock) on amprolium for cocci. It's cheap, effective, and if she is struggling with it, could be a life saver.
You'd mentioned that you have lost all but this baby from the entire hatch, cocci can do that and not all strains present with bloody stool. Older birds, unless they have underlying medical conditions, develop a strong immune response to cocci but treating the whole flock will NOT harm them in any way whatsoever, even if they're not affected. Amprolium imitates the B-Vitamins that the cocci consume to survive, tricking the parasite into starvation! So... don't supplement vitamins while treating them for cocci, but do supplement afterward.
I'll keep you and your feathered family in my prayers.

 

[JacinLarkwell]

It was the cold that caused this batch to fail. 2 times i found chicks that had just froze trying to huddle after getting seperated, and the last chick wandered out during the snowstorm that blew through amd must have gotten turned around. The cold snap had negatives and single digits every day when the day before the snap started was low 60s.

Glad to hear it's not pasty butt. If she were my baby, I'd start her (and your whole flock) on amprolium for cocci. It's cheap, effective, and if she is struggling with it, could be a life saver.
You'd mentioned that you have lost all but this baby from the entire hatch, cocci can do that and not all strains present with bloody stool. Older birds, unless they have underlying medical conditions, develop a strong immune response to cocci but treating the whole flock will NOT harm them in any way whatsoever, even if they're not affected. Amprolium imitates the B-Vitamins that the cocci consume to survive, tricking the parasite into starvation! So... don't supplement vitamins while treating them for cocci, but do supplement afterward.
I'll keep you and your feathered family in my prayers.