Weak/Sick baby

[rachelm10]

When I was nursing our chick back, I found a method that worked great...it did take a while to get used to, but it worked great! We took a straw and put a finger over one end. Dipped the other end in the sugar water and put the straw near the chicks beak. Eventually, he learned to stick his beak in the straw and drink. At first we had to drop the water on his beak so he knew it was there. Sounds cooky, but his beak fit in the end of the straw great. Good luck!

 

[basicliving]

Quote:
This is an excellent idea! Thanks for the tip. I used a straw this morning and it was much easier than the syringe I was using. I released 2 of the babies from the Chick Intensive Care Unit this morning. I marked their heads so I can watch how they do with the others. So far, so good. They joined a small heap and are sleeping right now.

I added another to the CICU this morning - I think she was just really sleepy, but I'm not taking any chances. She's sleeping now. The other in there is the first I put in CICU, and she's doing much better - but she's still wobbly on her legs and very tiny, so I'm keeping her there.

I lost my only Silver Gray Dorking last night. It was a little rooster. Broke my heart. Not sure what was wrong with him - I found him with pasty butt last night and cleaned him up and stuck him in the CICU - but he didn't make it. I found him dead at 12:30AM when I woke to check on them.

These chicks are stressing me out! I hope we all make it through this...

Thanks,
Penny

 

[SoccerMomof7]

Good Luck I hope your chicks all get better. I know what it's like to be stressed over chicks, I have only had chickens a couple of months and geez I have been going crazy to make sure they we okay and had everything that they needed. It was better now that they were older but I went and bought 4 more baby chicks saturday so I am back at square one!

 

[IloveMyReds]

Sadly I lost a baby chick that we hatched. We put eight eggs in the incubator and 4 never hatched (they were not fertile) and 4 did hatch. Three hatched two days before Mother's Day and then the one that died hatched on Mother's Day. It lived 6 days and then died. The day before it died I was picking it up and taking it to the water because it was so weak and it would drink and be happy and act like it would live. I was so optimistic it would and then when I woke up the next day, it was dead. Needless to say I bawled like a baby too. I can understand Penny why the chicks are stressing you out. I hope yours make it! Keep us posted.

 

[basicliving]

ILoveMyReds, I'm so sorry you lost one of the chicks you hatched. It's just so darn heartbreaking to lose them. I've cried and cried over both the ones I lost so far. I hope your others grow up strong.

SoccerMomof7, I am now to the point where if all of them is running around and 1 is sleeping, I panic and yank it up to make sure it's ok. I keep reading that everyone says baby chicks are easy - but I think this is the hardest thing I've done in a while! I just worry over them all the time. Fortunately, I work from home and they are in the room next to my office - so I go in and check them every 5 minutes or so. I've been getting up at least twice a night to check them and make sure the temp is ok. Lordy - I'm not sure who will be happier when they get big enough to go to the coop - me or them! I know they're tired of me standing over them constantly!

On the up side - I just checked on the two I put back in with the others with marked heads. One is sleeping and the other is running around trying to wake everyone up to play!

Penny

 

[basicliving]

Well, the one I put in CICU this morning was apparently just sleepy. She slept a good long while and then woke up trying to jump out of the box. I marked her and put her in with the others and she's just fine.

The really weak one (the first to go to CICU) looked so depressed. She just stood in the box with her head hanging and chirping like crazy. I can't keep any of the healthy ones in there with her because they jump out. I decided to put her in with the others and see how she acts about an hour ago. She immediately went to the food dish and started eating! She wouldn't eat a thing when I had her in CICU! She's still a little wobbly, and she stands over by herself, but she isn't chirping and she looks a little happier. I'll watch her for a few more hours and see if she can hold her own with that rambunctious crowd. If she does ok, I'll leave her. She may end up back in the CICU for the night though.

Penny

 

[Julie08]

I have been totally lucky this year first bator full had 34 fertile eggs I got 33 hatch second was 33 fertile 33 hatched all alive and well first bator full is 6 weeks and second is 3 weeks.

 

[basicliving]

I ended up leaving her with the other chicks over night and she made it through the night! She's still so tiny and wobbly, but she's hanging in there. I cleaned up her pasty butt and fed her some sugar water this morning and then put her back with the rest. She immediately snuggled up to a couple that were sleeping. I've name her Ali - after Mohammad Ali because she really is a fighter. I'm praying she makes it. So far so good!

Penny

 

[chickenannie]

basic, I can totally understand what you're going through! I had to adopt 2 tiny turkey chicks that were rejected by their mom a week ago. They're in a brooder in my sunroom and I check on them all the time because I never see them eat or drink. One died Tues and it was sooo sad. The other one seems ok but lonely, and i never see it eat or drink, so I guess it's eating when I'm not there. ? I just had a broody hen hatch some chicks (first chick hatched yesterday) so I'm trying to figure out if I can introduce this turkey chick to her nest. I'm just worried now about WHEN to do it because it won't have the 2-3 day window that the new chicks have so i'm trying to figure out how I can sneak it in under her AND keep feeding it too. Arrghh. It IS stressful!

 

[basicliving]

Oh, chickenannie, that makes me sad. It just breaks my heart when they look so lonely. I hope you find a way to sneak her in with the chicks. I'm keeping my fingers crossed that she makes it.

Penny