Help! Baby chick is paralyzed!!

[FathertoFeathers]

I got some polish chicks from Cackle hatchery 3 days ago and all of them made it alive and well. But today when I went to change their food and water I noticed one wasn’t acting right. He was laying on the ground both of his legs sticking straight out behind him like he was dead! I quickly picked him up but to my surprise he was alert and chirping just fine. He can’t seem to use his back legs at all. He can’t walk or even move them really. This has all happened overnight as he was completely fine yesterday.

 

[Emmytheduckgirl]

I’ve never had this happen! But for now give food and water to him so that he stays healthy.

 

[Emmytheduckgirl]

Try looking it up online to see what to do.

 

[Silkie_Mama]

It may be a brain injury

 

[FathertoFeathers]

I know that he’s super young but could it be Mareks?

 

[FathertoFeathers]

I just went upstairs to check on him and he has just died. Really confusing because his crop was full and he was acting completely fine besides the legs. All the other chicks are acting fine so I don’t know what to make of it.

 

[Eggcessive]

Get him drinking some water with electrolytes and vitamins. Poultry NutriDrench or Poultry Cell are great—give 2 drops. Hold the chick upright and dip it’s beak into water for half a second and let it swallow, then repeat until if has taken some fluids. Do this every hour throughout today. Mash some cooked egg yolk with water, and feed it after it takes some water.

This chick has probably suffered shipping stress, gotten, cold, dehydrated, or was injured. When you hold it upright, do the wings droop down? It is not symptoms of Mareks. Those don’t ever show up until 3 weeks, and usually 6-8 weeks or older.

 

[Eggcessive]

I was posting when your last post appeared. Sorry for your loss. Get some Poultry NutriDrench or SaveAChick electrolytes and vitamins at your feed store, and use them on the other chicks. Make sure all are drinking normally and alert. Hopefully no others become sick. Check each bottom for any stuck on poop, and clean it off with soap and warm water.

 

[flatnhan]

Keep a close eye on the rest of the chicks. Make sure they are all eating and drinking and I would give them electrolytes for sure. It sounds like some sort of neurological injury or congenital defect so I would guess the others will be okay but just keep an eye out for any signs or distress.

So sorry about your chick

 

[Bocktobery 10]

I’m so sorry to hear your chick passed away.

I’d be concerned about mareks disease. It could be something simple like a birth defect or injury during transport but just keep an eye on the others. You may want to contact your state’s agriculture department to get a necropsy done..if they are open (my state’s is closed due to the virus). They could tell you what happened and if your other chicks are in any danger. Do you know if where you got the chicks vaccinated them? If they vaccinated for mareks then your chicks are ok. Also, sometimes a vaccination is faulty and can cause this too.

My first guess was it was lacking in a vitamin, so I’d second everyone else giving save-a-chick in their water or electrolytes or vitamins like Pro-Vida. It’s amazing how much these things can help. I had a two year old roo who started to not be able to walk or keep upright. I don’t know how I found out about it, searching the web I guess..but I found some article that stated this could be lack of vitamin E. So I started to give him Vitamin E caplet daily and he got better and recovered fully within a week. He’s now more than a year out and ok. I was told by a breeder to always put vitamins (Recommended Pro-Vida brand) in the chick’s water (or ill chickens- depending on medication requirements) for this very reason. It just helps them get the nourishment they may need but may be lacking due to one thing or another. It also can make a huge difference in development and survival. I’m just going to advise for the rest of your crew you may want to do this for them just in case there was a lack of nutrients somewhere along the line. Sometimes bacteria can seep into the egg and zap the embryonic chick’s source of nutrients. This leaves them susceptible and more delicate to mundane stressors.

It would seem because of how quickly your chick passed that it was something more. Please also know it’s quite common for chicks to have bodily genetic defects that don’t always show up right away, but will pop up suddenly as they grow. It’s upsetting, but I’ve had it happen to me quite a few times.

Once again, I’m sorry for your loss.