B.Y.C. Dorking Club!

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Good Morning, sorry if this is overloading the thread, but I'm really hoping for some help!
Pixie is still alive, and peeping away in her usual 'chatty' manner, she's acting a little more alert than last night, but her wings are so droopy they almost touch the ground. I switched the food into a spare feeder, rather than the ceramic bowls, and she tucked in enthusiastically this morning, but is still lethargic, can't do anything for more than 1 -2 mins before she just closes her eyes and falls asleep on the spot, standing up.

She passed stool that was pale, but more formed than last nights 'splat' no blood seen.

Have her back on the fleece bedding on top of the heating disc (underneath the tote) with a rice sock for heat, and I just have time for a quick run to the local Tractor Supply Store, before work, and if they don't have anything, the animal feed store, but both are 45 mins away - and I'm still not sure what I'm dealing with, so will look out for probiotics, electrolytes and coccidia medication in case anyone suggest that's what could be the problem.

 
Sounds like you are doing all the right things. Maybe the "experts" will chip in with any more advice. I know I have read about people also using nutridrench (sometimes in the goat section of TCS). It might be good to have in your emergency first aid kit. When I used it on some shipped chicks it only took one drop to perk them right up.
 
I had a Dorking chick like this in my last brood, but occurred at a younger stage. Seemingly ate and drank, and early on had periods of perking up and looking normal; but failed to grow and ultimately didn't make it. Never had frank signs of illness. My impression was that maybe it just couldn't absorb its nutrients or something like that. My experience with chicks is good husbandry is the best medicine. They have accessible food and water, and warmth. Maybe some chick grit if feeding has progressed beyond chick crumbles. I think parasite or protozoa would be a long shot if the chicks have never been on ground. I haven't used electrolytes or probiotics much, but haven't seen much when I have used them. I usually have 5-10% of every brood of any breed not make it to the yard. I've read opinions that Dorking chicks are a little more fragile. Keep us posted.
 
Thanks for the responses, and the suggestion for the Emergency thread - I'm still learning to navigate my way round the site and hadn't come across that one before.

My local feedstore had pretty limited options, but I did find some nutridrench, and they had 1 bottle of Sulmet, so I got it in case the stool changes and there's a suggestion to treat as if coccidia.

I had read about feeding scrambled eggs, honey water etc - anyone have an opinion on that? For now I'll have another try with the natural yoghurt, see if some 'good bacteria' probiotics help, maybe just a drop of nutridrench, and rewarm her rice sock....
 
Purple Iris said:
Thanks for the responses, and the suggestion for the Emergency thread - I'm still learning to navigate my way round the site and hadn't come across that one before.

My local feedstore had pretty limited options, but I did find some nutridrench, and they had 1 bottle of Sulmet, so I got it in case the stool changes and there's a suggestion to treat as if coccidia.

I had read about feeding scrambled eggs, honey water etc - anyone have an opinion on that? For now I'll have another try with the natural yoghurt, see if some 'good bacteria' probiotics help, maybe just a drop of nutridrench, and rewarm her rice sock....
Click to expand...
corid is better for cocci. It is not as hard on the chooks.

 
Thanks, I had hoped to get Corid, but my only local stockist here in Western NY is Tractor Supply Store, and it is out of stock at all 3 branches within 25 miles of where I live. (Anyone else nr Buffalo NY who knows an alternative supplier pls- let me know).

I'm not seeing any blood in the stool, and it was fairly well formed today, so am not sure if I should assume coccidiosis and treat for that anyway, or keep going with the general supportive care?

She is still up and about, eating crumb, I have her a drop of nutridrench, she ate a little natural yoghurt, and drank a little honey water. Is back on her newly reheated items, and I have to go to work now, wont be home till 9, so we'll see how see is then, maybe offer her some scrambed eggs?
 
Thanks everyone for the advice, sadly little Pixie did not make it, she died overnight Thursday.

I went back to the farm Friday evening after work, for a new companion the remaining Wyandotte chick, who was quite frantic and noisy at being alone for the first time in her life. We looked at the remaining Dorking chicks - who were thriving, had breast feathers, almost fully feathered shoulders. They confirmed they only hatched 1 batch of Dorkings, on May 18th, so Pixie was almost 6 weeks old, just stopped growing at around 3 weeks. Guess the chick they picked for me was in the 'failure to thrive' %. Even when she was so weak and wobbly at the end, she was enthusiastically eating scrambled egg, and passing normal stool.

I had assumed I would get another Dorking, but when I looked at them it just felt overwhelmingly sad, so we went to look at my backup breed choice, Partridge Rock chicks, hatched at the end of May. Well this little lady was ready to move on, she had flapped up out of the chick pen, squeezed through a gap in the trellis covering the pen, and was perched on the wall, looking at the big wide world. She is a little smaller than the Wyandotte, but is feisty enough to handle that!

Welcome home Honey - (especially pleased they love this wooden box that I found at a charity shop for $2, they are learning to roost on it, and makes clean up much easier!)

 

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