1 wk old chicks-Out of 4,1 died, now another is very listless/sleepy

[chrispaige]

I ordered 4 chicks from My Pet Chicken. They are now one week old. Everyone seemed in good shape when they arrived. As the days went on, the Easter Egger started acting different from the others. She was quieter and more lethargic than the others (which I thought meant she was sweeter than the others, but perhaps she just wasn't feeling well...) However, wshe definitely ate and drank and ran around like the other 3. However, yesterday she got dramatically worse quickly-sleeping and not moving when the other 3 were running around and very unfortunately she died yesterday evening

. Now over the last 24 hours the white leghorn chick seems to be acting a little strangely as well. She now is sleeping more often and sleeping more soundly than the other two (i.e. when we come into the room where the chicks are, two of them will jump up when they hear us, but the white leghorn will stay asleep until we make more noise or reach into the box). She is still eating, drinking and running around sometimes however. I've been at work all day but my husband has been keeping an eye on her today and it sounds like she's gotten worse as the day has gone on. It sounds a lot like what happened to the Easter Egger.

I found this site last night when searching the internet to find out what might have killed the Easter Egger. I wish I had found it sooner. But now I just want to make sure I do everything I can to keep the other 3 chicks healthy and alive. The other two chicks (who both seem healthy so far) are a Barred Rock and an Australop (sp?).

The chicks are inside (in my laundry room-could that be a problem?), with a red heat lamp, in a big cardboard box with pine shavings. They have access to two waterers which I change several times a day and are being fed a very high quality, organic, non-medicated chick starter feed. The temperature seems fine as they are not acting too hot or cold. I've checked them all for pasting up (including the Easter Egger that died) and have not seen anything that looks obviously problematic, although to be on the safe side I have wiped their bottoms with a warm, wet paper towel a few times. Is there anything else I should be doing? Would it be better to switch to a medicated feed? Is there anything I can do to perk the white leghorn up? I did add Apple Cide Vinegar (at rate of 1TBS per gallon) to their water for a few days per Storrey's Guide to Raising Chickens, but have stopped over the last two days. I always offered one jar of plain water and one "spiked" water.

These are my only chickens right now. Years ago, I raised two Barred Rocks from the time they were young chicks but unfortunately, they were killed by predators around 6 months old. It's taken me years to decide to try to have chickens again. I did buy a very good coop this time in hopes of protecting my flock when I moved them outside. However, now I'm worred I'll never get to that point.

Thanks a lot in advance for any help or advice. Sorry for the long post-just wanted to give as much info as possible.

 

[NancyP]

I wish I could help you. It sounds like you are doing everything right. Hopefully someone with more knowledge than me will step in here.

 

[laceynoelle]

Im sorry, im not sure either. Sometimes this type of stuff just seems to happen, and it sucks. i just told another person to scramble an egg and try to get the chicks to eat that. maybe it just needs some extra protien. Good luck.

 

[tamelroy]

what is their poop look like?

It could be coccidiosis. If they do have this you will want to get Corid in their water that would be in the feed store with the livestock stuff is.

Their poop is usually runny and bloody. As they get older they build their immune system against it, with med. feed it is suppose to help them do that whether it does or not I don't know.

I hope this helps

Good luck!

 

[seminolewind]

I would offer them a wet chick mash. Then grind up the chick feed smaller. Sometimes they look like they're eating, and they're not, just playing.
Do all 3 have full crops?

 

[LittleMamaBigPapa]

Hello,

I am not sure what this could be, but I am wondering why you did not start with the medicated chick feed? I dont know if that would make a huge difference, but it could help. I would switch. SOunds like you're on the right track. Did you contact My Pet Chicken to see if they have had any other issues with the batches of chicks they sent the same day/week as yours? I would call them....

hope the others make it

 

[underground chickenman]

Your chicks are probably too young for Coccidiosis, which doesn't usually show up until at least 3 or 4 weeks of age. Chicks remain at risk until about 15 or 16 weeks. Of course, a chick or chicken of any age can get it, but it is very uncommon outside of those age ranges.

