6 week old chick heart attack? Please can someone reply to put my mind at ease.

[dean26]

Hello to anyone reading, I had to take my 2 older hens to the vets again today for injections and check ups as there "chest infection" haddnt cleared up and they were still sneezing (These 2 hens were bought from a rescue centre and soon displayed sneezing and lethagy after a few days)
When i returned the stressed chickens to there coop my seperate group of 6 week old chicks became stressed and gave warning calls. Then without warning one of the chicks couldnt move its neck and began to panic, it rolled about and ended up on its back where it promptly died. I was sadly there to watch the whole thing and it has very much upset me. Could anyone who has experience of this put my mind at rest im very anxious it wasnt a heart attack and it may happen to the other chicks, the whole thing was over in 10-15seconds and was very harrowing.

Dean

 

[realsis]

I could be wrong but it sounds like sudden death syndrome. symptoms of SDS are extended neck squeaking wing beating leg pumping flipping on to back and then death. It is a heart attack.and it does NOT spread from bird to bird if this is what has happened. I'm so very sorry for your loss and I hope this helps a bit. Its not brought on by fear or stress according to my chicken diagonis book. They say its cause is unknown. So if you think those symptoms match this could be very well what happened. Hope this helps and I wish you the best and again I'm very sorry for the loss of your bird.

 

[mg15]

Oh my....how stressful. Oh, the poor little thing.
I'm sorry.

 

[Haunted55]

These hens that you brought in had no symptoms while at the rescue center? Eyes were bright and feathers were all neat and shiny? Poop looked good as well? Did these birds come from the same place, farm or home, when they were brought to the shelter? When you brought them home did you keep them separate from the 6 week olds or are they housed in the same coop? Have you checked the coop for signs of mold and dampness? There are a lot of what ifs here and more info would be needed to get a more clear picture of what is going on.

Has your Vet said what they think the chest infection is caused by? Coryza? Infectious Brochitis? One of the Mycoplasmas? Any other symptoms in either of the groups?

Sometimes as Realsis has said, birds die for no apparent reason. It could be a genetic issue, sickness that just didn't have any symptoms...sometimes we just never get an answer. I am sorry you had to watch and deal with this. It's never a pleasant part of being a poultry keeper, but still it is a part we all have to deal with at one point or another. You cannot dwell on it, it will drive you crazy. Been there, done that and know what? I still had no answers. Your best bet right now is to look to the causes of the infection in your older hens and watch the younger. If they are housed in the same building, they'll all get it eventually. Still check for mold though, this may be caused by a toxin from mold. If it is, just clean their coop with bleach and hot water, let dry throughly and add new bedding and all should be fine.

 

[wildrooster1]

sorry for the loss i wish we never had to loose any babys but i think its imposiable.

WildRooster1

 

[dean26]

Hello Haunted55 and thank you for the comprehensive reply, The hens looked perfectly healthy at the animal sanctuary yes. Poop ,eyes and feathers all fine. I have now 7 of the 8 seven week old chicks and the two POL hens who I bought in from the sanctuary. The chicks were kept in my spare room for the first 6 weeks of there lives and then I was forced to put them outside due to there size and mess making! They live next door to my adult birds which is very worrying but I have no way of moving them as there is nowhere else for them to go. They are divided by chicken wire alone until I can find something to cover the partition. The 8 week old chicks came from a totally separate smallholding as day olds and the chick which died was the last to be born and always the smallest. My coop and the two chicken houses are brand new and mould free. The run is also very clean with chipped bark. The first vet visit (2 POL hens) was diagnosed as Mycoplasma and scaly leg, they had injections for both and anti-biotics for a week as a powder. The second vet visit was just one of the two hens as she hadn't stopped sneezing. Both hens have now had home administered injections for lungworm?! (cause of secondary infection?)and drops put on there backs for scaly leg(ivermectin).

I am literally so tired of worrying about them and it has become something of a nightmare. watching the chick die in such a violent way has made me feel very sad and fearful it may happen to any of them at any time. I have to inject the two POL hens again tomorrow and Wednesday and am very fearful of doing this as it causes all of them stress and panic.

