Young baby chicks may be very small but these little animals pack a real punch when it comes to how much energy they have, they quickly become lively after they’ve hatched from their shells.
So, if your baby chick is not moving much you’d be right to be worried. This article looks into why your baby chick is not moving much.
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Baby chick not moving much:
Raising baby chicks can be a very interesting and fascinating experience.
You learn new things as you raise these birds and you will have to deal with a variety of unexpected scenarios, one such scenario may be the baby bird not moving much.
Here is why your baby bird may not be moving much:
The bird is sick:
Chicks may be hearty birds but baby chicks are more fragile than their adult counterparts and will become sick from time to time, and if your bird isn’t moving much it may be sick.
Many illnesses will cause your bird to become lethargic and not move much. The other symptoms that your baby chick starts to show will give you more of an idea of what your baby bird may be sick with.
Other symptoms of sicknesses in your bird include a fluffy appearance, self-isolation, discharge from its beak, nares or eyes, swelling, difficulty breathing, listlessness, rattled breathing, and changes in the bird’s poop all signal that your bird is sick.
What to do:
A wide variety of illnesses can cause your bird to become lethargic and not move much.
Some of the illnesses that your bird may develop can be cured at home and aren’t a medical emergency but some illnesses cannot be cured at home and are a medical emergency
You may not be able to tell whether your bird’s condition is a medical emergency or not so it is advised that you take the bird to the vet for an examination or treatment as soon as you can.
If you can’t immediately get your bird to the vet then it is recommended that you isolate the bird to keep it from infecting other birds. The isolation will also keep other birds from pecking at the sick bird.
The bird is overheating:
You’ve likely given your baby chick a source of warmth as they cannot regulate their own body temperature, but, the same way that they can’t warm themselves up they can’t keep themselves cool either
If your bird is overheating under its heat source, then the chick will not move much and will be lethargic.
Other tell-tale signs that show that your bird is overheating include: a pale comb and wattle, panting excessively and fanning its wings out,
What to do:
Make sure that the heat source that you’ve given your bird does not cover the whole brooder, one side of the brooder can be warm and the other side needs to be cooler.
The birds can move back and forth between the two areas as they see fit
You can also give the birds fresh clean cold water to drink, change this water often. Also, give the birds refrigerated snacks to eat.
If you enjoyed this article then you may also be interested in other bird related articles. Here are some articles that you may be interested in: Baby Chickens Vibrating, Baby Chick Cries When Pooping, Quail Chick Not Growing, Quail Chick Leg Problems, Quail Chick Feet Problems, Day Old Chick Not Eating, 5 Day Old Chick Not Eating, 2 Week Old Chick Not Eating, Lethargic Quail Chick,