Pasty butt will be pretty obvious. Poop will be caked on or around their vent. You don't need to wipe them unless you see poop.

I would make sure they are not too hot. In order to keep them indoors with a heat lamp, which I will assume is a 250 watt bulb, in a cardboard box would require a pretty big box to avoid it being too hot, depending on the temp of your house. Although, it is true you can gauge their temperature comfort by observation, I suggest you get a thermometer and check it regularly to make sure the temp is appropriate. The general rule is that the temp should be 95 the first week and lower by 5 degrees each week thereafter. BUT, that is the temp in the warmest part of the brooder. The brooder needs to be big enough to allow the chicks to move to cooler territory if they need it. Since they are in the laundry room, you need to be sure the heat does not build up while you are running the dryer. Maintaining a constant temp, except for the weekly 5 degree drop, is best for your chicks. If you are not sure that is the case, get a thermometer and check it. You can find ones that show the temp range also. That way you can learn whether it was too hot or cold while you were a way. I have one I purchased from about 8 bucks at Target.

Make sure they are not in a draft.

Although your chicks are old enough for litter, if you put them straight on litter, they may be eating it. I would dump the litter and put them on paper towels for a few days to a week to let them learn what their feed looks like on the ground. You can put the paper towels over the litter if you want to. Make sure the litter is pine and not cedar. Cedar fumes can sicken your chicks. You need to change the paper towels regularly to prevent them from picking at their poop. Paper towels will also give you a better look at their poop to see if there is anything wrong with it, such as bloody or too loose. After about a week, you can put them on straight pine litter.

Get some Quik Chik or other electrolyte/vitamin formula that you can add to their water.

Make sure your feed is a good quality feed. Go with a name brand like Purina or Blue Seal.

Finally, don't handle the chicks too much.

Other than that, I think you have to hope for the best.

I am not ruling out medicating them, but I doubt it is coccidiosis and I am not qualified to tell you what it is or how to medicate it.

Good luck and let us know how it goes from here.

UGCM

 

[Kittymomma]

I agree with UGCM. If they have blood in their poo though you'll want to get them on Corid QUICK though, otherwise follow the above post and maybe contact mpc to see if anybody else who got chicks around the same time is having problems.

I would reccomend getting some corid to have on hand for when they get a little older, especially since you're not feeding medicated feed. I don't use medicated either and like to keep the corid handy since cocci can take them quickly once they start showing symptoms.

I hope things get better with your fuzzy butts soon. Chicken keeping is a great addiction----ooops, I meant to say adventure.

I'm glad you found us and hope we can help.

 

[KKatknap]

Oh, I hope your babies are doing better! UGCM covered everything I was thinking of...so I have nothing else to add except good luck, and don't give up. It's worth the heartache...even though it doesn't seem like it right now.

 

[chrispaige]

Thanks so much to everyone who replied with advice and well wishes. The good news is that the white leghorn seems to be doing somewhat better and the other two still seem completely fine. The poops all look ok (no blood thatI have seen and I've watched for it) so I don't think it's Coccidiosis. UGCM, I really appreciate the lengthy response and all the advice. I am going to put paper towels over the shvings as you advised (they are pine shavings, not cedar) and get a thermometer to be more exact with the tempature. The box they are in is about 2.5X3 feet and they hang out all over it which is why I figured the temp. was ok. The room isn't drafty, but I did begin to think along the same lines you did that the dryer may not have helped things b/c the EE chick that died got sicker this weekend (as did the leghorn) and that's when we were doing lots laundry.

I did contact My Pet Chicken and they weren't very helpful in diagnosing problem (they pointed out, correctly, that being listless and sleepy isn't in itself a ailment, but just a symptom of an underlying problem), but did offer to give me a free chick in my next order despite the fact I am outside their guarantee period. However, I doubt I'll be ordering more since I can only have 4 based on coop size and MPC couldn't ship just one chick.

Would it be an issue to buy one chick locally that is about the same age as my current chicks and introduce it to the 3 of them, or is that asking for trouble?

Thanks again-you've been very supportive of me!