3-4 month old chicks dying!Please Help!

[chrisandkatie]

Ok, I incubated some chicks and they hatched through the month of April, and it is now June 12th. Ive lost 4 chicks to an unknown disease within the last week. The symptoms include: lethargic, no appetite, and then seizing then death. Ive treated with oxytetracycline hci powder, honey, and a small amount of prednisone and 1ml of nutri-drench directly in mouth and I wormed them with wazine 17 0.6 ml directly in mouth. They are bantam breads. They look like they are slowly dying, and are barely eating or drinking anything. I live in NC and it's starting to get hot. They mainly just lay around and rest. I noticed this morning they were twitching their heads a lot. I think that was due to them waking up, mites, and flies. Im getting a bail of straw today and cleaning out coop. I looked out to count them while writing this thread and they seem to be moving around a lil and some were drinking water and pecking at the ground. Good sign. One thing is when they were in their cage after I two in the run with the big chickens because one was picking on all the others, the remaining chicks would occasionally one would post up on top of their two quart mason jar waterer and poop in the water. So all the remaining chicks were ingesting some of their own poop. I put two of the older chicks in the run before the others started dying and they are fine along with seven older chickens. I think they will be fine if I keep giving them the oxy and nutri-drench and maybe a lil honey. I want them to get better. I have one that was almost dead and brought her inside and she seems so be getting better. But I brought a lil rooster in last night and it died over night after being force fed, too much I think and the stress and maybe blockage of air way killed it. I still have a lot to learn. I only started raising chickens myself the beginning of last year. ANY suggestions would be greatly appreciated. Thank-you for your time and taking a look at my thread. Wish me and my wife's little baby chicks luck.

 

[ChickenCanoe]

Send a sick chick here for euthanasia and necropsy to find out what you're dealing with. It could be so many things, with those symptoms and without lab work, any suggestions given would be a guess. Any time one loses multiple birds a necropsy is in order.
While one messes with home cures more birds die.

North Carolina

Rollins Diagnostic Laboratory
North Carolina Department of Agriculture
2101 Blue Ridge Rd.
Raleigh, North Carolina 27607
Phone: 919-733-3986 Fax 919-733-0454

I understand the desire to do something but giving antibiotics without knowing what is ailing them isn't a good idea.
Most of the things it could be can't be treated with antibiotics and can skew the results of the lab work in a necropsy.
Random use is a contributor of superbugs.
The wazine will skew helminth tests.

 

[chrisandkatie]

Thank-you for the advice, that would be great advice for everyone having problems for their little chicks. I thankfully have not had another chick die since your reply. I just gave them extra TLC by making sure they ate a high protein along with a little nutri drench. They seem to be getting better except one. I didn't get it in time. He has lost a lot of weight but has not died yet. Today one chick had its eye swollen shut. So I put a lil hydrogen peroxide on a q tip and rubbed it on eye to loosen it up then washed it away. Then I gently pulled open the eye and seen something white and yellowish in color. I then got a dry q tip and pulled eye lid open and pulled this puss out in one piece. Odd is was only in one eye and only one chick, and hopefully it doesn't come back. I'll keep you updated on their recovery.

 

[chrisandkatie]

Had another one die. Seems to be a respiratory problem, but doesn't seem to respond to oxytetracycline hci. it says to give 10mg per lb of chicken, but these chicks have lost weight they can't be a half pound they probly weigh 4-5 ounces so ive been giving them 3-5mg each 5 for a high dose. Five of the chicks we separated in the pin with the other older chickens are doing fine.
I want to send one off or drive there. They have a close lab in Fletcher, NC. The address is 785 Airport Rd, Fletcher, NC 28732, and their number is 828-684-8188. It's an 1hr 40 min drive. I really don't have the funds or time to drive it there or money to get the dry ice and package it, but I'm gonna see what I can do.

 

[Mr Beaks]

Had another one die. Seems to be a respiratory problem, but doesn't seem to respond to oxytetracycline hci. it says to give 10mg per lb of chicken, but these chicks have lost weight they can't be a half pound they probly weigh 4-5 ounces so ive been giving them 3-5mg each 5 for a high dose. Five of the chicks we separated in the pin with the other older chickens are doing fine. 
     I want to send one off or drive there. They have a close lab in Fletcher, NC. The address is 785 Airport Rd, Fletcher, NC 28732, and their number is 828-684-8188. It's an 1hr 40 min drive. I really don't have the funds or time to drive it there or money to get the dry ice and package it, but I'm gonna see what I can do. 

