Tiny Week-Old Chick, how best to help?

[Ironclay]

A week ago I hatched a single ayam cemani chick. It was born very small and extremely sticky. For the first 3 days, it was blind because it's eye lids were glued shut.

He has a foot that curls inward and walks on his (knees?), but doesn't have a huge problem getting around.

My biggest problem is getting him to eat. He refused water and food for the first 3 days, but on the 4th day he decided he wanted to live after all and will run to the feeder if there are no other chicks there. I have yet to see him drink water, but he must be cuz he's still alive a week later.

I would swear his vent is in the wrong place, I can't find it. But he DOES poop, and it's clear and watery.

At a week old, he his less than half the size of my two day old chicks. Including a picture for size comparison. But he IS stronger and more agile.

He happily eats, IF I put food right in front of him. I am doing this every night, and he eats his fill and then starts cheeping when he wants to go back to the brooder.

I don't want to put him all by himself, he seems to be very unhappy when he's alone under the brooder.

Could he be deficient in some vitamin? Anything I can do for him? He's got a lot of fight.

 

[azygous]

The chick could still catch up. Have you been giving it Poultry Nutri-drench? It's formulated to by-pass the liver and it's a real boon to a chick that may not be able to process nutrients efficiently.

I feed such a lagging chick high protein foods such as crumbled tofu and finely minced boiled egg. Sprinkling food on the floor is a great way to interest a chick in eating that may be reluctant. These foods are also high in water content and will assure the chick stays hydrated.

Last, even a tiny fragile chick like this one will benefit from being with other chicks, taking cues from them as to when to eat and it will be more likely to get into the spirit of competition for the food and eat more that if left all alone. This has been my experience.

 

[Ironclay]

The chick could still catch up. Have you been giving it Poultry Nutri-drench? It's formulated to by-pass the liver and it's a real boon to a chick that may not be able to process nutrients efficiently.

I feed such a lagging chick high protein foods such as crumbled tofu and finely minced boiled egg. Sprinkling food on the floor is a great way to interest a chick in eating that may be reluctant. These foods are also high in water content and will assure the chick stays hydrated.

Last, even a tiny fragile chick like this one will benefit from being with other chicks, taking cues from them as to when to eat and it will be more likely to get into the spirit of competition for the food and eat more that if left all alone. This has been my experience.

Thank you!

I have been letting him have his choice of finely chopped scrambled egg (I didn't think to boil it) without having to compete for it with the other chicks. I was afraid this would be too rich for him to give too often.

I used Hydro-Hen, but I've heard of Nutri-Drench and can go get some.

One of the problems I have with feeding him is he is not interested in food placed too far away. It's like he doesn't know it's there.

I had to move the feeder today because it was in a corner and the bigger chicks were crowding one side of it. I saw him later on in the day run to that corner, find it missing, then he just started doing that very loud distress peep for several minutes, just standing there, before running back to the brooder. That has convinced me he's *very* short sighted. I've since "walked" him over to the new location and he seems to get it.

 

[azygous]

This chick may be blind and is taking its cues from the others. All the more reason to keep it with the other chicks if you can. The only reason to isolate the chick would be if it's getting pecked and injured. Keep the food and water in the same place all the time.