2-3 wk old baby chick died in 12 hrs. Others acting the same, URGENT HELP !!!!

[Chicken Earl]

Hello all, I have 8 baby chics that one of my hens sat on in the pen and hatched out. They are barnyard mix of Australorp, Barred Rock, Brown leghorn, Rhode island red, and a few more, all full size birds. Some of the mother hens were from eggs my original birds had laid and i had hatched using an incubator. I brought the new chics inside and put them in a pen i have used for maybe 50-60 birds before. (heat lamp, pine shaving bedding, waterer, feeder) It had been cleaned w/bleach and not used in almost a year so I know it was clean. The chics were less than a week old when i brought them inside. They have all been doing well, eating, drinking, sleeping.

Last night they were all fine when i checked on them. This morning I found one on it's back unable to right itself. I put it on it's feet and it was wobbly and unsteady with apparent paralyses in one leg. Later in the day the wing on the same side was dropping and appeared to have no movement. I had to right the poor thing several times throughout the day. Around 3 I took all of them outside thinking it could walk easier and maybe improve. it "seemed" to improve, but nothing really noticable. it was eating and able to get around, but would still wind up on it's back. I had to put it upright 10-15 times in a few hours outside. I brought them all back inside as the sun set and it looked about the same as before. over the next 3-4 hours i went to check regularly on them, every time it was stuck on its back.

I started to notice similar symptoms in another chic also. About midnight (same day as initial indications) i found it dead in the pen. I aslo noticed the other one that was starting to show symptoms was having "the shakes" or tremors. while it was laying down. When picked up and placed on it's feet it had the same asymetrical paralysis as the first chic.

There has been no trauma, no dogs, not cats, no children, no people. I do not have friends with chickens and i do not have people over to my house and so no one has been here to infect them. There are no bloody poops in the pen.

It is now a few hours later and another chic is showing symptoms. All of these birds looked perfectly fine yesterday. All three of the birds showing symptoms are astrolaup crosses (I have an Australorp rooster), but they have some white marking so i think the mother hen was not one of the female Australorps.

I do have one hen in the pen that has messed up feet, several of her toes are curled under and to the side. She does not walk great, but she does fine in the flock, eats well and seems ok. She is one that i had previously hatched out. (maybe got my temps wrong and she developed funny.)

I dont want to loose all of these baby chics, but what is worse is I have about 40 eggs in my incubator right now. They will start hatching in another 8 days and i dont want all of them to get sick.

The original birds were from Tractor supply and Rural King. At one point i got 4 Delawares from a breeder, and two Barred rock roosters from a familly with too many. (Some of the Delewares laid blue eggs, I only have one bird laying blue now, I dont know which hen) Most of those original birds have all passed or made racoons fat (six strands of electric fence fixed that).
I have done a little bit of research, but do not know what is wrong. It seems like Mareks Disease but the progression is very fast and nothing i can find says Mareks kills in 12 hours.
Apologies for the wordiness but i wanted to include any info i can think of that may help, and the "please read this" note asked for lots of info.

 

[FattyChickens]

Bumping for you! I'm not an expert. All I can ask is what you're feeding them and if they have fresh clean water available?

 

[Chicken Earl]

Bumping for you! I'm not an expert. All I can ask is what you're feeding them and if they have fresh clean water available?

they are getting feed with "producers pride" layer crumbles. And yes, clean water. I did put electrolyte/probiotic water in for them last night after reading the issue could be nutritional. Seems odd that only a few birds would show signs when they all eat and drink the same stuff, so I am not convinced it is nutritional. But I will be getting some nutrient supplements for them today, along with medicated starter/grower chic feed, just in case. Plus there is nothing to be done if it is Mareks. It seems to be my only course of action right now.

 

[TillyPeeps]

No, it's not Marek's. Marek's usually starts at an older age (at least 10 week old) and is very rare for younger chicks. You may want to treat for coccidiosis with Corid. Medicated chick feed doesn't have enough dosage to treat coccidiosis outbreak. Also check your feed to see if it's moldy. Layer crumbles have too much calcium, so you need to get them chick starter feed.

 

[Chicken Earl]

No, it's not Marek's. Marek's usually starts at an older age (at least 10 week old) and is very rare for younger chicks. You may want to treat for coccidiosis with Corid. Medicated chick feed doesn't have enough dosage to treat coccidiosis outbreak. Also check your feed to see if it's moldy. Layer crumbles have too much calcium, so you need to get them chick starter feed.

The food is a new bag and is inside and perfectly fine.
Dont they get Coccidiosis from eating off the ground. How would a baby chic that has never been outside get it. Is it possible for them to be infected without bloody poop? Ill get some meds to be sure.
As to the layer vs starter I have read some research that says it really makes no diference. I have also raised all my birds (except the first batch i got) on only layer feed (starter food is much more expensive). Most of the chics are thriving, so that seems highly unlikely to be the problem. I'll switch to layer feed if nothing else works. The thoughts and help are much appreciated.

 

[CoopBoots]

Dont they get Coccidiosis from eating off the ground. How would a baby chic that has never been outside get it. Is it possible for them to be infected without bloody poop? Ill get some meds to be sure.

Hello all, I have 8 baby chics that one of my hens sat on in the pen and hatched out. ... The chics were less than a week old when i brought them inside. They have all been doing well, eating, drinking, sleeping.

I wouldn't discount the possibility that your chicks were still exposed in the short time they were being hatched by your broody in the pen. There's generally a little poop everywhere in a coop, even if mama hen just stepped in something and tracked it back to the nest after a break. Not saying it is coccidiosis for sure, but still a possibility. Also possible to have it without bloody poop.

