Chick rejected by mother. Help please!

[Ruler of the Roost]

OK...I am flat broke. Not asking for anything but advice, just prefacing the conversation with the fact that I have no money for a vet or to go get other stuff. I have what I have and I need to know how to MacGyver what I have into a useful solution. Got home from an appointment this morning and heard chick peeps. It took me 20 minutes to locate the chick...under my deck. Had to pull up part of my deck to get to the chick. So a good 35 minutes of constant peeping. only about 10 was under the noise of removing deck boards. Hen was sitting next to the chick and doing nothing. Chick was just laying in the dirt chirping with its eyes closed. I put the chick under a heat lamp and between two towels, and I tried feeding it some marshal's "Duk Soup". I get it, its for ferrets. But its what I had and has a lot of protein and nutrients. The chick would not open its mouth for me to syringe it in. I don't know what to do to try and save it.

Its trying to move around, and it halfway opened one of its eyes while I was trying to feed it. The heat lamp is a red bulb - 75watts. I do not have a thermometer. I'm including a picture of the 'set up'. Please let me know if I need to make any adjustments. Feeling by hand, I think where the chick is from the heat lamp is slightly higher than my own body temperature. Its warm but not glaring. Can I force feed it? How long can it go without food water before I'm forced to get more aggressive in making it eat? Anything I'm not considering? When I can get it to eat, how often does it need fed? sorry for all the 'it' calling...I can't tell if its a boy or a girl yet.



***Update***
Chick is already starting to try and walk, but is doing a lot of resting.

 

[WingItRanch]

Try wetting down the food with water, turning it into mash. Also do you have a container with water for it? Sometimes baby chicks need guidance so it's common to dip their beaks in the water so they know what it is and where to find it.

Are there other chicks with the mom? Or just this one? If mother hen is still around and the chick looks stronger, try putting it back with her. It's possible it was weak and just needed some extra help. If it's now looking stronger then maybe the hen will accept it back.

 

[alinas2010]

Sorry to hear about your chick, you’re doing great, hang in there. Mix up some water with a bit of honey or sugar and gently dip her beak into it. You can also try to dip her beak in some egg yolk. Using a dropper to drip some of the above mentioned onto her beak can get her interested in drinking, too. @Wyorp Rock @Eggcessive @azygous anything else?

Make sure there is a cool spot she can get to if needed.

 

[NatJ]

The heat lamp is a red bulb - 75watts. I do not have a thermometer. I'm including a picture of the 'set up'. Please let me know if I need to make any adjustments. Feeling by hand, I think where the chick is from the heat lamp is slightly higher than my own body temperature. Its warm but not glaring.

If the chick gets to a point of walking well, you can set up a brooder that lets the chick self-regulate the temperature:
Put the heat lamp in one corner of the space, low enough that it feels "too hot" when you try to hold your hand under it. You don't want it to start a fire, but you want it warm-to-hot. Then make sure the other end of the space is cool. "Cool" is anything from normal room temperature (for people) down to the point where actual ice forms on water.
Healthy chicks are very good at moving back and forth between warmer and cooler areas to find a place that is just right. As the chick grows, it will need access to even more cool area, but it will not need any more heated area.

But of course that does not work when the chick cannot walk. For now, while it cannot walk properly, I think you have found a good way to deal with the situation.

Can I force feed it? How long can it go without food water before I'm forced to get more aggressive in making it eat? Anything I'm not considering? When I can get it to eat, how often does it need fed? sorry for all the 'it' calling...I can't tell if its a boy or a girl yet.

If the chick just hatched, it can go for at least a day or two before it really needs to eat. It will probably not eat while it is cold, so warming it up is a higher priority.

For normal healthy chicks, it usually works well to provide a dish of water and a dish of food and let them decide how much to eat and when. For sick or weak chicks, that doesn't always work, but I don't have personal experience with what else to do.

For a water dish, you don't want the chick to accidentally get chilled or drown, so you might put rocks in a container of water so the chick can dip its beak and drink but cannot get entirely wet. Most chicks will be fine with an open dish after they are a few days old and less clumsy.

What does the hen usually eat? Sometimes that can be good food for a chick as well.

Once the chick gets thoroughly warm, it might act like a normal healthy chick. Or it might have special needs. I don't know how to predict either way.

***Update***
Chick is already starting to try and walk, but is doing a lot of resting.

That sounds promising!

Are there other chicks with the mom? Or just this one? If mother hen is still around and the chick looks stronger, try putting it back with her. It's possible it was weak and just needed some extra help. If it's now looking stronger then maybe the hen will accept it back.

If the hen will take the chick back and be a good mother, that would be the best and easiest solution. She would keep it warm, show it what to eat, and so forth. You would just need to make sure they have food and water and are safe from predators. Some hens are better mothers than others, so yours could go either way.

