Gaping chick - is this normal?

A little back story;

This chick is an only hatchling, it hatched Sunday. I have 3 guinea eggs due between today and Friday for company. I have more chicks due Sunday.

The poor thing only wants to eat and drink if I'm right near it. I had it outside in a brooder with a heater plate Monday afternoon until Tuesday afternoon when I brought it back inside because it sounded distressed and the temp was going down around freezing. I put it back in the incubator with the guinea eggs because I don't have a brooder set up in the house. I put food and drink in the incubator, but it wasn't eating. Thus the little desk brooder you see in the vid. It didn't have hardly anything it its crop until about 2-3 hours ago when I put it in that tub to eat and drink while I was nearby. I've taken it out to do that twice. I really think the poor little one will do better when it has buddies, but that seems to be 12 hrs - a couple days off.
 
Sooooo....
Not eating unless you are close by....
Did it maybe eat a ton and didn't drink enough would be my first guess after checking for an obstruction.

Maybe take food away for an hour or 2 to make sure that big crop goes down.
Leave water in with it though.
 
Last edited:

New posts New threads Active threads

Back
Top Bottom