Seemingly recovered chick now fading

[Wyorp Rock]

She seems much happier!

So you are just using the heat emitter now - no light. So you could turn out the lights at night and they start sleeping in the dark right?
If that happens, I would still check her crop to see that it's empty in the morning before she eats/drinks.

She is adorable and so are all the rest. I think they look good!

 

[LaFleche]

Thanks for the response @LaFleche. Not sure how much you read but I've eliminated the heat lamp, never went above 97 in the first week, and only went there for a few minutes while fine tuning the lamp setup. All that's left at this point is the ceramic heater in the main pen and a space heater to keep the room temp from dropping below 80 deg at night. The chicks are 2 weeks old so I think I'm within in the correct temp zone based on all that I've read.

Penny was isolated because she was sick and lashing out at the other birds, but I thought she might get picked on as well and wanted her to have a restful space. That said, she definitely seemed upset at being removed from the flock, more so than dealing with a busy coop while not feeling well so I have placed her back in with the rest of the flock and she was immediately much happier. Hopefully she and the rest of the flock can be nice to each other while she is on the mend.

Here's another video of her and the rest of the crew for your viewing pleasure.
https://www.icloud.com/sharedalbum/#B0oJtdOXmJEqj8Y;A48149BE-F32A-4234-990A-E3811312D5F6

Ive checked her and the others for mites but I don't see any and there is no reason for them to have them unless they picked them up at the hatchery on day one. We have no pets and they have been in our laundry room since arrival.

Nice setup and very cute chicks!

Here some suggestions I think should help Penny with her recovery:

You could change the bedding to some old towels or softwood shavings that are not as rough as the actual ones.

If you give them food they love serve several elevated dishes well apart from each other so Penny will not have to compete with the others and be shoved away.

To help her gain some strength keep feeding boiled or scrambled eggs to her on an elevated dish.

Keep up the good care, you are doing great!

 

[adamthomas]

So you are just using the heat emitter now - no light.

So you could turn out the lights at night and they start sleeping in the dark right?

Yes, that’s right, and I dim the lights in stages as I prep their pen just after sundown. They are already winding down as they can see the dimming light from the window above them. I keep a light on during the day since the light is muted in the room and set it to the dimmest setting at night and cover half the pen so they have dark on one end and twilight where the water is.

If that happens, I would still check her crop to see that it's empty in the morning before she eats/drinks.

I’ll be sure to do that. I’m just getting a feel for that.

She is adorable and so are all the rest. I think they look good!

Yes they are! It’s amazing how quickly they change.

 

[adamthomas]

If you give them food they love serve several elevated dishes well apart from each other so Penny will not have to compete with the others and be shoved away.

Good suggestion. I’m about to expand the size of the enclosure and that will make this easier and more effective.

To help her gain some strength keep feeding boiled or scrambled eggs to her on an elevated dish.

I meant to start that at some point and I guess it’s about the right time to do. Do I need to give them grit if I do this or are the scrambled eggs soft enough they won’t need it yet. I haven’t been giving them any treats yet.

Keep up the good care, you are doing great!

Thanks for the vote of confidence. I’m doing all I can to listen and learn from the birds. And the help from BYC members and content is amazing. Time to look for a donation page.

 

[ChickenCanoe]

...
I meant to start that at some point and I guess it’s about the right time to do. Do I need to give them grit if I do this or are the scrambled eggs soft enough they won’t need it yet. I haven’t been giving them any treats yet.
...

Grit benefits all chickens regardless of what they eat even though the eggs are probably more easily digested than feed.
Make sure grit is the appropriate size for the age of the bird.
If it is too small, it won't help. Too big and they won't eat it.
Even if they only eat crumbles, grit will help develop the gizzard.
Halfway down the following page gives sizes of grit for specific ages.
It is amazing how quickly birds graduate to needing larger grit as they grow.
https://www.tccmaterials.com/cherry-stone/poultry-grit/

 

[Wyorp Rock]

Yes, that’s right, and I dim the lights in stages as I prep their pen just after sundown. They are already winding down as they can see the dimming light from the window above them. I keep a light on during the day since the light is muted in the room and set it to the dimmest setting at night and cover half the pen so they have dark on one end and twilight where the water is.
I’ll be sure to do that. I’m just getting a feel for that.
Yes they are! It’s amazing how quickly they change.

Sounds good!

I'm a huge fan of providing chick grit regardless if the only thing they eat is chick starter. I've taken chicks out of the incubator and the first thing they will consume is grit - then they go to food and water.

It's seems grit can be a "hot topic" on BYC, but for me...I say why not make it available free choice from the get go, at some point they will eat something other than poultry feed. I supply grit in age appropriate sizes for ALL my birds, then I don't even have to think about it

 

[RainbowHen]

I wonder if she's chewing at herself because her new feathers are coming in and it's annoying and itchy. My babies have been really grooming themselves and pecking each other a bit with all the new feathers coming in. Mine are the same age as yours I believe. Different breed.

 

[adamthomas]

I wonder if she's chewing at herself because her new feathers are coming in and it's annoying and itchy.

Yeah I wondered about that and felt that might be the case. They are all a little more itchy that previously but no mites so that makes sense.

Penny seems stable at this point but still wobbly. She is the runt now and at the bottom of the pecking order but prefers to be with the flock regardless. She is not getting picked on per se but the others run through her as she sits on the ground like she’s not even there. So rude......

Lavender (Orpington) the outgoing sweetheart and snuggler with a cross bill no longer seems to be able to drink from the nipple or waterer or she’s just not doing it when I’m around. She was the first to fly the coop and is still doing that but seems to be getting more frantic for us to fluff her wet food so she can get to it. I fear she may be getting all her water from the food and thats not going to be enough as she continues to grow. I’m going to get a watermelon tomorrow to help her out but hope that she will continue to prosper is fading.

 

[ChickenCanoe]

Chickens are definitely rude. No social distancing in their world.
We shouldn't try to conflate chicken behavior with human traits. It doesn't work that way.

 

[Shezadandy]

Yeah I wondered about that and felt that might be the case. They are all a little more itchy that previously but no mites so that makes sense.

Penny seems stable at this point but still wobbly. She is the runt now and at the bottom of the pecking order but prefers to be with the flock regardless. She is not getting picked on per se but the others run through her as she sits on the ground like she’s not even there. So rude......

Lavender (Orpington) the outgoing sweetheart and snuggler with a cross bill no longer seems to be able to drink from the nipple or waterer or she’s just not doing it when I’m around. She was the first to fly the coop and is still doing that but seems to be getting more frantic for us to fluff her wet food so she can get to it. I fear she may be getting all her water from the food and thats not going to be enough as she continues to grow. I’m going to get a watermelon tomorrow to help her out but hope that she will continue to prosper is fading.

Your cross beak can do well - the key is a deep waterer and a deep dish of food. She's not every going to be able to drink from the poultry nipple- but so long as she has a deep water container and a deep food container so she can shovel the food in- she has a good chance at a happy life. She just needs a little help learning how!