worried about silkie chick something seems off help!!

[ginger c.]

hi all we have been battling pasty butt with Louise, the blue silkie in the video. she's 10 days old today. Is she supposed to be this small? Piper (the other one in the video) is one week older, we got her to replace Thelma who passed away on Thursday. As you can hear in the video, Louise keeps peeping this call. It isn't her distressed call, but it doesn't sound like happy peeps either. Any idea what she's trying to tell us? Also, as you can see... she kind of waddles around (is this normal) and always tries to climb under her cell... er... brooder mate. Is that normal?

They have fresh water
90-92 degrees in the brooder (sometimes they hang out under the corner where the light is... sometimes they get as far away as possible)
chick starter crumbles (medicated)
no breezes
they are right next to another brooder with four 5-6 weeks olds (can that be it?)

Thanks in advance

 

[ChickensAreSweet]

When I see baby chicks trying to crawl under each other, it is usually that they are scared. (It could be that a person walked by- they are skittish.)

Your temps need to come down slightly- that can stress them out tremendously.

They need to be able to get away from the heat:
1st week of life= 90-95 degrees under the light
2nd week: 85-90
decrease by 5 degrees per week until fully feathered even on the head, usually around 6 weeks of age

92 is too hot, since many chicks even seem overheated with the middle of the range of 85-90 at that age.

I would correct the temps and see if they seem calmer.

 

[spiritdance]

If she's trying to get under the other chick, she may be cold. Cold chicks will usually seek the heat of the lamp, but with only two of them in the brooder she may want to be close to the other chick enough to move away from the heat even if she's cold. This is even more likely since the other chick is older and thus will need less heat and will probably hang out in brooder areas too chilly for lil' sis. Try putting a stuffed toy in the warm area of the brooder and see if she will cuddle with it instead of following the older chick around.

I noticed the post above mine ... didn't you write that the chick in question is only 10 days old? At that age they still need a temp around 90 degrees, so I wouldn't think 92 is too warm. How close to the lamp is your thermometer?

 

[ChickensAreSweet]

Ok, so you have one 10 day old and one that is a little over 2 weeks old.

So you need 85-90 for the younger one
and 80-85 for the older one.

I would shoot for 85 degrees right under the light.

 

[ginger c.]

we've now got the temp at 85 and have placed a small stuffed animal in and she is snuggled between it and Piper, still cheeping quickly though. thanks for the suggestions y'all!

 

[ChickensAreSweet]

ginger c. :

we've now got the temp at 85 and have placed a small stuffed animal in and she is snuggled between it and Piper, still cheeping quickly though. thanks for the suggestions y'all!

http://www.mcmurrayhatchery.com/chickcare.html

http://www.feathersite.com/Poultry/BRKRaisingChicks.html

These are excellent resources if you ever have the time to look over them. I like to hand these links out a lot. Forgive me if you aren't interested.​

 

[ginger c.]

Quote:
http://www.mcmurrayhatchery.com/chickcare.html

http://www.feathersite.com/Poultry/BRKRaisingChicks.html

These are excellent resources if you ever have the time to look over them. I like to hand these links out a lot. Forgive me if you aren't interested.

thank you we'll take all the info we can get!!!

 

[ChickensAreSweet]

I have been thinking about your situation, and I read spiritdance's post.

I did once have a White Orpington chick that was cold when everyone else was comfortable.

It is quite possible that she is cold.

I would like to say that if DECREASING the temp. doesn't make the little chick comfortable, then maybe she IS cold and you might want to try holding the chick in your hands under the light so that it can feel really warm.

If she warms up and quiets down then you might need to increase the temp. in the brooder somehow without overheating the other one. It is very dangerous for them to become overheated. I don't know what to tell you there.

I personally would put a milk jug filled with very warm water in there for the chick to huddle against. I have done this for my chickens before in the winter.

I apologize if I was mistaken.

Thank you Spiritdance.

 

[SIMPleChick]

some of my babies have done that too, try putting in a fuzzy stuffed animal in for then to cuddle up to, she is just young and if you think of it, they are naturally wanting to get under things and get warm like if they had a mama chicken to sit on them. They just need to feel secure.

 

[ginger c.]

we added the stuffed animal, lowered the temp to 85, and she's still doing that weird chirp, i guess we'll just have to keep our fingers crossed

. oh, no pasty butt this morning, so at least that's something

. thanks for the advice y'all!