I have a cochin bantam that hatched two frizzle chicks five days ago. From the start one was tiny- even compared to her hatch-mate (Spice) and she is very sick. Her name is Pumpkin. I put Mama and the baby chicks in a box in the back of our back coop which is in a separate room. (imagine walking into a coop then through a mesh door to a second coop and the chick box is in the back of that) I had just gotten three 3 month old silkies and they are in the back coop. After the frizzle chicks were two days old I noticed some little red bugs on one of the silkies. One of my roo's also started digging holes along the border of the two coops. I got diatomaceous dirt and sprayed it all over the coops and outside in their fenced area. The next day I noticed Pumpkin was breathing very hard and throwing her little head back. She was also not scratching and eating like her sister Spice. She has a brown build up (like dust or dirt) around her nose. I was worried that the diatomaceous earth had gotten to her so I pulled Mama, Pumpkin and her sister into the house in a box with fresh newspaper, shavings, food, and water. I made a mash with vit e and b, applesauce, and crumbles mixed with water. I also added a bit of apple cider vinegar to their water. I have washed off her nose three times in the last 24 hours. It seems to be spreading to the top of her head. Her sister is pecking at her now. She seemed a little better after I first brought them in, but this morning she was panting again. I took her into the bathroom and ran a steam shower and cleaned her nose again. That seemed to help her breathing a bit. She did eat a little mash. (other two love the mash btw) Any idea what is wrong with her? What should I do? She is soooooo tiny! Not even the size of a ping pong ball. The hatch-mate is almost twice Pumpkin's size now although Spice was little bigger to begin with I don't think Pumpkin is growing.
