Shelley sounds like a sweetheart! I have a little pullet who from day one always seemed to want to "mother" the rest of the chicks. When someone is sick or injured, she is always right there snuggling with them. Annie is several months old now and is such a gentle, loving girl. I am glad I have her. She has comforted and watched over many chicks in her short lifetime. I can only do so much to comfort the sick babies, but Annie's presence seems to make a big difference in calming a distressed little one.Thank you all, for the condolences. It's hard with any pet, but doubly so when it's the death of a baby! This is the fourth baby I've lost, but the first loss from the flock of chicks that I purchased (the other three hatched at home). I'm beginning to suspect that at least two of them also died from cocci. The last chick that died, Phyllis, was really tragic because I'd nearly lost her once, been treating her for splayed leg, she regained strength and vigor and seemed to be fine. I left around 10 or 11 am from my house to birth my son, and my dad found her dead that very evening
I too, am glad that Shelley was with Duckie. She seems to have the comforter personality, so that's why I picked her. I always make sure that any ill or injured bird has a companion (unless the situation is too risky for either bird to share company), because they are more likely to die when completely isolated. What's amazing is that when I let Shelley come out of the carrier, she immediately flew onto my shoulder, hopped on top of the carrier, and nestled right next to Duckie (those pics are not staged!).
No, they are not on medicated feed right now. I've been calling all the feed stores I can find for Corid, the closest store that sells it is about a 40 minute drive away. For now, I've disinfected all the feed and water dishes with diluted bleach, kept the water fresh, and mixed in powdered milk with their crumbles to flush out any nasties (it worked, found some red stuff in their poo the next day). There's another feed store that is closer that carries Sulmet, but I've heard mixed reviews on that stuff. So I'm going to try to get the Corid tomorrow, goodness knows I can't put this off any longer!
