worried about one of my babies

[mrsTpratt]

i have 2 sliver laced that i've had for 4 days, i got them the first day grange co-op had them delivered, i'm not really sure at how many days old they get them though so i don't know their for sure age. my guess is maybe 6 days old. they don't have any feathers yet, all fuzz still. the reason i'm worried is because i've never seen one of them eat. she seems to sleep 90% of the time. i've seen her drink a bit, but never peck at food. i have seen her peck at the pine shavings or at a spot on something. i have them in a brooder with my 8 RIRs that are about 3 weeks old. the other silver laced runs around with the others a bit and i've even seen her peck food out of their mouths. i'm hoping the sleeper is just sleeping because of age and not sick. i'm really new at all this and learning as i go. dose this sound normal?

 

[Fur & Feathers]

hi,
chicks are just like human babies; they sleep alot.
check their bums to make sure there are no lumps of poo plugging them up-this is a good article [including tutorial videos and pictures] to read up on 'pasty butt' and how to deal with the problem-
http://chickenjunkie.com/raising-chickens/baby-chicks-with-pasty-butts/

are they definitely pine shavings?
swap them as soon as possible to another dust extracted shaving as the oils in pine wood causes respiratory problems in animals including chickens.

 

[kdwag]

I have a rhode island red that was much slower than the other 3, i started throwing feed in with the shavings because she seemed to like scratching and pecking for her food more than eating from her feeder, and then she just started following the others and eating from the feeder. They will be 3 weeks old on tuesday and are growing like weeds..... she also slept more than the others her first week but now is just as feisty ...hope there is nothing more serious with yours.

 

[mrsTpratt]

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[mrsTpratt]

hi, chicks are just like human babies; they sleep alot. check their bums to make sure there are no lumps of poo plugging them up-this is a good article [including tutorial videos and pictures] to read up on 'pasty butt' and how to deal with the problem- http://chickenjunkie.com/raising-chickens/baby-chicks-with-pasty-butts/ are they definitely pine shavings? swap them as soon as possible to another dust extracted shaving as the oils in pine wood causes respiratory problems in animals including chickens.

the brooder mostly has wood pellets, but one corner (the one that has the heat lamp pointed at it ) has pine shavings. when i had been researching about raising chicks i read a few things that said pine shavings were fine. i also posted this https://www.backyardchickens.com/t/709880/bedding#post_9670987 with a picture of the shavings i had asking if they were ok, and the replies i got back said they were fine.

so now i'm confused. i'll try and gwt most of the shavings out but i hate to not have something soft for the younger 2 to sleep on.
i've also read up on pasty butts and check all of them daily. so far it's all been good. i've started giving them grit as well to help keep them clear.

 

[mrsTpratt]

I have a rhode island red that was much slower than the other 3, i started throwing feed in with the shavings because she seemed to like scratching and pecking for her food more than eating from her feeder, and then she just started following the others and eating from the feeder. They will be 3 weeks old on tuesday and are growing like weeds..... she also slept more than the others her first week but now is just as feisty ...hope there is nothing more serious with yours.

this was encouraging. i hope this is my little mabels situation too. i just tried keeping her separated to see if she'd poop (then i'd know for sure if she's eating) but she just cried the whole time so i held her and she just fall right to sleep....i let her sleep in my hand for about 15mins then put her back down with the rest and she tried to snuggle closely with the others and kept crying. thinking she may be cold i moved the heat lamp closer. she's my favorite and i'm so attached to her already! i pray she's ok!

 

[kdwag]

ohhh, mabel, love that name. is she any spunkier now? when i picked up my chicks from the hatcery, they encouraged me to buy this powder ,,, forget the name at present, it's a package of electrolytes that you add to their water-- keeps them from getting pasty butt and gives them a little extra boost... also, i've had mine on pine shavings and they have done fine, i did construct small roosting perches for them and they loved them right away--- i make them a bit bigger as they get bigger-- but they have wanted to roost since they were a week old...

 

[mrsTpratt]

ohhh, mabel, love that name. is she any spunkier now? when i picked up my chicks from the hatcery, they encouraged me to buy this powder ,,, forget the name at present, it's a package of electrolytes that you add to their water-- keeps them from getting pasty butt and gives them a little extra boost... also, i've had mine on pine shavings and they have done fine, i did construct small roosting perches for them and they loved them right away--- i make them a bit bigger as they get bigger-- but they have wanted to roost since they were a week old...

my little mabel passed away through the night. i checked them all about 12am before bed and this morning at 8:30am when i checked she was dead.

many tears this morning. i feel so bad. and she was my favorite. she would just let me hold her and love on her. being so new to this i feel like if i knew more i might have been able to save her.

 

[addietief]

I'm glad to see there is another person new at this. We just received our three chicks today - one day old! One ohio buckeye is a bit wobbly and is not too interested in eating or drinking, which concerns me, but she is happy pecking the other two in the face! She has some energy I guess. Will she start eating more soon?

 

[mrsTpratt]

I'm glad to see there is another person new at this. We just received our three chicks today - one day old! One ohio buckeye is a bit wobbly and is not too interested in eating or drinking, which concerns me, but she is happy pecking the other two in the face! She has some energy I guess. Will she start eating more soon?

my little mabel that just passed would get bouts of energy at times as well, she would also peck at spots but i never saw her eat except when i would soak the feed and then hold it right on her beak. i did also, she her drink some. so my best advice is to really watch them and if you think one is acting weird go with your gut feeling. seek some help if need be. it's very sad to wake up to a dead chick. we had many tears today.