1 week old silkie chick... passed out?

[Maah]

The chicks have already had egg yolk...

 

[gimmie birdies]

oh good.

 

[Maah]

Update on Mini. He actually appears to be doing better today! Not perfect, but I'm not so much afraid to look in the brooder anymore. Yesterday I was afraid I was going to find he had passed on. I was sure his health was in a downward spiral yesterday and he had started acting quite disoriented. He slept for quite a bit yesterday after I changed his feed & vitamins.

So far he's still here, and not looking any worse. I am still noticing the little head flick sneeze looking thing a little bit, but I don't think it's quite as often. He seems determined to test his wing feathers out today. Poor kid, I don't have the heart to tell him yet that his feathers aren't made for flying.

I got the Poly Vi Sol today... boy he hates that stuff! Acted just like a baby getting medicine. I think if he could speak I would have heard some fairly "fowl" language.

Here's a picture of him and his teddy bear. I sure hope he gets better soon.



I wish I would have known for the other chick (MoMo), if this 'medicated feed/vitamin deficiency' is what caused her seizures. She was a healthy chick from the day she hatched. So it really came out of the blue.

We've raised chicks before and have dealt with miscellaneous things here & there. We've never had silkie (or any banty) chicks before. Only ever standards. These little peanuts seem to be throwing everything I know about raising chicks out the window! Live & learn, right?

 

[gimmie birdies]

Try a hand mirror too.

 

[howfunkyisurchicken]

Aw, I'm real glad to hear he's doing a little better! He may really enjoy a feather duster. I put it near the heat lamp (not too close, total fire hazard!) and my chicks crawl in and out of it like its a momma hen. I didn't even think about the medicated feed until another poster mentioned removing it. I don't use it, so it never crossed my mind I hope your little one continues to improve and makes a full recovery!!!
Nikki

 

[Hotelclepto]

Glad he's doing some better today. Sure hope he gets better soon. He's awfully cute!

 

[Maah]

Update on Mini... he's still the same. He's still alive, but still sneezing and not fully recovered. It got better for a few days when he wasn't sneezing/head flicking as often and his breathing was more normal. But now he's back to sneezing it quite frequently and his breathing is more labored again. I'm concerned for him again. I think he maybe has something respiratory going on still.

I have 4 chicks coming in on Wednesday, plus my next batch of silkie chicks are due this Saturday. I don't want to have to keep them separated forever.

I'm considering putting an antibiotic in Mini's water and see if that nips this in the butt. If Mini has something respiratory going on & it possibly wasn't all vitamin deficiency, I don't want it spreading to the new chicks coming in. Our local farm store has Duramycin-10.

Does that reasonable at this point? Is it safe for chicks too? Would the dosage be the same... though I'm guessing it would be less, but I don't want to underdose him either.

 

[Maah]

Well, I figured I'd make one more post with our final decision on this. Too many times I've read threads on here and there is never any conclusion, so it is hard to learn from other people's situations. So, here is our conclusion.

It has been decided that Mini will be put down. The brooder will be completely sterilized for the chicks due to hatch this weekend, and also a brand new separate brooder will be set up for our incoming chicks that will be here tomorrow. We are not going to bother with a course of antibiotic for this "could be" whatever this chick has. It's very likely his head flicking is neurological, from the medicated feed, or vitamin deficiency. However, there's the real possibility that it is something respiratory, and though it may sound callus to some... we just don't want to take that risk with our flock.

The thing that bothers me about this, is that we have a healthy flock, as far as I know. This head flicking possible sneezing has manifested in the chicks that we hatched from our silkie breeding pair. We acquired this breeding pair about 8 months ago, and they have well passed the quarantine time. However, it makes me want to take a really close look the roo and hen in the breeding pen since I know this can be passed down in the eggs. This is the first set we have hatched from this pair, and our first bantams. I have another set due to hatch this Saturday and they will be quarantined right from the start as well (just as this first set was). Luckily the breeding pair has never been integrated into our main laying flock. They have always been separate in a breeding pen. Though I know respiratory issues can be passed to the laying flock from us as we maintain both pens. Lets pray that isn't the case (and that is if the roo & hen are even carriers of some respiratory issue, even if it isn't showing in them, we don't know). I'm going to keep my fingers crossed that this is just a neurological effect. That being the case, putting Mini down would likely still be the best thing for him. I may be able to learn more after the new chicks hatch.

Anyways, I wanted to give one last update. I hope I haven't upset anybody with our decision to put Mini down. We have given this a lot of thought, it was not a rash decision. We just don't want to take any respiratory risks with our flock.

Thanks, Maah.

 

[Hotelclepto]

So sorry I think you have to do what you feel is best for you and your entire flock and it sounds like you are doing just that. So sorry u have had such a hard time with all of this. Hope the rest of your chicks are and stay healthy.

 

[MsChickenMomma]

I'm so sorry about Mini and MoMo... That must have been really hard for you.