Almost three week old chick is sick?

[CaptainPooka]

I had 11 chicks hatch almost three weeks ago. I noticed they got poop caked on their feet, even when I was changing out their bedding every day. I built a new brooder, a large one, and they have been fine in it for about a week now. This morning one chick was just laying over in such a way where he looked like he was just stretching out. I touched him and he didn't run... I picked him up and you can tell he's sick. I noticed he had poop on his feet so I cleaned it up, but the bottom of his feet are blackish, whereas all the others are pink. When I put him down he'll stand up and move a tiny bit, only to fall back over on his side. One time I stood him up he pooped on a towel. The poop was a green watery color with a normal looking solid in the middle. For the last week I've had them on quarter inch wire mesh fyi.

Any ideas?

Thanks!
-Q

 

[313759]

The brackish feet could be a foot rot from the caked feces. The greenish yellow feces... hmmmm ugh... Well try giving him vitamins and I would suggest culling him if he doesn't get better in about...4 days to a week or so or longer depending on how you want to handle the situation

 

[TwoCrows]

Sounds like he is not eating and probably not drinking much either.

Start with the easy stuff...what temp is it in the brooder? Is there competition for food and water?

If it is very hot where you are, turn off the brooder lamp and put a fan on them for short period of time, feed them cool treats, lightly mist them with water.

If you have them too crowded they may not be getting enough to eat or drink. So make sure they all have 1 square foot of space per bird and I would use 2 waters and 2 feeders.

Judging from the poop stuck to all the feet, this could be one or two things at the same time if it is none of the above.... Either Coccidiosis or a bacterial infection of some sort.

You might get some Sulfadimethoxine. This is an antibacterial drug that will take care of both Cocci and most other bacterial infections in their bodies. You may have to order this on line. Try to get this in them as soon as possible. The sick one may not make it.

 

[CaptainPooka]

Turns out his neck is broken. I guess he jumped up and hit it. I'm putting them in a cage tomorrow where they can't do that... He's walking around now, but has his neck off to one side. It's very obvious that it is broken. He is eating and drinking like normal now though... Should I put him out of his misery?

 

[TwoCrows]

If he had broken his neck he would be paralyzed. Weak necks in chicks or Wry Neck as it is called is a nutritional deficiency. Sometimes it is genetic and passed down through the egg or a food problem in your pen.

Vitamins E, B and Selenium is what helps them. If you have any E gel caps, prick one open and squirt it down the throat. Selenium helps the E work better. I would get some quality vitamins in this bird. This is not going to go away and will only cause his death eventually. There is no guarantee vitamins will heal him, but they could and if nothing else improve his condition.

This bird should never be used for breeding as if this is genetic, it will be passed down through every generation from this bird.

 

[TwoCrows]

You can jump start this with hard boiled eggs. Lots of them. I would keep this bird exclusively on hard boiled eggs for several days and see if this doesn't help his condition along with some vitamins. Eggs contain all the building blocks of live including the E, B and Selenium and may help get the healing started. Hard boiled eggs are good emergency food for sick bird and can be fed exclusively for long periods of time and keep the bird alive and healthy.