12 day old chick with heavy breathing

[The Chicken life chose me]

I can’t be sure what this might be. I did have gasping and sneezing chicks once. It was very contagious and all the chicks got it. A few people adviced me to go to a vet and ask for antibiotics. Other said don’t, because you will get weak chickens.

I didn’t give medicines , I did find it alarming that they all got sick, but they didn’t die. Some cured within 2 weeks but one chick took 6 weeks to heal. As adults these chickens never got sick. Two of them are 8 years old now.

You could give a little electrolytes in the water. This gives them a little extra energy. You can make it yourself with a cup of boiled still warm water, and add a teaspoon honey, a teaspoon apple cider vinegar and a pinch of salt. Fresh greens can be healthy too. Like chopped grass with herbs in tiny pieces.

Also check if the bedding isn’t the cause. Put the chick on an old towel for 24 h.

Antibiotics saves lives

 

[The Chicken life chose me]

How did this play out? I have the same issue and we can't find much on the issue.

Make sure you separate the chick with health concerns ( preferably with you in the house)… if it’s a respiratory illness.. make sure you give Baytril. If it’s a crop impaction.. GENTLY massage crop and give tiny pieces of coconut oil

 

[rabney]

Her crop doesn't feel compact or hard. She is breathing with her mouth open now. No signs of distress form the other 14 chicks. I cooled the room off about 3 degrees with no positive change. It's been 18 hours now.

 

[BDutch]

Antibiotics saves lives

And disturbs all good bacteria in your body too.
And can make you vulnerable for other diseases.
Often its just not the best solution.

 

[Fluster Cluck Acres]

How did this play out? I have the same issue and we can't find much on the issue.

This is the chick now:

I never found a cause but it stopped on its own about a week later. I suspect it was environmental, but will never know.

It definitely helped putting him a small brooder with less chicks- whether it was the limited excitement or less competition I don’t know. Now he is a normal rooster in a normal flock. He is a lower energy guy who lays around more than my other roosters, but just like the others, he chases after pretty hens, fights naughty cockerels, and runs away from the dominant rooster without any problem and no sign of being winded or breathing trouble.

I would advise separating as suggested, perhaps with a friend or 2 to limit stress. I personally would not administer an antibiotic at this stage. Monitor the chick and also closely monitor the others. Hopefully it clears up on its own like in Citronella’s case. Sorry I can’t tell you anything more concrete than this. If you haven’t already, you may want to try starting your own thread in the sick chicken forum to get more visibility. Welcome to BYC!

 

[rabney]

She spends more time next to the heater plate than the others. Do you think she just ain't smart enough to get away from the heat when she is hot?
The brooder is 80 to 81 degrees except of course under the heat plate. I have 3 differentways to read the temp just to make sure one of them isn't misleading me. It's been that temp since last night. I didn't turn on the heat lamp only the heat plate.

This is the chick now:
View attachment 3896500

I never found a cause but it stopped on its own about a week later. I suspect it was environmental, but will never know.

It definitely helped putting him a small brooder with less chicks- whether it was the limited excitement or less competition I don’t know. Now he is a normal rooster in a normal flock. He is a lower energy guy who lays around more than my other roosters, but just like the others, he chases after pretty hens, fights naughty cockerels, and runs away from the dominant rooster without any problem and no sign of being winded or breathing trouble.

I would advise separating as suggested, perhaps with a friend or 2 to limit stress. I personally would not administer an antibiotic at this stage. Monitor the chick and also closely monitor the others. Hopefully it clears up on its own like in Citronella’s case. Sorry I can’t tell you anything more concrete than this. If you haven’t already, you may want to try starting your own thread in the sick chicken forum to get more visibility. Welcome to BYC!

Thank you very much for taking the time to reply. I will separate her and a couple or her mates now. Thank you again.

 

[Fluster Cluck Acres]

She spends more time next to the heater plate than the others. Do you think she just ain't smart enough to get away from the heat when she is hot?
The brooder is 80 to 81 degrees except of course under the heat plate.