 

[Ruler of the Roost]

If the chick gets to a point of walking well, you can set up a brooder that lets the chick self-regulate the temperature:
Put the heat lamp in one corner of the space, low enough that it feels "too hot" when you try to hold your hand under it. You don't want it to start a fire, but you want it warm-to-hot. Then make sure the other end of the space is cool. "Cool" is anything from normal room temperature (for people) down to the point where actual ice forms on water.
Healthy chicks are very good at moving back and forth between warmer and cooler areas to find a place that is just right. As the chick grows, it will need access to even more cool area, but it will not need any more heated area.

But of course that does not work when the chick cannot walk. For now, while it cannot walk properly, I think you have found a good way to deal with the situation.


If the chick just hatched, it can go for at least a day or two before it really needs to eat. It will probably not eat while it is cold, so warming it up is a higher priority.

For normal healthy chicks, it usually works well to provide a dish of water and a dish of food and let them decide how much to eat and when. For sick or weak chicks, that doesn't always work, but I don't have personal experience with what else to do.

For a water dish, you don't want the chick to accidentally get chilled or drown, so you might put rocks in a container of water so the chick can dip its beak and drink but cannot get entirely wet. Most chicks will be fine with an open dish after they are a few days old and less clumsy.

What does the hen usually eat? Sometimes that can be good food for a chick as well.

Once the chick gets thoroughly warm, it might act like a normal healthy chick. Or it might have special needs. I don't know how to predict either way.


That sounds promising!


If the hen will take the chick back and be a good mother, that would be the best and easiest solution. She would keep it warm, show it what to eat, and so forth. You would just need to make sure they have food and water and are safe from predators. Some hens are better mothers than others, so yours could go either way.

She's been fine before this. Not very protective, but other than that she's either raised her own, or assisted, in teaching chicks from two other broods. She's even shared sitting and brooding responsibilities with Penelope.

 

[NatJ]

She's been fine before this. Not very protective, but other than that she's either raised her own, or assisted, in teaching chicks from two other broods. She's even shared sitting and brooding responsibilities with Penelope.

In that case, if the chick recovers to the point of walking fairly well, definitely try to give it back to the hen. Maybe tuck it underneath her after dark in the evening, or you can try at some point during the day. Either way works for some people and some chickens.

 

[Ruler of the Roost]

So I have determined the chick can fully extend its legs, though all it wants to do is push itself backwards on its butt. I'm worried about some sort of developmental issue with its legs as it doesn't seem to can/want to put weight on its legs. I further examined it and I found a scab looking thing on its stomach that seems a bit enflamed. Is this some sort of umbilical cord equivalent? Or Should I be putting neosporin on it. The chick has calmed down considerable and is otherwise acting normal. It is a bit of a pistol as well, anytime I try to do anything other than hold it, it struggles and pushes away like crazy. Has anyone encountered this sort of thing at all?

 

[NatJ]

I found a scab looking thing on its stomach that seems a bit enflamed. Is this some sort of umbilical cord equivalent? Or Should I be putting neosporin on it.

Probably yes, an umbilical cord equivalent. You could post a photo to see if anyone thinks differently when they see it.

I would not put anything on it unless it gets more inflamed, or if someone else says it would be a good idea.

Unfortunately I don't know what to say about the other things going on with this chick. Hopefully someone else can help there.

 

[Slothinc]

So I have determined the chick can fully extend its legs, though all it wants to do is push itself backwards on its butt. I'm worried about some sort of developmental issue with its legs as it doesn't seem to can/want to put weight on its legs. I further examined it and I found a scab looking thing on its stomach that seems a bit enflamed. Is this some sort of umbilical cord equivalent? Or Should I be putting neosporin on it. The chick has calmed down considerable and is otherwise acting normal. It is a bit of a pistol as well, anytime I try to do anything other than hold it, it struggles and pushes away like crazy. Has anyone encountered this sort of thing at all?

My guess with the extended legs and pushing back is splayed legs! I have had a couple of chicks do that exact thing.

If you have a bandaid, cut it in half lengthwise (and if it has sticky part that extends beyond the pad cut that off too.) You should end up with two thin strips that are sticky on each end but only pad in the middle.

Wrap each piece around a leg with the non sticky pad part around the leg and stick the two sticky arms to themselves. Do this on each leg. Then rotate the “arms” to the middle and tape them together. You want an inch or less of space between the legs - if regular sized chick an inch is probably good, if bantam try for a little less than that. Leave the brace on for 24 hours and the chick will hopefully be able to walk normally after that. I wouldn’t put it back with mom until that is fixed! I’ll try to find a pic of the brace to show you!

This is a little easier if you have someone to hold the chick while you attach the brace. But I have done it alone and it can be done!

 

[Slothinc]

These pics are from a chick I had earlier this year. Sorry they aren’t great. The next time I have a splayed chick I will try to take better pics. In one of the pics it is before treatment with the legs sticking straight out. This chick fully recovered and was perfectly normal after bracing.

But hopefully you can kind of see what to do. I hate the method of using a rubber band with a straw between - it isn’t comfortable for the chick at all.