Another sick chick question but please help if you can

[melissa41927]

we have 2 chicks in the house that are between 6 and 7 wks old. one is a malay breed and the other is a mixed large breed pullet.
they have both been having diarrhea for about a week or so. it is kind of tarry.
they both stand fluffed up for awhile with their heads tucked into their bodies, then awhile later will be relaxed and lay down and stretch out under the light.

the pullet is a wk older than the malay, she was the smallest of the previous hatch. so we put her in with the single baby to help it learn.
i have noticed that she will extend her neck and will peck at the air when their is nothing there. she also misses the food bowl allot. she follows the other chicks lead to food. i mean she almost stands on top of him when they are eating. sometime she will eat sometimes she won't. she just stand as close to him as she can get.

they both have been having diarrhea for about a week.

they have no sneezing or snot or bubbles

their bedding is hay

they eat chick starter with grit added.

i can't get them to try other stuff. they just won't touch it.

when it is warm outside they get to go play in the fenced garden. but they are just not interested in running around scratching and pecking. they find a corner or tall grass and cuddle up together and fluff up and won't socialize with the other chicks their age.

i would hate to lose them. they have very good personalities. the malay takes a interest in his surrounding. when someone comes in the house, he will fly up on the waterer or the side of the box just to see who it is. he doesn't try to get out of the box, he won't leave the other chick.

 

[Judy]

I don't know whether it will help or not but I would not add grit to any feed, I would offer it separately and let them take what they want. They may not need grit at all since they forage outdoors and may get what they need form that.

 

[Lacrystol]

ok now for the diarrhea, I would get them some oatmeal, I use the original and grind it up, chicks love it, it's like a treat for them. A week is to long for them to have diarrhea, they could be getting dehydrated. Are they drinking? As far as the pecking in the air, I wouldn't worry to much on that they are probably just impressed with themselves on what they can do. But the pecking at the food dish and missing a lot, that could be something else, check the eyes, look for any white coloring this is usually a sign of going or is blind. Check for crestiness, or swelling perhaps one of the other chicks peck at it. Check there breathing, watch the beak if the beak is opening and closing everytime they take a breath this could be a couple of things, one sinus or upper respiratory infection. I would get some vitamins in them, I swear by Polyvisol it works great for me.. I would probably get them off the grit for now replace it with the oatmeal see if the diarrhea goes away. You can either put the oatmeal in a separate bowl but leave it there and within an hour or so they should start eating it, if they don't then mix it directly into there food then they will have no choice. But I bet if you put it in a separate bowl they will be so curious at it they will go for it. Kind of looks like food only lighter that's what will make them so interested in it..

 

[Ksane]

You know, I've had an outbreak of e. coli the past month or so and that's how the 3 month olds act when they start getting sick. E. coli is usually secondary to a lowered immune system, being young, moulting, whatever. I only mention it because I think it's so commonly overlooked as a problem. I did take the 1st few to the vet, now he just sends me home the injections (for a week) when a new one starts acting that way. I catch it early now and they recover quickly although I did lose 2.

 

[rbaker0345]

If by tarry, you mean black, try offering some milk or cottage cheese. You may have to dip the tip of their beaks into it to get them to understand that it is edible. Just the tip, though, you don't want them to aspirate. Tarry stool is usually a sign of an upper g.i. bleed like an ulcer. It might be coccidiosis, but that's usually mucousy. You could try bringing a stool sample to your vet to do a fecal float and see if there are any signs of parasites.

 

[Ksane]

I've never quite understood why people say to give milk products to chickens. They can't digest milk products. People also always say to give yogurt-another milk product. Great for humans but I'm not sure I'm sold on it for chickens. I've never heard anyone say that their chicken vet told them to use milk products.