What is going on with this chick? pls?

[sparkly_diamond]

I am really stuck here, my chicks are just over 48 hours old and one of them (we have nick-named Mumble after the dancing feet penguin) causes me concern.

Although we have reared chicks before, it's always been with a broody, but this time we are trying out an incubator.

The chicks hatched, left them for 24 hours and tranfered them to the brooder. This has a non-slip floor mat so not to get splayed legs. All seem fine apart from Mumble.

Mumble lies with his feet and legs flat to the floor, he is always on his bottom, he always has his head on the floor. When he wants to move he flaps his legs up and down (like he is stamping them) and they kick above his head (which is still on the floor) and he moves round in cicles (kinda). He is very vocal and chirpy. He is a sweet little thing but I just do not know what to do with him. I have trawled the net trying to find the same problem but I only come up with splayed legs, which I'm not sure that it is?!

As a trial and error thing, I placed a splint on his leg with a plaster (band-aid) but this just meant both feet kicked togther and he was permentantly left on his back complaining. At no point with this on did he stand or stay upright. Have used one once before on our first ever batch of chicks which worked very well.

How Mumble sits, face/chest down

trying to move

Next to a fellow chick

With the splint on, still lying face down

On his back again with the splint!

Any ideas plssssss?? (sorry for the long post)

 

[Miss Lydia]

I am sorry for this little one, but i haven't a clue, hopefully someone will be on shortly to help you out.. How is doing doing with eating and drinking?

 

[sparkly_diamond]

Thank you for your concern, well if I take him/her to the drinker then s/he will take some, and with food if I scatter some in front of him/her then again will feed, but cant actually get to were s/he wants to go.

I think it's not looking gd unless someone can give me some advise or ideas :-(

 

[Miss Lydia]

when you hold it up will it put it's feet down like it's going to stand? or does it just stay in the same position whether in the brooder or if your holding it? could be neurological.

 

[sparkly_diamond]

Hi,

When you pick him/her up and putting into your hand then s/hen sits with head down, same as the floor of the brooder.

When you place down onto the floor then the feet wiggle and stamp but do not go down as if to stand.

Also as soon as it does all the stamping wiggling it lays still sleeping (every 2 - 3 mins) then chirps and stamps and wiggles.

 

[Miss Lydia]

sounding more and more like a neurologial problem.. Have you tried giving some baby vitamins, poly-vi-sol w/o iron dribbled along it's beak? sometimes that will give them a little boost. you can also get chick electrolytes with vitamins at TSC. I bought some there. at this point I'd try something like that.

 

[alcap]

 

[sparkly_diamond]

Thank you for the ideas, I will try everything and then give you guys an update.

I've kept Mumble in with the other chicks, who all cuddle up to him/her so Mumble is happy (I think)

When we got up this morning s/he was making brave attempts to launch themselves forwards. So now does a leap forward and then a legs wiggle, then a rest, then back to the leap lol. However this does mean that s/he made it over to the water drinker themselves!! WHOOP WHOOP - there maybe hope yet!

 

[chickened]

Epidemic tremors.

 

[sheila3935]

I had a cochin bantam do the same thing thought he wouldnt make it, but after 3 days he was up running around and is fine now. I gave him some electrolyte/vitamin water dont know if thats what helped him or if he just needed a little more time to get stronger. He is a tad smaller than the others but other then that you would never know he had such a rough start. Hopefully this is waht yours is doing.