What's wrong with my chick?

[mistymac]

This baby is day-old maybe to hatched in the incubator. It's one of 30+ and it's the only one having problems. It can't stand or walk and just lays on its chest it's legs seem kind of rigid but they're not splayed out to the side. It lays with its wings out . I've gotten it to drink in the brooder with the other chicks but I finally took it out because the other babies are just running all over it. It has bloody little elbows from rubbing them

 

[junebuggena]

Get some vitamins and electrolytes mixed in the drinking water, and make sure the water is far enough from the heat lamp that it isn't getting warmed. See the way the other chick in the first pic also is holding it's wings out? That means your chicks are probably getting overheated. A cool zone is just as critical as a heat source.

 

[mistymac]

Thanks! They have a large stock tank as their brooder and I have the light to one side so there is a huge part that is cool but they don't go near there should I raise the heat lamp?

 

[mistymac]

Oh and there is probiotics and electrolytes in the water. Is there a different vitamin I should add?

 

[junebuggena]

Sav-A-Chick vitamin and electrolyte mix. Chick starter should already contain necessary probiotics, so it's usually completely redundant to add to water. And move this chick to the edge of the warm zone. Water and feed should be as far from the heat lamp as possible.

 

[mistymac]

@junebuggena

 

[mistymac]

Thanks @junebuggena a bunch! This is the set up but they all still want to be under the light

Also this is what was put in their water... it came together in a pack

Here's another picture of it splay leg?

 

[junebuggena]

Thanks @junebuggena a bunch! This is the set up but they all still want to be under the light

Also this is what was put in their water... it came together in a pack



Here's another picture of it splay leg?

Legs do look splayed. Do you see how inflamed the hocks are? It's due to the tendons slipping out of the groove they are supposed to sit in. Sometimes this is caused by injury, and you can realign the tendon by gently pulling the leg straight back. Sometimes, it's a congenital defect and the groove simply won't hold the tendon in place, no matter what you try to do. Sometimes it's caused by a weak chick sitting on the hocks for too long. I've never been successful in treating slipped tendon chicks.
Have you dipped all of their beaks in the water and made sure they have figured out how to drink? It may seem silly, but you do actually need to 'teach' them to drink. And angle that heat lamp so that it is pointed more towards the side of the brooder, and not angled toward the middle. Remove the plank of wood that the water is sitting on. Straw is not going to be easily kicked into the water like shavings do, it might be too much of an obstacle for such young chicks. Straw is also a bit slick for chicks the gain traction on. And if it gets wet, may begin to grow mold, which can be toxic to chicks. I don't use bedding at all in my brooder for the first few days. I line it with puppy pads or paper towels till I'm sure that everyone has figured out where their food and water is and they are all eating and drinking normally. Then I add the bedding. Wood shavings are better at absorbing moisture and odor.