Starting to worry

[stina3246]

I got a little RIR yesterday and he seemed pretty healthy pulling him out of the bin. Active, bright eyed and LOUD!! He can't be more then 2-3 days old. Then he started to sound a little weezy last night so we now have upped his temps to about 95 (he was at 90) and he sounds a bit better. He also seemd to have a mild case of the runs....looking a little better today however and no pasty butt yet. The other thing is he seems not to understand how to eat. He drinks water just fine but doesn't seem to understand that the food goes IN the mouth! He is hungry and pecking and scratching around but no food seems to go in. He is VERY interested in the seed moths I have in the house and chases and squishes ones that get in his tank but I can't say he's eaten one. I have offered him plain yogurt and mashed boiled eggs and he goes after them like he is starving but ends up shaking them out of his mouth and wiping his beak like he is offended!!
Is is possible that I need to teach him to eat? Should I worry or is he just being a normal baby.
I have 2 others that are about 2 weeks older...in another room who did NOT have this problem and are flourishing.

 

[underground chickenman]

If he's running around, drinking, scratching and chasing bugs, I'm betting he is eating. I think your bigger problem is he is lonely. Chicks and chickens are not meant to be alone. You need at least one more. The loose stools are common during the first few days of life, especially with the stress of traveling, new home and, in this case, being alone. I would keep an eye on him for a couple of days before you start considering an illness, unless, of course, he gets worse. Watch out for pasty butt and gently remove any stuck on poop with a warm damp cloth or sponge. I would get him a same age friend.

UGCM

 

[stina3246]

I KNEW I should have gotten him a friend when I was there but I had 2 at home already....I know...you can never have too many chicks. I may need to wait a few days to make sure he's healthy now before I can add him to my tiny flock. (Can't get back to the feed store for a week however convincing my husband to get "just one more" shouldn't be much of a problem.) Would a stuffed animal help....or just scare the living day lights out of him?
I could just move his brooder next to thiers so they can see each other but then would the quarentine be pointless?

 

[yomama]

I have heard that a mirror and a stuffed animal can help soothe lonely chicks. Another thing to consider is smashing up the chick feed. I have a Blue Andelusian chick that is developing much slower than the other 7 chicks that I had ordered, even the other Blue Andalusian that I got. She is a month old now, but in the first week, I noticed that she seemed to just peck at the food, but wasn't really eating it. I smashed the chick feed up (with a rolling pin) and this seemed to do the trick. I ended up doing this for the first 3 weeks. Not sure if I needed to do it that long, probably not, but I wanted to make sure she was doing good. It was quite tedious, but at least she was eating! Another thing that helped me is the vet told me to watch her stools. If they were very watery, with not much substance or color, she was most likely not getting enough food. Once I started smashing up the food, I noticed that she was actually eating, not just pecking at the food, and her stools starting looking like all the other chicks, tan, like the food. But yeah, if it were me, I would get her at least one buddy. Hope this helps!!