Sleepy Chick?

[hmkeea]

I have a flock of 12 chicks of mixed varieties. Between 5 and 6 weeks old.One of them is a RIR, and from the beginning, shes slept more than the others. In fact, we call her Naptime. Shes very very friendly and doesnt make much noise. Well yesterday it seemed that she wasnt eating well, or drinking much.I looked in her mouth and she has alot of saliva, like almost sticky, I dont know how to describe it. I had not noticed this previously. Its tough to tell if shes ill or just being her normal relaxed self. Could she have something small stuck in her throat? This morning she is doing the same, just standing there. Am I over reacting?

 

[SJchickens]

How many other chicks do you have? Have you observed their behavior to see if they are letting her eat and drink? Yesterday one of my chicks became ill because the other chicks wouldn't let her eat or drink, and every time she came near they would pick her feathers out. I had to separate her with her sister in order to keep the other chicks from killing her. She was incredibly tired and listless, just like yours.

Also, if you're worried she has something lodged in her throat, you could try massaging it, gently. One of my new chicks was dumb and ate a wood shaving. I massaged her neck for a while until she seemed to recover.

I hope your chick gets better!

 

[DRGLENNON]

I have a flock of 12 chicks of mixed varieties. Between 5 and 6 weeks old.One of them is a RIR, and from the beginning, shes slept more than the others. In fact, we call her Naptime. Shes very very friendly and doesnt make much noise. Well yesterday it seemed that she wasnt eating well, or drinking much.I looked in her mouth and she has alot of saliva, like almost sticky, I dont know how to describe it. I had not noticed this previously. Its tough to tell if shes ill or just being her normal relaxed self. Could she have something small stuck in her throat? This morning she is doing the same, just standing there. Am I over reacting?

What kind of bedding are you using? Fine dust can cause respiratory problems and wood chips can get stuck in their mouth. Are you using Medicated starter feed? You may want to separate her until you know more.She may just be lazy. I hope she is just lazy. I love the name.

 

[hmkeea]

Quote:
I have 11 other chicks. Ive been fortunate to have a good flock, I haven't observed any other chicks picking on her or pecking at her, she has just always seemed a bit lazy, but yesterday she seems even more so. I tried massaging her throat yesterday, nothing came of that. I might bring her inside for a bit if this continues to observe her more closely.

 

[hmkeea]

Quote:
I am using the recommended bedding and starter feed from the farm store where we bought the chicks. I certainly hope she IS just lazy, because she's one of the friendliest, laid back chicks of the group. We've really gotten attached to her! I am going to bring her inside to observe her more closely.

 

[SJchickens]

Quote: I think bringing her in is the right choice. Have you observed her poop at all? It's not exactly pleasant, but it's a good way to tell if a chick is ill. Here is the world renowned chicken poop chart if you don't know about it yet. http://chat.allotment-garden.org/index.php?topic=17568.0

 

[DRGLENNON]

Quote: Some starter feed has dewormer in it. Some recommend and some are against. It just depends on preference. I use medicated for the first couple of months. It helps build immunity for Coccidiosis .

 

[lazy gardener]

I have never heard of starter feed with De-wormer in it. What brand is it, and what do they use for a de-wormer? Is it meant for commercial use? Even that doesn't make sense, b/c chickens in typical commercial operations wouldn't even be exposed to most vectors of worms. That'd be a feed that I'd avoid for sure.

 

[DRGLENNON]

I have never heard of starter feed with De-wormer in it. What brand is it, and what do they use for a de-wormer? Is it meant for commercial use? Even that doesn't make sense, b/c chickens in typical commercial operations wouldn't even be exposed to most vectors of worms. That'd be a feed that I'd avoid for sure.

I'm sry if I chose the wrong wording, but is that not what the medicated part of medicated starter is? Correct me if I'm wrong. I will check the bag for ingred. when I go back out if you would like. I've been told that by several ppl.

 

[SunkenRoadFarms]

Mediated feed contains amprollium, a thiamine blocker that helps prevent coccidiosis. To my knowledge there is no feed available that contains a dewormer, and definitely shouldn't as deworming dosing needs to be closely controlled.