Sick Chick, HELP!

[ybmagpye]

My four Faverolles chicks came yesterday and since then, there is one runt in the otherwise hyperactive bunch.

She sleeps a great deal, drinks water and HURRAH - saw her poop a little while ago. But otherwise all she does is peck weakly and am not sure I've seen her drink. I've sort of held back from messing with her as I don't want to add to her stress.

Any ideas? I can't bear thinking she may just be on her way out.

 

[newchickmom09]

I had a chick that was like that. Small and didn't do much. I put some sugar in there water (about a tablespoon in there waterer the size of a gatorade bottle) and took a seringe and sucked some of that sugar water in it. Then I squeesed it just a little so it had a drip at the end and put it right in front of my chicks beak. She didn't go for it right away so I touched her beak with it so the water dripped on her and rolled into her mouth. After that she started to drink out of the seringe. I just kept a little drip at the end of it so she could get a little bit. After we did this every hour or so to make sure she was getting some water then I moved the seringe over to the waterer and set her next to it, that way she new were the water was. After a day of sugar water I put regular water in. Watch to make sure she is eating. If she isn't then try grinding the feed up smaller and putting some on your finger so she can just peck if off of your finger. She slept a lot, but she did wake up to eat and drink, that is what matters. We did all of this for your chick and after about two days she was pulling threw nicely. Now she is the second biggest chick we have.

OH yea make sure she doesn't have pasty butt.

 

[juliect]

I had one runty Faverolles in my batch of chicks a few weeks ago, it took him about 18 hours to figure out the whole food and water issue. He is growing up to be quite the rambunctious bully (I think I over-babied him & now he is spoiled

)

Newchickmom's suggestion sounds like a great idea! Newchickmom...where were you six weeks ago???

 

[newchickmom09]

juliect~ just got to BYC and totaly new to this chick stuff also, my chicks are 5 weeks old now.

 

[juliect]

Quote:
A fellow newbie...but with wisdom

Nice to meet you!

 

[juliect]

ybmagpye you may want to cover the bedding pellets for a few days with some paper towels, so they can't see the pellets. MPC customer service explained to me that chicks may take a few days to figure out what is food and what is not food, and they will try everything is sight. She may have consumed some of the pellet pieces thinking it was food. I kept mine on paper towels for the first few days to cut down on confusion.

 

[ybmagpye]

Thanks to all of you! First thing is I'm going to take the remove the weird bedding advice. Paper towels should do for now. I didn't think that my friends chicks were at least 2 weeks old, and would have likely learned to not eat the bedding. My chicks peck it, and the little rat's nest I call my brain, didn't catch on that if they were eating any, it can clog them up. Oh, and our 'bums' are clean and clear of poo.

Thanks too for the sugar water suggestion! I'm holding off doing that with her just now as she does eat/drink - just not often. She is sleeping, eating, not much running. Maybe being the tiniest, the trip to CA from OH was a bit much for her. Gallinacious Jet lag perhaps?

I'm with my chicks all day today (day 2) so I'm keeping a close watch on my runty bay-bay. The of her feathery cheeks seems to block her vision, more than on the other chicks. I think she's sort of squinting, but her eyes are bright and healthy other than the squint. Might be she's just tired and holding her eyes in 'drop off to sleep' position.

These chicks are amazing. Running around like little wild things one minute, all conked out asleep the next. It's going to be a l-o-n-g week.

Thanks to you all! NERVOUS surrogate Mama Hen here.

 

[juliect]

How are the Favs getting along?

 

[ybmagpye]

Everyone is ALIVE, ALIVE-O!

Am totally grateful for that. The 'runt' is still runty, but she's coming along. I've figured out she just isn't as robust as her sisters. I'm counting on her eventually developing to the point where she catches up - like a 'premie'.

I remember a joke on some old TV show where a woman's GIGANTIC, 6 ft something son was arrested. His mother shouted, 'Be careful with him! He was a premie!'

I'm hoping at sometime my runty chick will be like the six footer.

Thanks for asking!

 

[juliect]

Quote:
LOL
She probably will. My runt caught up and is as big & feisty as everyone else. The only difference is that he still doesn't have any tail feathers...we call him "Buttless"