Bantam 4 month old chick fatigued, paralysis, labored breathing

[SweetHeidi]

1) bantam chick, she's 4 months old
2) listless, tired, half normal half too watery poo but still white and grey, no signs of worms in poo, crop feels normal. Her eyes were swollen a tiny tiny bit a few days ago, she's been shaking her head since I bought her (tsc). I treated for mites, treated for worms and nothing helped. Now all she can do is lay, very off balanced and legs barely work. She eats plenty and drinks. I gave her feed mixed with milk today which she ate lots of. Still pooping at least 15 times a day. I gave vetrx in warm water last night and had a warm rice sock drizzled with vetrx for her at night, she snuggled next to it. I also offer electrolytes and vitamins in water. She seems to have slightly labored breathing. She feels lighter and looks a bit pale to me.

Flockmate bantam dropped dead 2 weeks ago after ear infection was too much and she had paralysis on one side, 8 days ago another bantam was listless and suddenly passed, and a wellsummer 5 days ago suddenly passed with no symptoms. No signs of trauma, crops felt normal and eating/drinking was normal. I keep my coops super clean.

No vets around here will look at a chicken and all avian vets are booked months out.

The bantam have a covered run with sand floor, they sleep in a coop with sand/lime and wood shavings on the bottom.

 

[HeatherKellyB]

I'm so sorry. I wonder if they're so weak and it's giving the appearance of paralysis? Any chance you've tried using Corid? Coccidiosis kills quickly and moves throughout the flock very fast.

 

[HeatherKellyB]

@Wyorp Rock
@Eggcessive
@azygous

Any chance they've injested some moldy food? That's another thought that seems possible but in all honesty, I'm not sure. With that many deaths, it's something that would move through the flock quickly.

 

[HeatherKellyB]

What do you feed them, including treats?
Did they all come from TSC?
Are they the only birds?
What kind of drinker do you use for them?
Is there drinker filled from the same source every time? Is this a source that is used for human consumption as well? Do you offer fresh plain water?
Are their crops empty in the morning, before they have access to feed and water?

I'm just trying to get as much information as possible in hopes of getting you the best help

 

[LaFleche]

I treated for mites, treated for worms and nothing helped.

What exactly did you use to treat her?

Did you inspect and treated the coop for mites too ?

 

[azygous]

Please tell us how long you've had these chickens. Were they all the same age? Did you raise them from baby chicks?

Were they out free ranging before these deaths? Did they have access to a compost pile where spoiled food has been tossed?

Have you inspected your feed? Wet, moldy feed has a horrible odor unlike fresh feed which is pleasant.

As @HeatherKellyB has stated, many disorders can mimic a serious avian disease. Heat sickness, hypothermia, starvation, toxin exposure, all can have the symptoms of paralysis and lethargy.

But the many deaths all point in the direction of a serious disease, whether it's an avian virus or botulism toxin or mold toxin. A few more answers can give us an important clue thatcan help narrow this down to either something treatable or an avian disease that unfortunately has no treatment.

 

[LaFleche]

Flockmate bantam dropped dead 2 weeks ago after ear infection was too much and she had paralysis on one side, 8 days ago another bantam was listless and suddenly passed, and a wellsummer 5 days ago suddenly passed with no symptoms. No signs of trauma,

I would suggest you send send her in for a necropsy if she does not make it, which is what she looks like to me.

Did you check their feed for mould or strange smell? Have it analyzed just to be sure.
A breeder friend lost all of her youngsters to some poisonous feed.

 

[SweetHeidi]

I'm so sorry. I wonder if they're so weak and it's giving the appearance of paralysis? Any chance you've tried using Corid? Coccidiosis kills quickly and moves throughout the flock very fast.

What do you feed them, including treats?
Did they all come from TSC?
Are they the only birds?
What kind of drinker do you use for them?
Is there drinker filled from the same source every time? Is this a source that is used for human consumption as well? Do you offer fresh plain water?
Are their crops empty in the morning, before they have access to feed and water?

I'm just trying to get as much information as possible in hopes of getting you the best help

I feed them Manna Pro 16% crumbles w prebiotic plus a miniscule amount of DE. They get black sunflower seeds or chopped vegetables/fruit very rarely as a treat and I'll toss on a little thyme or oregano from my garden. I give them a tray of fodder/grass every few days. Their water has a tiny amount of oregano oil in it. I use a 5 gallon bucket that has a lid with 2 types of nipples, one regular on the side and the 2nd is a cup type nipple. I use our well water every time that we too drink. Yes they are usually very hungry in the morning, they have a feeder with three port holes, they never eat feed off the ground. That stays dry since they are sheltered. We do have a clear roof panel for sunlight too.

All the bantam came from tsc. My heritage breed hens came from a good breeder and were raised with the bantam but released August 1st to the big girls coop to free range with my 4 older hens. The bantam have their own covered coop and run separate from the big girls.

I'm so sorry. I wonder if they're so weak and it's giving the appearance of paralysis? Any chance you've tried using Corid? Coccidiosis kills quickly and moves throughout the flock very fast.

I did do a full round of corid 2 months ago. A couple had the red dots in their poo and that cleared up pretty fast.

 

[SweetHeidi]

What exactly did you use to treat her?

Did you inspect and treated the coop for mites too ?

I use Saturday brand lime in the bottom and then de on their roost bars. I put one tiny tiny drop of ivermectin pour-on on the back of necks for mite control.

 

[azygous]

The well water is a possible suspect. If it's unfiltered and untreated and has a high iron content, bacteria can bind with the iron and cause illness in chickens even though humans may be resistant to it. It might be a wise move to have it tested for bacteria.

If your flock had coccidiosis and you only did the one round of Corid, they could be reinfected from oocytes coming to maturity since the first treatment. I would definitely do another round immediately.