So sorry you are going through this. If possible, I would take ChickenCanoe's advice and have a necropsy done so you know exactly what it is you're dealing with. Just last week I had to have my rooster euthanized (hubby suspects poisoning) and took him in for necropsy & tox screening. In our state services are free (except tox screen) and it will give me peace of mind knowing exactly what went wrong and whether or not the rest of the flock is at risk. Wishing you and your flock the best.

 

[ChickenCanoe]

Thank-you for the advice, that would be great advice for everyone having problems for their little chicks. I thankfully have not had another chick die since your reply. I just gave them extra TLC by making sure they ate a high protein along with a little nutri drench. They seem to be getting better except one. I didn't get it in time. He has lost a lot of weight but has not died yet. Today one chick had its eye swollen shut. So I put a lil hydrogen peroxide on a q tip and rubbed it on eye to loosen it up then washed it away. Then I gently pulled open the eye and seen something white and yellowish in color. I then got a dry q tip and pulled eye lid open and pulled this puss out in one piece. Odd is was only in one eye and only one chick, and hopefully it doesn't come back. I'll keep you updated on their recovery.

Hydrogen Peroxide would be a bad idea for an eye issue. In fact, it could cause blindness. Where did you get that idea?
HP kills healthy cells. It is primarily used to flush a fresh wound of dirt. An eye swollen shut doesn't fit that description.
If you want to treat an eye problem, use an eye type triple antibiotic ointment.

Had another one die. Seems to be a respiratory problem, but doesn't seem to respond to oxytetracycline hci. it says to give 10mg per lb of chicken, but these chicks have lost weight they can't be a half pound they probly weigh 4-5 ounces so ive been giving them 3-5mg each 5 for a high dose. Five of the chicks we separated in the pin with the other older chickens are doing fine.
I want to send one off or drive there. They have a close lab in Fletcher, NC. The address is 785 Airport Rd, Fletcher, NC 28732, and their number is 828-684-8188. It's an 1hr 40 min drive. I really don't have the funds or time to drive it there or money to get the dry ice and package it, but I'm gonna see what I can do.

With today's gas prices, driving it there will likely be cheaper than any other method. That works for me. I'm 3+ hours from the lab.

If you can't afford to get the necropsy, the best approach would be to cull the entire flock, disinfect housing and start from scratch with new healthy birds.

 

[casportpony]

Welcome to BYC! You treated with prednisone? I'm not a vet, nor do I have any medical training, but I think the dose use in birds is miniscule, as in impossible to give a safe amount using a human tablet.

-Kathy

 

[casportpony]

Had another one die. Seems to be a respiratory problem, but doesn't seem to respond to oxytetracycline hci. it says to give 10mg per lb of chicken, but these chicks have lost weight they can't be a half pound they probly weigh 4-5 ounces so ive been giving them 3-5mg each 5 for a high dose. Five of the chicks we separated in the pin with the other older chickens are doing fine.
I want to send one off or drive there. They have a close lab in Fletcher, NC. The address is 785 Airport Rd, Fletcher, NC 28732, and their number is 828-684-8188. It's an 1hr 40 min drive. I really don't have the funds or time to drive it there or money to get the dry ice and package it, but I'm gonna see what I can do.

Many things won't respond to oxytetracycline, and how do you know how much oxytetracycline you're giving them?

-Kathy

 

[chrisandkatie]

I have a jewelry scale that weighs to the thousandths of a gram so .003 means 3mg

 

[chrisandkatie]

Welcome to BYC! You treated with prednisone? I'm not a vet, nor do I have any medical training, but I think the dose use in birds is miniscule, as in impossible to give a safe amount using a human tablet.

-Kathy

It was a stupid idea really without a diagnosis. Prednisone weakens the immune system and it mainly works as an anti-inflammatory. but a 5mg pill weighs 200mg and that is for the average 150lb human I'd jus do the math equivalency to a 5oz chick, but it's not necessary.