We got our new set of chicks...25 of them. The first day they were all settled into their box, heat lamp blazing, water filled, and feeder ready to feed, we watched to make sure they were all eating and drinking and away we went. The second day, we made sure their feeder was full, lifted up the waterer to change it and to my horror and dismay, we had set the waterer ON TOP of one of the little chickies. I felt extremely guilty and responsible -- I thought I had swept my hand underneath the waterer thoroughly. This poor chick was literally smooshed flat. There was a slight indentation under the waterer, so it hadn't been crushed, just trapped there all night long without food and water. Its legs were splayed out, and it was breathing shallowly. Baby chicks are notoriously fragile anyway, and we had a feeling it would die, but it was still breathing. The other chicks were going nuts, already pecking at it and walking right over it. Tim said he would take it and bury it, saying, "It will probably die, and that's part of being a "farmer"." But it was still alive, so I decided we would take it home. It literally laid silent in my hands on the way home, eyes shut, no chirping. We set it up on the kitchen table with a lightbulb over it, a heating pad under it, and some water and food in the box. The chick lay still most of the day, no chirping, rarely standing up -- and when she did, she was very wobbly. It seemed like something was injured on her legs/feet. I force watered her, sticking her beak in the water until she swallowed -- I tried getting my finger wet and then sticking it in the food so that it would stick to my finger and then putting that against her beak. She took very little nourishment that way. When we went to bed last night I thought she would probably die that night and then we would go ahead and bury her.
This morning to our utter surprise, she was up and about. Little chicky chirps came from the box and she was eating and drinking for herself. She was even standing! Even though she wobbled a bit when she walked, she was still trying to do things on her own. She was responding to us when we put our hands in the box, curiously looking up at us and pecking our fingers.
Whew!
...and then today, she perked up!
She is such a champ! It really is a miracle that she has survived this long! Now I'm trying to convince Tim that this one needs to stay in our yard as our special pet. :) (We keep all of our other chickens at my MIL's).
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