5 week old chicks can't walk. Please give advice!

[slaird61]

I posted this in the emergencies category but no one responded so I'm going to try here. In the past couple of days 2 of my 5 wk old pullets have become weak in the legs and can't walk. They can stand unsteadily but when they walk they fall over. They are otherwise healthy and all of the rest of the chicks are fine. They are still eating and drinking like normal and are showing no other signs of illness. One is a Black Sex Link and the other is a Buff Orpington. They are both pullets and they are on a commercial chick feed with 20% protein. The feed is not medicated. I thought maybe these chicks had a nutrient deficiency so I seperated them from the others and fed them a mix of chick feed, yogurt, fish oil and boiled egg. They ate it like it was going out of style but they don't seem to be any better. What should I do?

 

[chickee]

I was curious about your chicks symptoms and found a post from BYC from 5/14/10 where the chicks had the same symptoms as yours. The responses were that the symptoms sounded like either Merek's disease, Botualism or a vitamin E/Selenium deficiency. If the feed isn't fresh, the vit E in it can go rancid. You can try using Polyvisol (baby vitamins without iron) at 1/2 dropper full per quart of water and buy your chick starter in smaller quanities to insure it is fresh. Check to be sure your feed is staying dry or they aren't eating rancid feed that has spilled where they can eat it. Change the brand of feed to be sure it isn't deficient in nutrients. A friend of mine lost half her chicks because the feed she was feeding was short on a vitamin and that did cause neurological symptoms, then death. I feed my chicks old fashioned oats (always give chick grit) as a treat and it keeps them healthy and they love it! I hope this helps and your chicks improve!