3 week old chicken chick, breathing difficulty, drowsy, lame leg.

[markchicken]

good day to all.

my name is mark and i have 29chicken, 1 turkey and 10ducks, as adults. these have there own pen and shed.

i have also 11 turkeys, 1hen,1duck all at 8 weeks these have there own run and house

my latest batch from the incubator only gave me 9 chicks out of 28 eggs. 3 got ratted and so the other 6 were moved into a clean rabbit hutch with brooder lamp

Of these 6 chicks all seemed healthy untill this morning? according to my father.

one of the chicks seems to have lost the use of one leg. It is supporting its weight on it wing. Its ballance is totaly screwed and it has been sat down all day. the chick looks too hot as it has fluffed all it feathers out. it is also breathing air like it would drink water. by this i mean the chick seems to gasp for air from its mouth and then tilts its head back as if it were drinking water. the chick also has its eyes closed alot and looks very tired.

breathing is slow, every 3 seconds.

i have inspected the chick and i can see no injuries to its legs or any other part of its body. all movment of limbs seems to be normal. when i turn the chick on its back its head is weak and it makes no effort to turn its self the right way up. the leg seems semi twisted to the side kinda like a pigion. if i touch the feet. the chick will not push my finger with either leg

the crop is not full to capacity but has some food inside it.
airways do not seem to be blocked

the chick is eating and drinking very well for a few seconds and then goes tired again.

the vent seems clean and well.

skin colour looks normal on face and legs.

at the moment the chcik is alert and pecking at grass tips and other bits and pieces on the floor

all other chicks are very alert and normal.

the food is chick crumb and water is in a bowl and comes from the tap at room temps. all birds and human careers drink from the same mains supply.
every time i go to see them they are very happily playing around or eating and drinking.

the chicks are very manic and are always jumping around the rabbit hutch cage.

garden grass hay is the bedding. chicks have not been cleaned out as i would have wanted as my father has taken over the looking after of the chicks for the last 1.5weeks. the water bowls are never washed out only refilled. untill today that is when i found out what was going on.

i have looked through this forum and have found many symptons like mine but no definitive answers.

please help. if you would like to know anymore info please ask.

thanks mark..

 

[MommaOrp]

I'm not sure either, have you inspected the leg? is it warm to touch? is it swollen at the joint or injured in any way? if it is i've had this with a few chicks before that have been late hatches, i've lost all of them, if they have leg problems and it goes on too long (3 weeks probably is) theres not really a lot you can do for that leg, then they struggle for food and water and go downhill from there. You could try some vitamin drops and see if this makes a difference.

 

[markchicken]

hello there and thanks for the reply.

the chick is still alive today and its condition does not seem to have changed.

the chicks were well up till yesterday morning. the chick in question was hatched late (one day late) but has been very healthy from its hatch date. all 6 have progressed as they should. they all have there coloured feathers and looked like little chickens.

the cage they are in is raised 1m above the floor level. It has a plastic bottom which is covered in grass hay. the cage is 1.5m long by 0.5m wide and 0.5m high.

if the chick only had a bad leg i would have assumed that it had landed wrong when it has been jumping and playing with the others as there all a very lively bunch(picture of health) but compounded with the breathing difficulty and dowsyness, i am worried about a virus or bacterial infection.

i have checked the leg and it is as a chicks leg should be. there is no swelling, discolouration, it looks fine. more that the chick can not or does not want to use the leg.

i checked for brakes and dislocation. i have moved the leg my self and it bends at the joints and has the regular movment. i have in the past splintered a chickens leg when she broke the shin bone and she heal well.

breathing is still through open beak and again at 3 second intervels.

eyes are clean, clear and of good colour.

i can take some pictures..... how would do i upload them to my post??

again thanks.

 

[markchicken]

ok heres some pictures

 

[markchicken]

all the pictures were taken this morning and show the chick in quarenteen. the other chicks as a group and the chick from the front.

just top add the chick is looking better and this morning it was pruning its feathers and cleaning its self. but still can not walk or put weight on the leg. and the laboured breathing continues.

 

[MommaOrp]

what sort of temperature is it where you are? are you keeping the chicks outside? whats the chicks poop like, is there any blood in it? are any others showing any symptoms? is there any nasal discharge, sneezing etc?

 

[jjparke]

I would cull immediately

 

[markchicken]

hello. the outside temps are 13-20deg c. the chicks are inside a shed. the brooder lamp keeps them warm at night and during the day they play both under the light and not under the light.

there is no nasel discharge.

there is no fecial blood just the usual black and a bit of white, not to runny not to dry.

no sneezing. all the other chicks are fine.

the chick does seem to be slowly becoming more mobile.

but still looks very drowsy. and again the breathing is laboured.

yesterday i gentaly massaged the crop to check for food and blockages. for a moment the chicks breathing became much easier but by an hour later it was slow gasping again.

as to culling straight away. i might agree if i understood what grounds to cull on. cull the one to save the many? trouble being that these chicks mother was unfortunatly foxed and so these six are the last of her line.

thanks.

 

[ca]

Is your chicken still alive? It might have vitamin E and B12 defficiency! Do a search on the forum!
I would give chicken electrolytes, maybe pediasure, straight up vitamin E and Vitamin B12. Make sure it stays hydrated.Likely this is due to excessive heat! If no othe rchick is sick it is NOT Mareks.