Surviving on egg yolks alone?

[alligatorr]

Not sure if this is the thread to post this on but my chick (not sure what breed. Broiler maybe? ~2.5 weeks old) has wry neck and just sleeps all day. Been tube feeding it raw egg yolk + vit E and giving it water + ACV for about a week.

I'd also been alternating the yolk with a slurry of mash feed (ground up in a coffee grinder) and water but despite how fine it is, it still has a tendency to clog the tube and makes the whole feeding process more stressful for the chick (removing the tube to unclog syringe then reinserting it or pressing down on the plunger building up pressure in the syringe making the slurry gush into its esophagus when the clog is pushed out) Wanted to ask if it can survive on just raw egg yolks alone til it can eat on its own again. Does it have all the nutrients that the chick needs to grow and get better? Or is there an alternative food I can give it without clogging the syringe? How much should I be feeding it? I found that 2.5ml is a safe amount. Its crop isn't too full but I'm worried I'm underfeeding.

Also what should be the normal weight? My chick is only 74g while the rest of the flock are in the 100-150g range. Around 2 days ago, it was 69g so at least it's gaining weight. It was pretty malnourished when I found it about a week ago.

 

[SmiYa0126]

You should also add a b complex and selenium to the vitamin E supplement you're giving the baby, and mix in some molasses into the yolk as well. My initial thought that yolk is enough as it's high in fat and nutrient dense overall

 

[alligatorr]

You should also add a b complex and selenium to the vitamin E supplement you're giving the baby, and mix in some molasses into the yolk as well. My initial thought that yolk is enough as it's high in fat and nutrient dense overall

I've read that egg yolks are pretty high in selenium already? Would that be enough? What dosage of B complex should I be giving it? I have this packet of antibiotics + probiotics which also has Vitamin B12, and either or both vitamin A and/or K. Would that be okay to give?

Thank you for the tips and response by the way!

Update: my chick just pooped and there's blood I read that vitamin E overdose in humans can cause bleeding and diarrhea. Could this be a possible cause??

 

[SmiYa0126]

Can you post a picture?

 

[SmiYa0126]

B12 isn't enough, here's what's in a b complex https://www.healthline.com/nutrition/vitamin-b-complex#overview

Stop the vitamin E for now.

 

[SmiYa0126]

The b complex dosage is 1 to 2 mg per kg. It's water soluble and doesn't build up so you can mix it into the yolk.

 

[saysfaa]

Eggs are "high in selenium" is sort of true. They aren't high enough to treat an acute deficiency. And most of the people that makes such lists assume commercially sourced eggs - fed only pellets. If the egg came from a flock that gets much of its feed from free ranging on selenium deficient soil, it will also be deficient.

 

[alligatorr]

Can you post a picture?

Unfortunately, I already tossed the tissue paper with the blood and diarrhea on it in a panic. Is there something that could help? Should I give vitamin K if it does have vit E toxicity? I just mixed up some egg yolk with electrolytes and blended up lettuce for the vit k since I don't have supplements on hand.

Would my chick be able to survive this though? In the past week, it's had wry neck, a sour crop, diarrhea+blood, and I think it suddenly went blind in one eye yesterday

B12 isn't enough, here's what's in a b complex https://www.healthline.com/nutrition/vitamin-b-complex#overview

Stop the vitamin E for now.

Okay will do. Thankfully I just found b complex in our pantry. Do I just crush it into the yolk?

 

[SmiYa0126]

Yes, crush it into the yolk, a fine powder.

It doesn't look completely blind.l, hopefully with the additional b complex the baby will rebound.

 

[alligatorr]

Eggs are "high in selenium" is sort of true. They aren't high enough to treat an acute deficiency. And most of the people that makes such lists assume commercially sourced eggs - fed only pellets. If the egg came from a flock that gets much of its feed from free ranging on selenium deficient soil, it will also be deficient.

Ooh thanks for this information! I'm really new to all this. My aunt is the one who's starting a farm and they separated this one chick and left it in a box (I'm assuming to die) because of its wry neck so I decided to take it and care for it instead.

The yolks I've been giving it are from store-bought eggs but I'll try to get my hands on some selenium asap. Thanks!