7 week old Chick very lethargic and regurgitated liquid

DancingShinryu

In the Brooder
Feb 5, 2023
14
18
31
1) What type of bird , age and weight (does the chicken seem or feel lighter or thinner than the others.)

Dark Brahma Standard Size. It is incredibly light, probably weighing no more than 270 grams. 7 weeks old.

2) What is the behavior, exactly.

Really lethargic. He doesn’t move around much and sleeping often. He is eating and drinking but I don’t think as much as he should be. He runs to me quickly, he has always had a close connection with me. He tries to hide from the other chicks.

3) How long has the bird been exhibiting symptoms?

2 weeks roughly. We originally noticed the sleeping a lot. We considered it could be Coccidia so we treated him for it. He was doing well and returned him back outside with the other chicks. We then noticed him being pecked at a lot. He is a cockerel so his back feathers are yet to grow and guessed this increased the pecking at him. We brought him back inside and after noticing lethargy we immediately gave him egg yolk with some electrolytes and vitamins. He absolutely loved it and nearly consumed it all. 15 minutes later I saw cloudy saliva colour slime pour out of his mouth. Not a massive amount but more than a little dribble.

4) Are other birds exhibiting the same symptoms?

No

5) Is there any bleeding, injury, broken bones or other sign of trauma.

No, light dried blood area on the back of where pecking was. Roughly 6 tiny areas I could see.


6) What happened, if anything that you know of, that may have caused the situation.

Unknown

7) What has the bird been eating and drinking, if at all.

Fresh tap water with vitamins added (past week). Fresh tap water with Coccivet added (week before). I also feed with medicated Pullet grower by Barastoc. If I’m treating with Coccivet, what Dan I give him for food? I don’t have any non medicated feed handy. I saw rice can help and I have wheat bix and oats and naturally we have lots of eggs. We are happy to make a concoction of anything to help.

8) How does the poop look? Normal? Bloody? Runny? etc.

Nice and firm. White with a little grey.

9) What has been the treatment you have administered so far?

Will treat another coarse of Coccivet. Will also treat with nilstat in case it is the crop. We have helped him empty his crop last night and because we have blocked noses, we couldn’t tell if it was smelly. He is currently quarantined alone in a brooder where we can monitor him more closely.

10 ) What is your intent as far as treatment? For example, do you want to treat completely yourself, or do you need help in stabilizing the bird til you can get to a vet?

We don’t have many Chicken specialists near us and we don’t drive, so it makes it hard to get to a vet. We would like to treat by ourselves if we can.


11) If you have a picture of the wound or condition, please post it. It may help.

Added to pictures

12) Describe the housing/bedding in use

He was in an outdoor coop with run with fresh grass. Sleeping inside the coop with pine shavings. Now in a brooder inside with pine shavings.

 
Last edited:
1) What type of bird , age and weight (does the chicken seem or feel lighter or thinner than the others.)

Dark Brahma Standard Size. It is incredibly light, probably weighing no more than 270 grams. 7 weeks old.

2) What is the behavior, exactly.

Really lethargic. He doesn’t move around much and sleeping often. He is eating and drinking but I don’t think as much as he should be. He runs to me quickly, he has always had a close connection with me. He tries to hide from the other chicks.

3) How long has the bird been exhibiting symptoms?

2 weeks roughly. We originally noticed the sleeping a lot. We considered it could be Coccidia so we treated him for it. He was doing well and returned him back outside with the other chicks. We then noticed him being pecked at a lot. He is a cockerel so his back feathers are yet to grow and guessed this increased the pecking at him. We brought him back inside and after noticing lethargy we immediately gave him egg yolk with some electrolytes and vitamins. He absolutely loved it and nearly consumed it all. 15 minutes later I saw cloudy saliva colour slime pour out of his mouth. Not a massive amount but more than a little dribble.

4) Are other birds exhibiting the same symptoms?

No

5) Is there any bleeding, injury, broken bones or other sign of trauma.

No, light dried blood area on the back of where pecking was. Roughly 6 tiny areas I could see.


6) What happened, if anything that you know of, that may have caused the situation.

Unknown

7) What has the bird been eating and drinking, if at all.

Fresh tap water with vitamins added (past week). Fresh tap water with Coccivet added (week before). I also feed with medicated Pullet grower by Barastoc. If I’m treating with Coccivet, what Dan I give him for food? I don’t have any non medicated feed handy. I saw rice can help and I have wheat bix and oats and naturally we have lots of eggs. We are happy to make a concoction of anything to help.

8) How does the poop look? Normal? Bloody? Runny? etc.

Nice and firm. White with a little grey.

9) What has been the treatment you have administered so far?

