2 month old chicken not moving eyes closed

[waddles99]

1) What type of bird , age and weight.
Barnevelder, 8 weeks, only a couple ounces

2) What is the behavior, exactly.
She has her eyes closed, doesn't respond to anything, wont eat or drink, or move. Her feathers are puffed out, too.

3) How long has the bird been exhibiting symptoms?
Just today I noticed this. She was normal before.

4) Are other birds exhibiting the same symptoms?
No.

5) Is there any bleeding, injury, broken bones or other sign of trauma.
No.

6) What happened, if anything that you know of, that may have caused the situation.
Nothing, everything has been normal and unchanging for the past 6 weeks.

7) What has the bird been eating and drinking, if at all.
Used to be drinking and eating Purina Start n Grow Medicated, not anymore

8) How does the poop look? Normal? Bloody? Runny? etc.
I don't know, she hasn't pooped since I took her out.

9) What has been the treatment you have administered so far?
Separated her and gave her food, which she didn't eat.

10 ) What is your intent as far as treatment? For example, do you want to treat completely yourself, or do you need help in stabilizing the bird til you can get to a vet?
Treat myself.

11) If you have a picture of the wound or condition, please post it. It may help.



12) Describe the housing/bedding in use
In a 4 x 2 stock tank brooder, pine shavings with newspaper bedding.

 

[waddles99]

Anyone have an idea???

 

[Eggcessive]

Quickly go to your feed store and get some Corid to treat for possible coccidiosis. Dosage is 2 tsp of the liquid or 1 1/2 tsp of powder per gallon of water for 5 days. Give it with a dropper or by dipping the beak until she is drinking. Other possibilities could be dehydration or a crop impaction. Do you feel anything in her crop, on her right upper chest under the neck? Coccidiosis signs are lethargy, not eating, runny poops either mucus or blood, and ruffled feathers. Treat all of your chicks at the same time, and keep the bedding clean and dry.

 

[waddles99]

Quickly go to your feed store and get some Corid to treat for possible coccidiosis. Dosage is 2 tsp of the liquid or 1 1/2 tsp of powder per gallon of water for 5 days. Give it with a dropper or by dipping the beak until she is drinking. Other possibilities could be dehydration or a crop impaction. Do you feel anything in her crop, on her right upper chest under the neck? Coccidiosis signs are lethargy, not eating, runny poops either mucus or blood, and ruffled feathers. Treat all of your chicks at the same time, and keep the bedding clean and dry.

Thanks for the response. I will get some tomorrow. She does not have a crop impaction and we already fed her electrolyte solution by dropper so its not dehydration. What is weird is that the food is medicated, so I was told it would prevent coccidiosis. But I will definitely give her the solution. Her waste is not runny or mucusy, but it she is lethargic with ruffled feathers and not eating.

 

[Eggcessive]

Medicated feed is supposed to help in becoming resistant to coccidia, but it unfortunately does not always help if there is a large exposure. Corid is very safe, and will not harm them even if it is not cocci. But if it is, it may save her life. A vet can look at some of her droppings for cocci, but I probably wouldn't wait to start it.

 

[waddles99]

Medicated feed is supposed to help in becoming resistant to coccidia, but it unfortunately does not always help if there is a large exposure. Corid is very safe, and will not harm them even if it is not cocci. But if it is, it may save her life. A vet can look at some of her droppings for cocci, but I probably wouldn't wait to start it.

How would a large exposure build up? Just curious, since I would like to know if I did anything wrong. I did spill their water a few weeks ago so some pine shavings got wet. Could that be it?

 

[Donna R Raybon]

Coccidia is pretty much being shed by animals in very low numbers. A healthy immune system keeps it suppressed. Experts say coccidia is species specific which means goat coccidia isn't supposed to infect chickens, etc. But, my experience has been coccidia don't listen to experts.

The really bad thing about coccidia is that life cycle is direct. That means you bird eats one oocyte and three weeks later has full blown case. The entire life cycle and reproduction takes place in host.

Other parasites, like worms, have an indirect life cycle. That means they leave host body to reproduce outside and/or other hosts. For example the tapeworm that infects dogs has flea as intermediate host. The tapeworm that infects livestock has a snail/slug intermediate host.

With coccidia being too clean can actually make matters worse. I learned hard way years ago the first time I brooded keets in the house. Before this all had been brooded by natural moms. So had 25 keets on wire until several weeks old and well feathered. Put them out on grass and a bit over three weeks later I literally watched them look at me and fall over dead. Lost about half in about two hours. They never acted sick, nor had any bad poops. I got on phone with vet and told to treat with Corid. Necropsy proved it was coccidia. The head of parisitology at U of TN, Dr. Patton, said keets had been raised too clean and had no chance to build exposure.