I can't speak to nutrition other than the extra calcium is at best unnecessary for roos and chicks, and the extra protein in starter is helpful for the kind of growth babies are doing (feathers, muscles).

My best guess is babies have been exposed to something your flock carries, or to something environmental they should not have ingested. If these were my chicks I'd either reclean everything they use with soap and water only, or move to a totally different setup, and get a new bag of feed immediately. It's a bit of a longshot but I'd probably do a corid treatment for coccidiosis as well since that is a common ailment at this age.

Best of luck; I'm so sorry you are having to deal with this!

 

[Chicken Earl]

I wouldn't discount the possibility that your chicks were still exposed in the short time they were being hatched by your broody in the pen. There's generally a little poop everywhere in a coop, even if mama hen just stepped in something and tracked it back to the nest after a break. Not saying it is coccidiosis for sure, but still a possibility. Also possible to have it without bloody poop.

I can't speak to nutrition other than the extra calcium is at best unnecessary for roos and chicks, and the extra protein in starter is helpful for the kind of growth babies are doing (feathers, muscles).

My best guess is babies have been exposed to something your flock carries, or to something environmental they should not have ingested. If these were my chicks I'd either reclean everything they use with soap and water only, or move to a totally different setup, and get a new bag of feed immediately. It's a bit of a longshot but I'd probably do a corid treatment for coccidiosis as well since that is a common ailment at this age.

Best of luck; I'm so sorry you are having to deal with this!

Thanks, I know the food is fine because all my birds are eating it and it is a bag only a week old and has always been inside. (when i say "inside", i mean inside my house safe clean and dry)
I agree you have a point on the Coccidiosis and will get them some meds. I also did not know it was that contagious or couldpresent without the mentioned sympton. Thanks for that info for sure.
As to a new pen, that is the plan, i was waiting to make sure they did not have Mareks because i did not want to contaminate another pen. I will move them to a new clean pen soon. I clean their waterer and feeders, and the pen when i move them, with soap, water and bleach, (big fan of bleach!) and all that gets nice and clean.
Nothing to be sorry about, they are not pets, it's just a hassle.
Once again, Thanks for the info and help.

 

[Chicken Earl]

Well no significant improvment. A few of the weak ones seem to be a bit better but hard to say for sure.
yesterday one with no symptoms like the others (and my favorite) seemed to be having a hard time breathing. Opening it's beak as though it could not get enough air. Well I Later that afternoon after running some errands i got home to find it dead, upside down in the pen. Starting to think it might be best to assume they are infected with something unknown and just cull the remaining 6. I have eggs hatching in a few days, and i will have them hatching every few days for foreseeable future. (i have been putting 3-5 eggs in the incubator eveyr day or so.) Im afraid the new birds will get infected.
Any thoughts.

 

[mannyc8771]

Hello all, I have 8 baby chics that one of my hens sat on in the pen and hatched out. They are barnyard mix of Australorp, Barred Rock, Brown leghorn, Rhode island red, and a few more, all full size birds. Some of the mother hens were from eggs my original birds had laid and i had hatched using an incubator. I brought the new chics inside and put them in a pen i have used for maybe 50-60 birds before. (heat lamp, pine shaving bedding, waterer, feeder) It had been cleaned w/bleach and not used in almost a year so I know it was clean. The chics were less than a week old when i brought them inside. They have all been doing well, eating, drinking, sleeping.

Last night they were all fine when i checked on them. This morning I found one on it's back unable to right itself. I put it on it's feet and it was wobbly and unsteady with apparent paralyses in one leg. Later in the day the wing on the same side was dropping and appeared to have no movement. I had to right the poor thing several times throughout the day. Around 3 I took all of them outside thinking it could walk easier and maybe improve. it "seemed" to improve, but nothing really noticable. it was eating and able to get around, but would still wind up on it's back. I had to put it upright 10-15 times in a few hours outside. I brought them all back inside as the sun set and it looked about the same as before. over the next 3-4 hours i went to check regularly on them, every time it was stuck on its back.

I started to notice similar symptoms in another chic also. About midnight (same day as initial indications) i found it dead in the pen. I aslo noticed the other one that was starting to show symptoms was having "the shakes" or tremors. while it was laying down. When picked up and placed on it's feet it had the same asymetrical paralysis as the first chic.

There has been no trauma, no dogs, not cats, no children, no people. I do not have friends with chickens and i do not have people over to my house and so no one has been here to infect them. There are no bloody poops in the pen.

It is now a few hours later and another chic is showing symptoms. All of these birds looked perfectly fine yesterday. All three of the birds showing symptoms are astrolaup crosses (I have an Australorp rooster), but they have some white marking so i think the mother hen was not one of the female Australorps.

I do have one hen in the pen that has messed up feet, several of her toes are curled under and to the side. She does not walk great, but she does fine in the flock, eats well and seems ok. She is one that i had previously hatched out. (maybe got my temps wrong and she developed funny.)

I dont want to loose all of these baby chics, but what is worse is I have about 40 eggs in my incubator right now. They will start hatching in another 8 days and i dont want all of them to get sick.

The original birds were from Tractor supply and Rural King. At one point i got 4 Delawares from a breeder, and two Barred rock roosters from a familly with too many. (Some of the Delewares laid blue eggs, I only have one bird laying blue now, I dont know which hen) Most of those original birds have all passed or made racoons fat (six strands of electric fence fixed that).
I have done a little bit of research, but do not know what is wrong. It seems like Mareks Disease but the progression is very fast and nothing i can find says Mareks kills in 12 hours.
Apologies for the wordiness but i wanted to include any info i can think of that may help, and the "please read this" note asked for lots of info.

Do you add chick grit to the feed, I lost chicks and realized that it was my fault for not putting grit in the feed,