already lost one emu chick, another dying?

[frankenchick]

One of our chicks injured its leg at 4 days old. It lived to be one month old. Yesterday, our other emu was staggering around her run when we came home from 4-H at 4:00p. She would get up and walk, then just fall over and sort of roll. It was a very hot day, and I noticed that she hadn't drunk much water. I brought her into the house and gave her more water; I hoped this was just dehydration. We kept her inside because we were having severe storms last night.

Today, she is not better, and possibly worse. I can't seem to get her to drink, though she does eat some. She's not pooping much, though every time I pick her up, she poops.

When I emptied the kennel we keep in her run, I found lots of earwigs and a small, black spider that looked like a juvenile black widow to me. Could this be the problem? What's going on?! None of the other families is having this trouble . . . Could it be environmental? Is it her food? I do notice a strong molasses smell when I open the airtight lid (it's regular ol' ratite feed).

 

[chickenzoo]

Are you feeding her Ratite feed? is it for chicks? We always use medicated chick starter up until they are about 5-6 months old. I don't know what illnesses baby emu can get..... like coccidia.?? I don't know if the insects could be a problem, hummm. What did the other die from?

 

[frankenchick]

He injured his leg somehow at 4 days old. He lived one month after that. We are feeding ratite pellets, per breeder's instructions. The other 4-H families are doing the same.

 

[chickenzoo]

I would contact the breeder and ask their opinion. If the feed is just an all purpose ratite feed, and not just for chicks, I would be concerned that it was getting too much of something geared for adults... like feeding baby chicks layer feed...I know you have to watch certain things high in protein to prevent leg issues until their bones have hardened etc.. humm.... I know breeders know a lot, but not everything. One big breeder here did not vaccinate his flock for EE & WEE and West nile, I told him I read that we should in this part of the country... he didn't... few months later he lost most of his flock to it, mine have been vaccinated. My other thought would be moldy feed..... could have it ate any moldy feed? Emu are good at eating all kinds of things they shouldn't. Moldy feed could cause botulism. Like I said, we have always raised them on chick starter and my grown emu wouldn't touch the emu chow, so i have no experience with it past that..... I kept them confined until about 4 months old before moving them outside in a big dog kennel with dog house that they slept in............ I hope you can find out what is causing it....... Best Wishes

 

[frankenchick]

We'll keep her inside and see what happens. She doesn't want to go out anyway; she likes to watch TV on my lap and has a real hissy fit when it's time to go to the pen at night.

It's entirely possible that she ate something she shouldn't have. How long do you think the effects of botulism or other food poisoning would last? I know that even with harness time, our other chick didn't last long after he stopped getting up (he had an injured leg). I think they're like some other animals; their innards get in a twist when they lay down too much. I know that EmDee doesn't poop much until I hold her -- then it's like "Finally!" and she goes all over me. It's kind of like having my DD as a baby again!