Vitamins? Splayed leg, pasty bum? Pre-transport to new home?

[ziggy7777]

I have four wonderful bantam chicks; they're about 5 days old. One of them had twisted/splayed leg the day after it hatched, now corrected with a little 'cast'/'tape' for 36 hours; two more had pasty bum for a day or two, they now seem ok. In a few days they will be moving to a new home. How do I transport them safely? How do I make sure they don't get stressed? Would appreciate any tips on this, as I've never done this before!

I also got vitamins for them, they're called 'Country Living Vita Vits +' ( https://www.smithshealth.co.uk/equi...caRXOUvmbwhrqidNOhnkm0eXVnajzW0waAjgkEALw_wcB ) to help with stress and anxiety and to give them some strength, but I'm not sure they would be ok for chicks of this age and I don't want to do them any harm. Has anyone used them before for chicks?

 

[Wyorp Rock]

Can you get some Nettex Nutri-Drops instead? The vita vits reads to me anyway for laying hens/ex batts and breeding stock. I looked at the ingredients, the calcium content is the biggest of my concern on that one for chicks - looks good for older birds though (I wouldn't have a problem using that with adults)

Are you shipping the chicks through the mail or transporting them yourself? Anytime you move birds they may suffer from a bit of stress. I would of course but them in a box with air holes, add bedding/padding to the bottom. Keep them warm - how do you plan on doing that? Heat pad, not water bottles, hand warmers?

Once they get to their destination - see that each gets water and is shown food. If you don't have the vitamins, you can give electrolytes or a little sugar water if they are stressed.

 

[ziggy7777]

Hiya and many many thanks for the reply! Yes I absolutely can get nettex nutri-drops, thank you for telling me about them! Local farm shop didn't have anything other than the vita vits, but I can get them online.

No no not shipping the chicks. They're getting picked up and driven from my house to their permanent home. It's a 20-25' drive. When you say a box with air holes like a cardboard box and wood shavings etc at the bottom? I have no idea re the heat to be honest. Hand warmers sound a good idea, would it be enough if I put them under the box or would they need to be in the box? Chicks would be 10 days old.

Yes of course I'll reinforce that re the food/water! I'll give them a starter pack of the food they're used to as well to take with them and their brooder, their heat lamp et cetera. Sugar water? Brilliant thank you! Will make a note of that!

 

[Wyorp Rock]

At 10 days old, I would test to see if the hand warmers underneath would be sufficient, those can get very warm, so even if they are in the box, they would need a good deep layer of bedding.

Hope all goes well for you!