URGENT!! SICK BABY CHICK!!!! PLEASE HELP!!!

[joannaskier]

hi there, so yesterday we moved our 6 weeek old chickens outside into their newly built coop. the one aurecana started acting sick. She has been excludng herself from the others, not eating, puffed up feathers, not drinking, sleepy all the time, clear with whitish streaks diharrea, and not as alert. I dont think it is the changing of living quarters because the others absolutly love it outside and are really blossoming. i have taken her and put her in a seperate thing in my garage wth the heat light and food and water in where the brooder was. Her feathers are no longer puffed up but all she is doing is hunkering down and keeping her eyes open. I got her to drink by dipping her beak in the water and it seemed to work well, but i cannot get her to eat and i dont know how. If anyone could PLEASE help i would appreciate it so much! I am new to this site so sorry if I'm doing anything wrong :-/

 

[anbsmom]

You could try giving her some electrolytes.

 

[CSisley]

The location change is not the issue unless she was exposed to some toxin but since she's the only sick one I doubt that's the case. You've done very well by separating her. I do not know what she's sick with but I've found food and water to be an important battle ground when dealing with a sick chick or chicken. If they aren't getting enough nutrition/energy then they can't fight off what's attacking their systems. If she's gone more than 48 hours without eating I would suggest you either try enticing her with things that she'll like better than regular food or force feed her. For force feeding you can use a blender to mix her food in water. I'll usually add other things to the blended mix just to make it a little more nutrient dense. I've used carrots, raw eggs(or cooked if you prefer), plain yogurt, vitamins(polyvisol without iron is a good one), red cabbage or whatever else might be handy. A large 50cc syringe works well for force feeding and you can find them at local pet stores. If the syringe gets stiff after the first use, a little cooking oil around the rubber stopper will loosen it up.

 

[joannaskier]

Thank you so much. This sounds like a really dumb question but how do you get her beak open to feed her? Because every time I try I'm always afraid I will hurt her

 

[CSisley]

It's not a dumb question, force feeding is an art form in itself. I wrap the chicken's body with a towel and put them between my legs with their head facing away from me. The towel keeps them from flapping. I hold the syringe with my right hand(since I'm right handed) and hold the bottom portion of their beak(jaw) with the thumb and forefinger of my left hand. I may use the other fingers of that same hand to sort of hold their head in place while I pry open their jaw with my thumb and forefinger. You'll want to have your right hand ready with the syringe because once you get her mouth open you'll need to be quick about getting the tip of the syringe in her mouth. You'll want to squirt a little bit at a time and allow her to swallow which will mean releasing her head. Force feeding takes a lot of patience and a bit of practice. I left my husband once to do some force feeding for me once while I was away, thinking it was a simple task, and found that it's not so easy for everyone especially if the hen is strong enough to resist.

 

[joannaskier]

Thanks so much for the tips! She has been eating on her own today so that is a big improvement I put her back outside with the others because it's very nice out. Outside she slowly followed the other chickens around and cheeped, overall she seemed much better, her feathers are puffed up again so I'm just planning to put the heat lamp In the corner of the coop so if she is cold she cam just walk over under it. I really appreciator all of this

 

[n8ivetxn]

You might try putting some yogurt out there for her/them, it has probiotics (good for the stomache)....Sounds like she was having a rough day, hopefully it's past.

Usually, if I have to use a syringe, I use the towel wrap or tuck the big ones like a football and hold the syringe up to the beak and keep pressing it against the side, they usually open it up and I get a chance to slip it in. Try to keep the beak just slightly elevated, so it doesn't just run out, they get a chance to swallow it. - I know it sounds complicated, but if you do it once or twice, you'll get it - and they will too