ONE LETHARGIC CHICK OUT OF 15

by Debbie
(WV)

Hi, I ordered 15 1 day old chicks from a hatchery they all come in doing good. A week later I found one chick isolated and laying around she was able at this point to walk, sit,and stand. I put her in a sick pen by herself she was not eating or drinking and very weak. I started electrolytes and vitamins by using a dropper to feed her every 20 minutes or so. A day later she is more alert still won't eat or drink cannot sit stand or walk. It has been 3 days now she will occasionally peck at her food but rarely still having to use dropper to get liquids in her she will fall over when trying to move due to not being able to sit stand or walk. She is churning now and acts better .please tell me what could be wrong. No injuries poop seems normal won't eat much won't drink on her own cannot sit stand or walk.

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by: Sharon

I'm hoping this chick has a source of heat.

It's not uncommon for 1 out of a group of 15 to be the weakest. It's also not uncommon for a single chick to fail to thrive. It's unnatural for them to be alone, so that can be hard on them. It is good to isolate a sick chick and sometimes we have to keep them alone.

Sounds like you have done everything right in caring for it. There are so many things that could cause this. It's really impossible without expensive testing to know exactly what is wrong with the chick.

Every day a chick doesn't eat well, the further behind it will fall in strength and general health. You might try to add some soaked mushy food to the electrolytes and continue to feed it as often as possible.

You could try mixing in some apple sauce or other pureed fruit. The sugar can boost its energy and encourage eating on it's own.

Many things have to go right for a hatchling chick to thrive and do well. It just takes one thing to go wrong and cause problems.

Baby chicks need a constant source of heat, quality calories and fluids to keep up with their rapid growth. Not every chick is perfectly healthy at hatching. They may look fine for the first few days, but if they are struggling with a health issue, they can suddenly be unable to keep their strength up.

All you can do is keep them warm, and try to get them to swallow enough food and water.

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