Chick acts "drunk" can't figure out what's wrong??

[jbs]

To update my situation, my chick that made a miraculous recovery had a relapse about a week later. I separated her from the other chicks when she was barely stumbling, and I started the vitamin therapy again (poly-vi-sol, vitamin E and selenium), but she got worse and worse for 9 days until we decided to put her down. She couldn't stand at all the last few days, and the last day or so she was so weak that she couldn't even make a stab at her food. She couldn't move much at all, and I found her flipped over once. I feel bad that I let it go so long, but I thought she might make another recovery like the first time. I should have put her down weeks ago when she first got sick.

I would like to send her to my state animal lab to figure out what was wrong with her, but our vet warned me that Maryland is a bit heavy handed - she told me this when we were discussing whether or not I should have a raccoon that my husband shot tested for rabies. My vet told me that the state would make me have all unvaccinated pets put down, including the feral cat that I had just dropped off to be neutered and vaccinated. I would like to know if my chick had Mareks, failure to thrive or some other sort of virus or congenital disease, but since this was the only sick chick I had, I guess I'll just let it go. If my other chicks start getting sick I'll deal with the state lab then.

 

[Megan Amber]

I am sorry to hear that. Our chicken had a relapse as well. She was doing great and then bam! just like that she begin to wobble and spin again. I really wish I knew what was going on but I agree don't take the risk of the lab just yet! Sorry again.

 

[jbs]

Sorry about your chick Megan, I hope that she recovers. With my chick I worried that I tapered her off the vitamins too quickly, but I think it was a coincidence that she got better when she was getting vitamins; I don't think they really did her any good.

Good luck with your chick!

 

[Megan Amber]

Thanks a million! I'll let everyone know what happens!

 

[murfmagic]

It's weird that all the chickens seamed to be doing better then relapsed and died. I just hope I don't see it in any of my other chickens any time soon. Just to let you all know, I am getting 8 baby chicks in June and am thrilled. I have ordered 4 Buff Orpington and 4 Silver laced Wyandotte and when I am picking them up if they have some of another breed I would like a Delaware also. This will be my first time raising baby chicks, so any suggestions will be appreciated.

 

[Megan Amber]

That's Awesome!!! I just suggest that you make sure you have everything ahead of time.

Brooder cage
Light bulb (Red)
Extra Light Bulbs
Chick feed
Waterers
Sav-a-chick vitamins (or other)
And last but not least.......a good pair of earplugs for night time! LOL They sure can be loud!

Hope you enjoy them yo the fullest!!

 

[jbs]

Good luck with your new chicks murfmagic. I think everyone should raise at least one batch of chicks from babies, they're so cute when they're that young. I second megan's advice about having everything ready in advance. I've also read that you should try to brood them away from your adult birds as long as possible because they can pick up illnesses from your adults. 5 months was the recommendation that I've seen a few times now, but that wasn't possible for me, not nless I wanted to keep the chicks in my house for 5 months.

I moved my chciks to the coop last weekend, my oldest chicks were 7 weeks (WAY too old to be in my dining room), the younger ones 5 weeks. I have them partitioned off in the coop so they can see the adults but can't interact. They have a separate run. I'll keep them like this until they're close to the same size as the adults, and I'm hoping by then they'll all be so used to each other that there won't be any major fighting, but we'll see.

As far as chick relapse, I've read tons of stuff about vitamin deficiency and chick illness, and many of these list "occassional paralysis" as a symptom. Relapse seems to be common with deficiency but also with these other illnesses. People focus on Mareks, but there are a lot of other viruses and congenital disorders that have similar symptoms. Despite our best intentions, some chicks just aren't meant to live for long.

Is your chick any better today Megan?

 

[Megan Amber]

Hey Everyone. Thanks for checking in on my chicken and I jbs! She is actually a little better today! She is walking around , all hunched up though, but she seems to have control of her wing now. she has them both tucked in. So that is an improvement again. Still stumbling but I hope for the very best. She is extremely thirsty all the time so I wonder what that means?

 

[murfmagic]

Thanks jbs and megan for your tips and suggestions. Ear plugs...never thought of that one...I better buy some for my husband because they will be in the bedroom next to us. I plan on keeping them inside until they are old enough to go out doors then I have a separate run for them within the coop where they will be safe from the other birds, by the time they can all be together they should all be used to each other. I plan on watching them until I see things have settled. Check back in June and I'll have a post on how they're doing with some pics. Can I post pics on this forum.
Megan I hope you have success with your chicken and she makes it.

 

[Megan Amber]

Thanks so much! I look forward to seeing those pictures and will certainly stay tuned!