Sick chick?

[Serchick]

Saturday the 23rd our 7 chicks arrived by mail. They were hatched Wednesday. They spent the day in the brooder eating & drinking before being stuck under our broody hen that night. They were in a seperate enclosure within the chicken run for 2 days. There were 2 cases of pasty butt, but no other problems noticed early on. After that they have been let into the run for longer & longer times, under observation at first to handle any problems with our 6 other hens. All seemed well. One chick was more tired than the others, frequently dozing off away from the others in the run, but was seen eating, drinking & pooping normally. She did fall down or get run over more than the other, so was named Drunken. Wednesday morning when the chickens were let out Drunken was lying in her little coop stretched out & cool. She was not dead & was moving a bit, but died shortly after in our inside brooder. We warmed her a bit & gave her some vitamin drops but had little hope. Her legs were stretched out long & her wings were up above her back. Looking online meningitis seemed the best fit. This morning another chick is acting tired, sitting away from her family as they scratch. She is stretching a lot. She is sick, too, I think. What can we do?

 

[birdsrfun]

I would get the chicks on Nutri Drench. Did mama hen accept them? They need to be kept at 95 degrees their first week of life. If mama is not keeping them warm enough, they will die. You may need to get them in a brooder box with a heat lamp to make sure they are warm enough.

 

[birdsrfun]

They.can be kept at 90 degrees their second week of life, then 85 their third week, and so on. Just because you have a broody hen doesn’t mean they will accept unknown chicks and raise them correctly.