She should know what temps she needs. If she's sticking close to the brooder plate she may need the extra heat. Maybe 80 is too high? (I'm speculating here). I don't have a thermometer in my brooder- just the heat plate and space for them to get away from it. My house is about 74-76 degrees so I assume that's what the far side of the brooder is. But my broody successfully hatched and raised her chicks during a 90+ degree heat wave, so that may not be the problem.

Do you think she's panting (holding her beak open continusouly as she breathes) or gasping for breath (opening and closing her beak)?

 

[rabney]

She should know what temps she needs. If she's sticking close to the brooder plate she may need the extra heat. Maybe 80 is too high? (I'm speculating here). I don't have a thermometer in my brooder- just the heat plate and space for them to get away from it. My house is about 74-76 degrees so I assume that's what the far side of the brooder is. But my broody successfully hatched and raised her chicks during a 90+ degree heat wave, so that may not be the problem.

Do you think she's panting (holding her beak open continusouly as she breathes) or gasping for breath (opening and closing her beak)?

I belive we are thinking along the same lines.
She stopped panting yesterday afternoon before I loved the temp.
When I checked again yesterday evening, as luck would have it, she didnt have a full crop. So I don't think it is crop related. Let me know if I'm wrong on that.
Thinking It must be heat related,I lowered the brooder temp to the 74-75 degrees on the cool side of the brooder, the warm side is about 80-81 an inch or so from the heat plate, but she still sticks close to the heat plate. she eats and drinks. I just let the feeder get low for a few hours just to see if her crop would empty some. Keep in mind they are seven days old today.
It's weird, if she is too hot, then I would expect her to move to the cooler side of the brooder opposite the heat plate. She likes a spot that is about 2 inches from the heat plate and she occasionally goes under it like the others do. It appears she is slightly more cold natured than the others, but that could be just my perception.
She dosent seem hot, her crop was empty. Nothing exspains the heavy breathing.
When I sepete her an a brooder mate she dives under the other chick.
I'm open to any ideas at this point.

 

[Fluster Cluck Acres]

When I checked again yesterday evening, as luck would have it, she didnt have a full crop. So I don't think it is crop related. Let me know if I'm wrong on that.

When the babies go to bed for the night (no lights), remove the food. Then check the crop in the morning before you give the food back. It should be empty. During the day, while the chicks have access to the food, the crop should vary between empty-ish and full.

It's weird, if she is too hot, then I would expect her to move to the cooler side of the brooder opposite the heat plate. She likes a spot that is about 2 inches from the heat plate and she occasionally goes under it like the others do. It appears she is slightly more cold natured than the others, but that could be just my perception.

It is odd that she isn’t moving away from the heat if she’s feeling hot. Around 1-2 weeks a lot of my babies will start sleeping under the heat plate with their heads sticking out. I suspect it helps them to be warm but not overheat.

When I sepete her an a brooder mate she dives under the other chick.

This behavior sounds as though she’s cold or frightened. Strange for her be hot in one place and cold in another. Does she seem to have stopped panting for good? Are you seeing any other symptoms of distress or discomfort? Perhaps the issue has passed, and she’s just hanging out in odd places.

 

[rabney]

Sorry, I should have said I *don't* think it is crop related but then again I open to suggestions.
I didn't separate her today because it seemed to stress her even more to be out of the brooder away from the flock even though she has two others for company.
Her panting seemed to have stopped since my last post but she is still breathing heavy. When she breathes her body moves quite a bit more compared to the other, sometimes I can barely see them breath while they are asleep. I haven't spent alot of time with them today as I'm building a larger brooder. They have began a seeminly fun game of leapfrog so it's time to upside thier home.
She is ever so slightly smaller than the others, so I was thinking of breaking up a peice of hard boiled egg yolk about half the size of a pencil eraser and giving it to her a few times each day hoping the extra nutrients will help her grow and improve her health and to be honest im hoping to make her feel more at ease with us, although she will eat crumbles from our hands, she is more reserved than most of the others.we get the others busy with one hand and I offer her another with crumbles.
What's your option on the egg yolk?