Something wrong with this guy or am I paranoid???

[addicted2chicks]

I noticed this little guy wasn't "hanging out" with the other chicks. He was just by himself. So I kept watching and never noticed him drinking or eating. He is alot smaller then the others. I thought I better seperate him so I can keep an eye on him. I brought him to the house (our brooders are in a heated building) and set him up in a box with some food and water. I dipped his beak in the water and he drank, then I sprinkled crumbles on the floor. He is pecking but not at the food, and has not gone to the waterer on his own. As I keep watching him, he is going in circles and chirping. Could he be blind? Is he blind and not able to see where the food and waterer are? I am wondering if he is smaller then the rest because he hasn't been getting food and water the past couple of days.
He will also go in circles and fall over from losing his balance, but he isn't falling constantly. Is he making himself dizzy? Is he just the runt and I am paranoid? Or is something wrong with him? Sick or otherwise?

He is chirping but not all the time. When I brought him into the house I had him under my shirt to keep him warm and he didn't chirp until I put him in the box.
He is getting vitamin water and electrolytes.
He was hatching on monday, so 4 days old.

 

[lizard7]

I had one like that. She is now 9 months old but still very meek and mild, but making it. It is good that you separated this one. Hand feed and water as much as possible and see what happens. Good luck.

 

[ChooksChick]

My little Polish was like this, and is still with us because I went to pet store and bought baby parrot food and a syringe feeder. She is very skinny, but very friendly and stronger each day. She runs with the others, but isn't food-driven...whereas the other chicks could not care less about anything not food- if they can't eat it....it is pointless....food?

I have to encourage her to eat a couple of times a day and have never seen her crop really full, but now she goes to eat and drink on her own...2 weeks later.

Keep trying! Some are just special.

 

[sweetie54]

get an eye dropper and force feed it!!!!! Thats what i would do!

 

[cyanne]

You can get the Kaytee Exact hand feeding formula at any pet store in the parrot section and feed it to him with a needle-less syringe. Another good thing to try is to give him a drop or 2 of Poly-Visol 2 to 3 times a day for 3 to 5 days.

Poly-Visol is a liquid vitamin found in the children's vitamin section at any drugstore, wal-mart, etc...make sure to get the kind WITHOUT iron.

It's good to use whenever you have a sick chick or one that seems to be lagging behind in development.

 

[addicted2chicks]

I really am thinking he is blind. He walks into the walls (on the box) and then turns around and walks into another. He walked right into the waterer and then he did drink on his own, but his feet were in there. He also has no visual reflexes. With the other chicks when you reach to pick one up they will run, he just sits. We put our finger in front of his face, quickly to see if he would react and nothing. Now I am wondering if he will be lost without the others. Like maybe he would follow their chirp to find the food.
We live out in the middle of no mans land, no pet store nearby for about 70 miles. Not one that would carry formula anyways. I do have KMR, which is kitten formula and also have syringes. Would KMR hurt?
Could I mash the crumbles very fine and add milk?water? kmr? and syringe it to him that way?

 

[crtrlovr]

try mashing the crumbles very fine, mix them with very fine crumbled egg yolk and add enough warm water to make a "slurry" that you can pull up into a syringe and feed this little one. If you're right-handed, hold the chick in your L hand, insert syringe into L side of chick's beak and aim it toward the RIGHT side and back of chick's mouth. give a very small amount at a time until you're certain the chick is swallowing. Hope this little one makes it. I think someone else on here had mentioned having a blind chick that was doing fine now, and the1much had a blind rooster that was a great defender of the little ones in his care.

 

[addicted2chicks]

I took some crumbles and mixed some water with vitamins and electrolytes in it and let it mush the crumbles a bit. I put him on the plate and kept moving the food around on the plate until he would peck and get food. Finally he just kept pecking and pecking and eating and eating. So I let him do it til he was done on his own. He is now fast asleep in the box. How often should I do this with the food? I will mix fresh each time on a new plate.

Hope this works.

 

[walkswithdog]

At that size you should feed him every couple of hours during the day when you're home. It's what you do with parrots and other baby birds when they can't eat on their own, or baby squirrels/rabbits etc but they eat 24/7 every two hours. Chicks can go for some time at night without. Your cue will be how loud and often he peeps.

Good luck.

 

[Spires6]

He's cute. Keep us posted!