Wobbly week old chick

[aprattsky]

Hello! I am very new to the world of chickens so please bare with me! We received 10 Sapphire Splash chicks from Hoover's Hatchery exactly a week ago. All were well except for one who was extremely wobbly right off the bat and she hasn't improved very much since. She will often stumble forward when she walks and in general just seems to have terrible balance (a good way to describe it is that she seems drunk). When she's lying down her little head wobbles back and forth. I've pretty much done nothing but research what might be wrong with her all week to no real avail. Thinking it might be a vitamin deficiency I gave her electrolytes for the first few days then switched to Nutri-Drench. I've been feeding her scrambled eggs and keeping an eye on her in the brooder to make she she's eating and drinking on her own, which she manages to do even with her stumbles. She seems strong-when I take her out to feed her she defiantly has strength- and she isn't lethargic. She isn't getting picked on by the other chicks so I've left her in there with them for company. Does anyone have any idea what this might be and how I can help her? Should I separate her out anyway even though she isn't being picked on? I'm at a loss what to do- she's eating and drinking so seems to have a will to live but I can't imagine her stumbling around all the time is a fun way to live. Any and all advice would be appreciated!

 

[azygous]

Leave her with the other chicks. It sounds like a light case of wry neck (torticolis). Try treating her with vitamin E oil with some soft boiled egg or a sliver of selenium. Do this once a day until she's normal and extend the daily dose for three more days beyond that. Try to get the entire E capsule into her. You can open the capsule and squirt it into her beak, but if that isn't working for you, try saturating a tiny piece of bread with the oil.

 

[aprattsky]

Leave her with the other chicks. It sounds like a light case of wry neck (torticolis). Try treating her with vitamin E oil with some soft boiled egg or a sliver of selenium. Do this once a day until she's normal and extend the daily dose for three more days beyond that. Try to get the entire E capsule into her. You can open the capsule and squirt it into her beak, but if that isn't working for you, try saturating a tiny piece of bread with the oil.

Okay thank you! I've actually been giving her vitamin E on her scrambled eggs in the morning for the past few days. (Forgot to mention that in my post)/ I haven't seen improvement yet but perhaps I just need to be more patient. Thanks for your reply!

 

[azygous]

Increase the dose. Too little won't do anything to help. Get an entire capsule into her. She needs selenium to help it absorb. Egg will help with this so she needs egg each time you give her the E.

 

[aprattsky]

Increase the dose. Too little won't do anything to help. Get an entire capsule into her. She needs selenium to help it absorb. Egg will help with this so she needs egg each time you give her the E.

Will do. Thanks you so much!

 

[elderwoodchickens]

Hello! I am very new to the world of chickens so please bare with me! We received 10 Sapphire Splash chicks from Hoover's Hatchery exactly a week ago. All were well except for one who was extremely wobbly right off the bat and she hasn't improved very much since. She will often stumble forward when she walks and in general just seems to have terrible balance (a good way to describe it is that she seems drunk). When she's lying down her little head wobbles back and forth. I've pretty much done nothing but research what might be wrong with her all week to no real avail. Thinking it might be a vitamin deficiency I gave her electrolytes for the first few days then switched to Nutri-Drench. I've been feeding her scrambled eggs and keeping an eye on her in the brooder to make she she's eating and drinking on her own, which she manages to do even with her stumbles. She seems strong-when I take her out to feed her she defiantly has strength- and she isn't lethargic. She isn't getting picked on by the other chicks so I've left her in there with them for company. Does anyone have any idea what this might be and how I can help her? Should I separate her out anyway even though she isn't being picked on? I'm at a loss what to do- she's eating and drinking so seems to have a will to live but I can't imagine her stumbling around all the time is a fun way to live. Any and all advice would be appreciated!

Hi! How is your chick now? I am going through this same thing right now. I ordered 10 chicks from Hoover Hatchery and one after a few days is very wobbly and drunk acting. Her head never stares up really, but she is gets off balance easily. I find her in the food bowl eating. I gave her electrolytes just now. My question is- how is yours doing now? Did she ever get normal and how long did it take? I have not tried an egg yet. Do you cook the egg?

 

[aprattsky]

Hi! How is your chick now? I am going through this same thing right now. I ordered 10 chicks from Hoover Hatchery and one after a few days is very wobbly and drunk acting. Her head never stares up really, but she is gets off balance easily. I find her in the food bowl eating. I gave her electrolytes just now. My question is- how is yours doing now? Did she ever get normal and how long did it take? I have not tried an egg yet. Do you cook the egg?

Hi there, I'm so sorry to hear you are going through the same thing! Unfortunately we ended up putting the little chick down. She just didn't get better after two weeks and it seemed the only way she could sleep was if I held her so her little body and head would stop wiggling. She could barely walk at that point, mostly stumbled. I wanted so badly to help her but she didn't show any improvement at that point and it seemed like she was only getting more uncomfortable. It was heart-breaking (I cried) but ultimately I know she wouldn't have been able to live a happy, normal life and it was the right thing to do. The bright side was that after she passed I was finally able to devote more time and attention to the other chicks and watch their personalities emerge! They're now 4-months-old and the nicest chickens. The little chick is buried next to their coop so I like to think she is there in spirit. To answer your other question I would scramble an egg and feed that to her and also make sure she was getting water. I wasn't sure she was actually getting enough food on her own because she couldn't stand still long enough to eat so I would hand feed her the egg. I also read that there was a chance it was a vitamin E deficiency so bought some capsules and would put some of the liquid on her eggs each morning. Obviously it didn't work for my chick but I think it's always worth a try if you're willing and have the time. Anyway, I am sorry for my long-winded response. I truly hope your little chick gets better and I'm happy to answer any more questions you might have. Good luck!