Weird chick sleeping?

[Dunwoody-Jen]

This might be total paranoia on my part, but I am a newbie so please bear with me. I have 5 chicks who will be three weeks tomorrow. One of them is worrying me. Her weight gain has slowed quite a bit although she is eating, drinking and pooping. But what is most strange is that she is no longer lying down to sleep like the others. Instead she sleeps standing with her head tucked in close to her body. She even walks around with her head tucked in! Sometimes she twists her neck around and rests it on her back feathers while she sleeps. Is this normal? She used to sleep like all the others so this is new and different. She also doesn’t seem to be as alert and curious as she was previously. I am using NutriDrench on medicated chick feed and the brooder temp is at 83. Advice?

 

[LoveMyChickenBabies]

This might be total paranoia on my part, but I am a newbie so please bear with me. I have 5 chicks who will be three weeks tomorrow. One of them is worrying me. Her weight gain has slowed quite a bit although she is eating, drinking and pooping. But what is most strange is that she is no longer lying down to sleep like the others. Instead she sleeps standing with her head tucked in close to her body. She even walks around with her head tucked in! Sometimes she twists her neck around and rests it on her back feathers while she sleeps. Is this normal? She used to sleep like all the others so this is new and different. She also doesn’t seem to be as alert and curious as she was previously. I am using NutriDrench on medicated chick feed and the brooder temp is at 83. Advice?

@Texas Kiki any advice for her?

 

[Wyorp Rock]

This might be total paranoia on my part, but I am a newbie so please bear with me. I have 5 chicks who will be three weeks tomorrow. One of them is worrying me. Her weight gain has slowed quite a bit although she is eating, drinking and pooping. But what is most strange is that she is no longer lying down to sleep like the others. Instead she sleeps standing with her head tucked in close to her body. She even walks around with her head tucked in! Sometimes she twists her neck around and rests it on her back feathers while she sleeps. Is this normal? She used to sleep like all the others so this is new and different. She also doesn’t seem to be as alert and curious as she was previously. I am using NutriDrench on medicated chick feed and the brooder temp is at 83. Advice?

Hi @Dunwoody-Jen Welcome To BYC
Can you post some photos of your chick and her poop?

Can you feel the chick's crop and tell us what that's like - hard, soft, squishy, doughy, empty?
Have you given anything else to eat besides chick starter, if so, do they have grit available free choice?
How does the vent look - is it free of pasting and poop?

It's not unusual for a chick to sleep with their head tucked into their back or under the wing. To me, it is a bit unusual that she does not sleep snuggled in with the others and chooses to stand instead. Walking with the head tucked in is concerning to me as well.

Look forward to more information and photos.

 

[Kiki]

Can you take a video of her and upload it to YouTube?

 

[Dunwoody-Jen]

So an hour later I find Lil lying down snuggling with the others! She still seems pretty lethargic although I’m going to try to post a video of her eating with her siblings. Her crop felt rock hard and large when I held her a little while ago. I massaged it and she went right back to eating. 4 days ago I gave all the chicks a few sprigs of chickweed from my chemical free garden before I realized they were too young for greens. They’ve had grit since day one. Lil’s poop was small, solid and had white urates.

 

[Dunwoody-Jen]

 

[Dunwoody-Jen]

Now I’m mostly concerned about her weight. Lil is 2.6 oz today down from 2.8. She has fluctuated from this for the past week and all my other girls are making steady gains. Lil is the Lavender Orpington. I tried to post a video but can’t upload it.

 

[Dunwoody-Jen]

No sign of blood in poop

 

[Dunwoody-Jen]

 

[Dunwoody-Jen]

Eating and drinking but not gaining weight