Lethargic chick

[Emilyb20]

Hello! I just got 8 baby chicks today (about a week old from my knowledge) and once we got home I noticed one chick was lethargic, not eating, not drinking, and just overall not moving around much. She stays in one spot and sleeps. She will wake up to noise and moves her head around. Doesn’t seem interested in food or water at all. All the other chicks are fine. I have her staying in the same brooder as the other chicks with access to food and water and clean bedding. She is under a heat lamp as well. They did travel for a while. Once picked up we had a 2 hour drive back home so I’m wondering if this is stress related. I’m not sure what to do and want to get her to feeling better. I have been checking on her every 30 mins but not messing with her much so I don’t stress her out. What can I do?

 

[EggSighted4Life]

What can I do?

Welcome to BYC!

Have you checked for pasty butt already? It can cause the symptoms being described.

If there's no pasty butt, consider getting some poultry nutri drench and holding the chick in your hand with beak facing the bend in your forefinger, drip a drop just below the nostrils, and using the bend in your forefinger to help catch and direct the drop to the tip of the beak.. the chick will usually automatically swallow when it detects the liquid rolling into it's mouth. If you can't find the poultry nutridrench locally (carried by TSC) then an electrolyte or homemade electrolyte solution (recipes available online) may be a better choice than nothing.

 

[Emilyb20]

Okay! Good news I just went out there and dipped her beak in some water and she started to drink some on her own and walked around a little. She did lay back down shortly after but that’s better than what she has been doing! I took some videos but can’t get them to upload. No pasty butt. Hers is as clean as a whistle. Thoughts going forward?

 

[yakitori]

I got one lethargic girl this year right out of the shipping box. she was chirping really loudly, and seemed too weak to eat when the others were feeding. I kept her very warm and periodically syringe fed her some egg yolk mixed with electrolyte solution. I do this by putting a drop against the gap in her beak, and then wait for her to drink it. I always do this for my weak chicks and all of them pull through except for one brutal shipment during a bitterly cold spell, and the chicks arrived practically dead.

Tldr
1. keep them very warm
2. put some nutrient in them

 

[Emilyb20]

I got one lethargic girl this year right out of the shipping box. she was chirping really loudly, and seemed too weak to eat when the others were feeding. I kept her very warm and periodically syringe fed her some egg yolk mixed with electrolyte solution. I do this by putting a drop against the gap in her beak, and then wait for her to drink it. I always do this for my weak chicks and all of them pull through except for one brutal shipment during a bitterly cold spell, and the chicks arrived practically dead.

Tldr
1. keep them very warm
2. put some nutrient in them

Thank you! Will give this a try in the morning