 

[Haunted55]

Hello Haunted55 and thank you for the comprehensive reply, The hens looked perfectly healthy at the animal sanctuary yes. Poop ,eyes and feathers all fine. I have now 7 of the 8 seven week old chicks and the two POL hens who I bought in from the sanctuary. The chicks were kept in my spare room for the first 6 weeks of there lives and then I was forced to put them outside due to there size and mess making! They live next door to my adult birds which is very worrying but I have no way of moving them as there is nowhere else for them to go. They are divided by chicken wire alone until I can find something to cover the partition. The 8 week old chicks came from a totally separate smallholding as day olds and the chick which died was the last to be born and always the smallest. My coop and the two chicken houses are brand new and mould free. The run is also very clean with chipped bark. The first vet visit (2 POL hens) was diagnosed as Mycoplasma and scaly leg, they had injections for both and anti-biotics for a week as a powder. The second vet visit was just one of the two hens as she hadn't stopped sneezing. Both hens have now had home administered injections for lungworm?! (cause of secondary infection?)and drops put on there backs for scaly leg(ivermectin).

I am literally so tired of worrying about them and it has become something of a nightmare. watching the chick die in such a violent way has made me feel very sad and fearful it may happen to any of them at any time. I have to inject the two POL hens again tomorrow and Wednesday and am very fearful of doing this as it causes all of them stress and panic.

I have no idea about lungworm and hope someone who does or can research chimes in here. Have you tried just putting vaseline on their legs? It smothers the mites. If they are separated by chicken wire, chances are they've been exposed already so no need to worry anymore....what's done is done. Now it's just watch and if you see any of the symptoms in the chicks, treat. That's about it.
http://chat.allotment.org/index.php?topic=4348.0
http://www.purtonvets.co.uk/purtonblog/2011/04/lungworm.html This one has a Chicken Vet section I thought you might like.

Gape worms...When your Vet is done with the treatment, you will need to start one on your own. Yearly, quarterly, bi-monthly, however many times you need for your enviroment, you will need to give a wormer to your chickens. No idea what you can get there from a farm store, or if you have to purchase it from the Vet. You will also need to get something to treat them and their housing for mites and lice. I use Sevin dust for mine. Again, not sure what is available to you. These are just regular maintenance things you need to do.

As for the stress and panic...if and when I have to finally give shots to my birds, I would be going out there with bread in hand. Mine love bread and actually beg for it everday! Trust me, it ain't pretty. One of my hens will actually sit on my foot and stay there unless she is given some...brat. Walking doesn't dislodge her, she just hangs on and flaps her wings. The point is, find something they like and offer it to them. Once they're calm, because they got their treat, then you may be able to snatch and do the shot before too much fuss is made. They'll also pick up on what you're feeling so calm is the word. I also just make up stupid little songs as I'm treating mine for whatever. They like it. Goofy buggers, lol. They don't care what you're saying, just that you're paying attention and making a new sound for them.

 

[Haunted55]

One other thing...chicks and older birds do die. It's part of the cycle. Sometimes we can save them and prolong their lives, sometimes we can't do anything except hold them, love them and cry. Watching an animal, no matter what the species, die is never a pleasant thing, but as a chicken owner, you need to wrap your head around this. It took me a long while to get it straight and I have learned that you do what you can, when you can and pray a lot.

Don't dwell on the bad times. They are what they are and don't need revisiting. Look at the good times instead and gather all of them to bring out when you need them most. Your journey with your birds is what you make of it. They are little clowns who can bring more joy than can be imagined. Key on that and let the rest take care of itself.

 

[dean26]

Thank you Haunted55, very kind words. The inital shock and suffering caused me to feel like crap but im ok now. I have kept chickens for many years and then had a break for a few years, now im 26 and wanted to keep some again. The past 6 weeks have been hell what with vet trips,sneezing chickens and injecting them with anti-biotics (I hate needles) then to top if off one has a seizure and dies, actually had to have a cry!

I have vaselined her legs aswell to make sure she isnt suffering, ive got to inject again on wednesday and thats it. Then just drops on there backs for lungworm (I think) every ten days. Im concerned still as the white hen who has sneezed since I bought her hasnt stopped sneezing and I have to ring the vet tomorrow to let her know there progress.

I never had any of this stress with my previous hens, 1 died of cancer but that was it. I am hoping to breed with my splash hen next year so I will have something to look forward too. And I am enjoying taming them and watching there behaviour again. They really are the best creatures. I hope im never without them again.

Kind regards Dean.

 

[Haunted55]

Can you get Vicks vaporub there? Or something like it? You should be able to find some Lavender Oil if nothing else.....I would and have taken a bit of either one and rubbed it down the middle of chicken's beaks before and it seemed to help a lot. The 3 I had sneezing and not seeming to respond to an antibiotic responded to the Vicks. I never did find out what caused the sneezing, but in truth, really didn't care as it stopped after a couple of days and didn't return. Could have been the shavings, could have been something on the air...no clue. I hope everything works out for you and yours. It's never a lot of fun when one of them is sick or bothered by something we can't seem to find.