5 Week old doesn't seem to be growing! Advice please!

[LCTB]

Hello,

Let me explain our problem. We recently purchased 3 Ameraucanas from a local breeder. With in the first week we lost one of them with no real cause for worry... She was running around just like the others and then the next morning was dead.

This is from what i can tell unrelated to what is happening now.

The 2 we have left are about 5 weeks old, a male and female (from what we were told). A week ago we really noticed that the girl had grown a lot more then the boy. We were really concerned because it seemed like the smaller one was really tired but not sleeping. Just standing there and nodding off but not laying down. He was (from what we observed) eating, drinking and pooping. At this point we separated them to be safe. We checked his crop the next morning and it felt empty. He seemed to be laying down a little more still eating drinking and pooping but shows no sign of growth and is moving around slowly. He is very drowsy and droopy while she is very bright and alert! He is about half her size at this point. I need help! Please let me know if anyone knows what might be going on! We really want to, have to, need to save this guy!

 

[ChickensAreSweet]

You may want to consider treating for coccidiosis to be safe.

It is what I would do in that situation.

http://www.clemson.edu/public/lph/ahp/disease_links/images/coccidia.pdf

When you lost the first chick, it could have been stress, and sometimes they just pass on when they are very young from natural causes (I always buy more chicks than I need just in case). The first week of life is when I usually lose them if I will lose them.

I give 9.5 ml per gallon of water of Corid 9.6% solution (cattle section of feed store) for 5 days as their sole drinking water. I mix a new solution daily (to treat coccidiosis in my flock).

If it is coccidiosis and Corid is effective at treating that strain of it (there are 9 strains) then you should improvement within 24 hours from my experience.

I would dip his beak every hour in the medicated water and if he doesn't drink by the time you treat, consider taking a syringe and dribbling alongside the beak some of the medicated water every hour (not pour it in his mouth as he could choke and die).

I am not sure of what is wrong but treating for coccidiosis in a chick 8 weeks and under when they are lethargic/sleepy and not growing is reasonable. If he doesn't perk up with the Corid in a day or two that would be worrisome and you may wish to consider another problem as the cause, such as a bacterial infection. There are "runts" that can occur as with other animals but if they are struggling with cocci it can make them fail to thrive and die.

If it is the case that he is a runt and doesn't respond to medications that you give (like antibiotics and Corid) then sadly I have to tell you that I have never seen one make it when they act like that and don't respond to the Corid. Some just fail to thrive for an unknown reason. I am sorry for the loss of your first chick and I hope this little guy perks up for you!

 

[LCTB]

Thank you so much for responding! We will keep this in mind for the future.

Unfortunately we were a little too late. Originally when we separated him from the others we thought he may have been getting better and that is why we didn't act right away. He took a turn for the worse and went to chicken heaven this afternoon. We will take this as a learning experience and always act immediately when one of our girls (or boys) is showing any signs of illness.

Thanks again!

 

[ChickensAreSweet]

Thank you so much for responding! We will keep this in mind for the future.

Unfortunately we were a little too late. Originally when we separated him from the others we thought he may have been getting better and that is why we didn't act right away. He took a turn for the worse and went to chicken heaven this afternoon. We will take this as a learning experience and always act immediately when one of our girls (or boys) is showing any signs of illness.

Thanks again!

Oh dear I am sorry for your loss.