Chick Acting Odd

[3speckled3]

I have two 6 week old polish chicks and when I went to check on them, I noticed one of them wasn't acting right. It was standing in one spot, shaking a little bit with its eyes closed; however when I reached for it to check it out, it became alert and moved. It didn't take long before it started standing in one spot and shaking again.

I gently picked it up and brought it out of the pen to inspect it better. They are both very friendly, so how easily I caught it didn't make me worry. What did, though, was that it became almost limp in my hand. I noticed that one of it's eyes kept opening and closing, and that there was this mucus like substance in it. I checked out its body, and once I couldn't find anything else wrong with it, I placed it back in the pen with its mother and the other chick.

It became a little more active when I set it down. It started to chase a bug with the other one, but every time it tried to run, it would stumble on its side, then get back up again. With all of this, one eyed remained completely shut. I stayed out there for a bit, watching it. It traded back and forth between standing in one spot while shaking, and walking around and pecking at the ground. I also noticed that it was drinking a lot of water. I put a little bit of food in there to see how it would respond, and it ate with no problems.

Other Information:
- It stormed yesterday, but their pen stayed dry.
- I did discover some algae spots in their water the other day, but I scrubbed it out
- This morning when I checked on them the chick was completely fine
- The other chick shows no signs of illness

 

[3speckled3]

I have two 6 week old polish chicks and when I went to check on them, I noticed one of them wasn't acting right. It was standing in one spot, shaking a little bit with its eyes closed; however when I reached for it to check it out, it became alert and moved. It didn't take long before it started standing in one spot and shaking again.

I gently picked it up and brought it out of the pen to inspect it better. They are both very friendly, so how easily I caught it didn't make me worry. What did, though, was that it became almost limp in my hand. I noticed that one of it's eyes kept opening and closing, and that there was this mucus like substance in it. I checked out its body, and once I couldn't find anything else wrong with it, I placed it back in the pen with its mother and the other chick.

It became a little more active when I set it down. It started to chase a bug with the other one, but every time it tried to run, it would stumble on its side, then get back up again. With all of this, one eyed remained completely shut. I stayed out there for a bit, watching it. It traded back and forth between standing in one spot while shaking, and walking around and pecking at the ground. I also noticed that it was drinking a lot of water. I put a little bit of food in there to see how it would respond, and it ate with no problems.

Other Information:
- It stormed yesterday, but their pen stayed dry.
- I did discover some algae spots in their water the other day, but I scrubbed it out
- This morning when I checked on them the chick was completely fine
- The other chick shows no signs of illness View attachment 1866189 View attachment 1866190

I brought it inside to keep a closer watch on it, and one of its eyes appeared a little swollen.

 

[3speckled3]

 

[Soy Milano]

Have you tried using the chicken symptom checker tool? http://www.poultrydvm.com/views/symptoms.php

 

[3speckled3]

The chick now appears very lethargic and is sometimes rocking back and forth

 

[MochaDuck]

@casportpony @Eggcessive @Wyorp Rock
These people may be able to help. How's your chick doing today?

 

[Eggcessive]

Have you given any electrolytes, Poultry NutriDrench, or Gatorade to try and treat for dehydration? With the weepy watery eye, it sounds like there may be a respiratory infection, such as mycoplasma (MG.) A lethargic sleepy chick is not going to drink well or eat enough, so you may have to try to get it to eat some watery chick feed. You can add a tsp of plain yogurt and a bit of cooked egg for interest. What are the poops looking like? Are they runny, with mucus or blood?

Have you seen any other respiratory infections in other birds? Where did the chick come from? Antibiotics, such as Tylan, may help treat symptoms. You can check at TSC or other feed stores for any injectable Tylan 50 or 200–those are for cattle, and can be given orally by removing the needle from the syringe. Let us know if you get one of those for dosage. Tylan powder for the water may be ordered her, but will take a couple of days to get in the mail:
https://www.jedds.com/shop/tylan-soluble-100-g/

 

[3speckled3]

Have you given any electrolytes, Poultry NutriDrench, or Gatorade to try and treat for dehydration? With the weepy watery eye, it sounds like there may be a respiratory infection, such as mycoplasma (MG.) A lethargic sleepy chick is not going to drink well or eat enough, so you may have to try to get it to eat some watery chick feed. You can add a tsp of plain yogurt and a bit of cooked egg for interest. What are the poops looking like? Are they runny, with mucus or blood?

Have you seen any other respiratory infections in other birds? Where did the chick come from? Antibiotics, such as Tylan, may help treat symptoms. You can check at TSC or other feed stores for any injectable Tylan 50 or 200–those are for cattle, and can be given orally by removing the needle from the syringe. Let us know if you get one of those for dosage. Tylan powder for the water may be ordered her, but will take a couple of days to get in the mail:
https://www.jedds.com/shop/tylan-soluble-100-g/

The eggs hatched from one of our own chickens.

The chick seems to be drinking and eating fine, but is very dehydrated. I noticed that it drinks a lot of water. It has managed to get one eye almost completely open, but it only lasts for short periods before the eye closes again. The other eye has not opened yet, and seems a bit swollen and pink. We got some antibiotic eye ointment for it.

The chick also appears confused. Even with one eye open, it seems as though it can't find its food and water. Whenever it starts to drink, it misses the water a lot. Same with the food.

It has been sleeping a lot, but somewhat active when awake. It has been stumbling a lot, too, like it can't keep its balance

 

[3speckled3]

The eggs hatched from one of our own chickens.

The chick seems to be drinking and eating fine, but is very dehydrated. I noticed that it drinks a lot of water. It has managed to get one eye almost completely open, but it only lasts for short periods before the eye closes again. The other eye has not opened yet, and seems a bit swollen and pink. We got some antibiotic eye ointment for it.

The chick also appears confused. Even with one eye open, it seems as though it can't find its food and water. Whenever it starts to drink, it misses the water a lot. Same with the food.

It has been sleeping a lot, but somewhat active when awake. It has been stumbling a lot, too, like it can't keep its balance

I forgot to mention that it is still shaky and seems very worn out, even when active

 

[Eggcessive]

It is good that it is drinking and eating, but it still sounds like it is still seriously ill. Try to offer some chick feed mixed with water, a little cooked egg or tuna, and a little water on top can get more fluids into it. Poultry Cell or NutriDrench 1 ml daily can really give a boost to a sick chick. If you have Tylan, that could treat a respiratory disease, MG if that is the cause of the eye drainage. I really hope you can get the chick to survive. Coccidiosis can also be a common illness at this age, and symptoms include weakness, lethargy, runny poops, poor appetite, and stading hunched or puffed up. Corid, a cattle medicine put in the water 10 ml per gallon for 5-7 days is the treatment.