Trying to learn from my mistakes

[jedimomhg5]

5/13 I got 17 day old Wyandotte chicks silver laced and gold laced. Everything seemed fine the first day. On the second day it seemed that one of my silver chicks was much less alert than the others. I observed her thru most of the day and never saw her eat or drink. I would pick her up and bring her to the water feeder and food and she would just stand there wobbly or walk off chirping. If I picked up the food on my finger she would then try to eat it off my finger and would also try to drink drop by drop from a dropper. I continued this as much as possible. Yesterday the chick seemed uninterested in food altogether. I gave her some sugar water and moistened food in the water. She had pasty butt I believe and I had to wash it off her. Today I isolated her from the other chicks and continued to encourage eating and drinking. She just seemed off as if unable to drink on her own or eat unless I held it up over her head. The evening she was actually drinking on her own and I thought we made a break thru. I still had not seen her eat on her own yet. I left to eat dinner out with family and came back 1 1/2 hours later to find her dead.

Should I have not isolated her? What else should I have done or what did I do wrong. Any information would help. The other 16 chicks appear to be thriving although I worry about another small one in the group. I don't see them picking on her.

 

[Percheron chick]

Chicks die. The first few days are rough so it shouldn't be a surprise when something that small can't survive hatching, shipping, multiple living conditions, temperature fluctuations, diet changes... if you only loose the one, you are doing something right. Separating the chick is a judgment call. Sometimes the weak one is bullied off the feed and run over so isolating it is giving it a better chance. Other times it causes extra stress or they get too hot or cold.

 

[furry feet]

I raise 30 to 60 at a time yes you did very good the weak ones sometimes just die no matter what we do good luck you could try sugar water or molasses it does give them a little boost

 

[jedimomhg5]

I am feeling better about my decision to separate from the group. The rest of the babies are doing well. A few of them have pasty butt and I had to wash their little behinds off. Looking into how to resolve that now. I have attempted to raise 41 chicks so far with one death. This is my first try with shipped babies though.

 

[jedimomhg5]

Just an update all the remaining chicks are healthy and huge now. They are growing so fast. They are getting their feathers in now. Very little fuzz.

 

[furry feet]

Thats cool they are scary at times i just lost a 4 week old from the heat sometimes there's just nothing to do for them