Will treat another coarse of Coccivet. Will also treat with nilstat in case it is the crop. We have helped him empty his crop last night and because we have blocked noses, we couldn’t tell if it was smelly. He is currently quarantined alone in a brooder where we can monitor him more closely.

10 ) What is your intent as far as treatment? For example, do you want to treat completely yourself, or do you need help in stabilizing the bird til you can get to a vet?

We don’t have many Chicken specialists near us and we don’t drive, so it makes it hard to get to a vet. We would like to treat by ourselves if we can.


11) If you have a picture of the wound or condition, please post it. It may help.

Added to pictures

12) Describe the housing/bedding in use

He was in an outdoor coop with run with fresh grass. Sleeping inside the coop with pine shavings. Now in a brooder inside with pine shavings.

Hi there,
Are you feeding the coccidiosis treatment along with the vitamins? the vitamins (b/thiamine) can cancel out the treatment completely. What are the protein and calcium levels of the feed? Is he able to stay warm enough?
 
Tetracyclines are good, strong antibiotics so I would go with that if it's easy to get. Haven't used chlortetracycline before so I can't really help you with dosage. A quick online search showed everything from 10mg/kg to 60mg/kg for chickens. Hope you can find a reliable source to help with dosage.
Unfortunately I don’t think this is going to help. He has barely had anything to drink in 3 hours and sane with eating. His breathing has got worse and he now needs to open his beak every time he breathes. I fear I might need to euthanise him to stop his suffering.
 
Awwww he is doing so much better today. He is eating and drinking and is so full of life. He still has the respiratory issue but it is greatly improved. One day of treatment has helped so much. I am so glad I decided against Euthanising. He was really bad yesterday. He could barely keep his eyes open. I gave him raw egg yolk mixed with some of his antibiotic water and electrolytes. Today he is almost back to normal. He is chirping heaps again and is keeping his eyes open. His also opening his beak rarely to breathe. I am so happy 💖

 

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Yay! So happy to hear he is doing better!
I am so overjoyed. We were planning on keeping him and not rehoming. Previous attempts at saving chicks for whatever the reason has unfortunately been a losing battle, only 3 chicks but did start to feel helpless. This time it worked. Hoping his going to get clear of all this and get back to normal. He will always have a very close connection with us too 💖
 
Hi there,
Are you feeding the coccidiosis treatment along with the vitamins? the vitamins (b/thiamine) can cancel out the treatment completely. What are the protein and calcium levels of the feed? Is he able to stay warm enough?
No, we don’t feed vitamins at the same time. We only used vitamins after the treatment. We will be stopping the vitamins when I mix up the treatment. I will put some ACV in the water with the Coccivet to help if it is a crop issue. I also have the brooder heat lamp on and it’s a nice 24 degrees Celsius in there. I will be getting nilstat today to help if it is a cold or crop issue. Also do have advice around the feeding question please?

Edit: Protein 15.5% Calcium 1.0%
 
No, we don’t feed vitamins at the same time. We only used vitamins after the treatment. We will be stopping the vitamins when I mix up the treatment. I will put some ACV in the water with the Coccivet to help if it is a crop issue. I also have the brooder heat lamp on and it’s a nice 24 degrees Celsius in there. I will be getting nilstat today to help if it is a cold or crop issue. Also do have advice around the feeding question please?

Edit: Protein 15.5% Calcium 1.0%
Acv is only mildly effective for crop issues, but it shouldn't be a crop issue at this age.
Can you get higher protein feed? Grower should be at least 18% protein.
 
Acv is only mildly effective for crop issues, but it shouldn't be a crop issue at this age.
Can you get higher protein feed? Grower should be at least 18% protein.
I can look into getting a higher protein feed. I’m trying to understand why this regurgitation happened? I’ve never seen it before in any chicks I’ve had. Could this had just been a once off thing?
 
I can look into getting a higher protein feed. I’m trying to understand why this regurgitation happened? I’ve never seen it before in any chicks I’ve had. Could this had just been a once off thing?
Since he seems skinny and "vomited" not long after eating I would guess he has a problem in his digestive system. How does his crop feel during the day and is it flat and empty first thing in the morning before eating and drinking? Can we get a picture of the poop? Did he have access to grit when he had grass?
 
Since he seems skinny and "vomited" not long after eating I would guess he has a problem in his digestive system. How does his crop feel during the day and is it flat and empty first thing in the morning before eating and drinking? Can we get a picture of the poop? Did he have access to grit when he had grass?
I have just been informed that the medication dose for Coccivet is incorrect on the label. I don’t believe he has actually got over the Coccidia. Though his poop is nice and firm and is white and grey, he has still been affected by Coccidia. I am now treating him with the correct dosage which is 6 mls to a litre of water. He has access to anything in the ground.
 

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