Sick chick?

[Britalican]

I'm not sure what is going on with her, but it doesn't seem to be like anything else i have seen on the forum. She is a crested polish and she is 2 weeks old today. She is smaller than the other 3 and just doesn't seem to be growing as fast. since I got her at a day old, she has been a very sleepy chick. by that I mean she almost seemed narcoleptic. she is active and will run around with the other chicks then bam sleeping face down. always sleeps face down. She is a little unstable. she stumbles and falls over sometimes, but not constantly. Today when I checked on them though she was laying on her side with her feet straight out. but when the other chicks saw me and started chirping, she popped right up and seemed fine, so i picked her up and checked her butt, and it looks normal. when i put her back down i noticed she was letting her wings hang a little and almost drag when she walks. she laid down and kinda fell to her side then righted herself and fell asleep face down. She is eating and drinking just as much as the other chicks and no weird poop in the brooder. so confused.

 

[Britalican]

No one has any ideas? She is still acting the same. whenever she is not moving now she is laying down, and she still lets her wings hang randomly.

 

[jenniemig]

I'm not sure what is going on with her, but it doesn't seem to be like anything else i have seen on the forum. She is a crested polish and she is 2 weeks old today. She is smaller than the other 3 and just doesn't seem to be growing as fast. since I got her at a day old, she has been a very sleepy chick. by that I mean she almost seemed narcoleptic. she is active and will run around with the other chicks then bam sleeping face down. always sleeps face down. She is a little unstable. she stumbles and falls over sometimes, but not constantly. Today when I checked on them though she was laying on her side with her feet straight out. but when the other chicks saw me and started chirping, she popped right up and seemed fine, so i picked her up and checked her butt, and it looks normal. when i put her back down i noticed she was letting her wings hang a little and almost drag when she walks. she laid down and kinda fell to her side then righted herself and fell asleep face down. She is eating and drinking just as much as the other chicks and no weird poop in the brooder. so confused.

Let me start by saying I am no professional when it comes to chickens, or ducks. BUT, I do know that "crested" birds have the crest because of an abnormal skull, it does not close at the top. Your chick MAY be having neurological issues which symptoms present in many different ways.

I have a crested duckling that I am treating for what I originally thought was wry neck due to a vitamin deficiency. She would lean to her left, and would walk in circles, eventually she was unable to stand. I started treating her with polyvisol without iron. She improved after a couple of days, but then relapsed. I added prednisolone to the polyvisol routine and selenium for better absorbtion. She has had a few bad days but is slowly getting better. I will start weaning her off of the steroids soon, so we'll see if the swelling comes back. She has been seen by my vet who believes that her problems are from the brain protruding through the opening in her skull, which has caused swelling.

I am in no way saying that this is the case with your chick. I am new to this and only know what I have learned from my vet, here on the forum, and the hours of research I have done online. Just wanted to throw it out there as a possibility.

Can you post a video of her behavior? Maybe that will give some of the more seasoned members a better idea of what she is doing.

 

[Britalican]

thank you Jennie, I will look into this a bit more.

 

[jenniemig]

thank you Jennie, I will look into this a bit more.

Keep us updated on your baby