Chick can't stand up, looks to be getting worse - HELP

[jnjc]

Hi,

I am completely new to raising chickens and about 4 weeks ago bought three 1 week old chicks. Two are doing just fine but Saturday I noticed that one of the chicks was limping. I figured she must have hurt her leg (that said she didn't show any signs of distress when she tried to put weight on it), so I put together a small enclosure so she couldn't move around as much and to stop the other chicks knocking her around.

Now things seem to be getting steadily worse, she can barely stand and when she tries both her legs now seem to be almost useless, the feet also seem to be turned in. She is eating and drinking fine and seems content to just sit around.

I am sure the lady we bought the chicks from said they where vaccinated and they are still on the medicated chick feed. Any ideas what the matter could be ?

I have come across the references to AE and Marek's, is it possible one of these ? If so how should we treat her ? Will she recover or is she doom ? Are the other chicks at risk, should we separate her completely ?

I tried talking to the person I bought them from but he was pretty unhelpful..

Thanks in Advance,
JC

 

[countryboy]

what type of bedding is the chick in?

 

[jnjc]

I am using sugar cane straw

 

[silkiechicken]

Could you post some pics of the chicks' sitting position? Some more info on feed, temps and so on might be helpful, along with what their poos are looking like, appetite, and so on. Never heard of sugar cane straw myself.

 

[countryboy]

keep it separated from the rest, keep the temps up, I know nothing about the bedding your using.

are you using plain water or medicated water before this started?

 

[jnjc]

I am in work at the moment so I can't post pictures. I have three in total and two are fine.

We have all three on just tap water and medicated chick food.

As for the sick bird, appetite seems fine and she is drinking. Her poo looks normal. Sometimes, depending on how she wobbled around she will lie down with one leg sort of splayed out in front of her. She is showing no signs of distress.

I put some sugar in her water this morning to see if it would give her a bit of a boost.

I found another thread on this forum where the person described very similar symptoms and said she gave the chick some "vitamins and electrolytes" and it seemed to help. Do I need to get these from a vet or can I use some form that I can get from a pharmacy ?

Thanks for the replies,
JC

 

[countryboy]

the only electrolytes I have used I went to tractor supply and bought, durvet, it cost maybe $3.00 at the most I think. it has vitamins and electrolytes, mixes into the water.

 

[jnjc]

I found the following at http://www.gov.mb.ca/agriculture/livestock/poultry/bba01s37.html:

Leg Weakness – This may be due to a lack of Vitamin D. Give chicks bran moistened with a good grade of cod liver oil and feed on top of the dry mash for several days. Provide cod liver oil in a graniteware cup tacked on the wall beneath a window, and let the chicks drink as they wish.

"Curled toe" paralysis resembles leg weakness somewhat in effect. It occurs in rapidly growing chicks, often at three to four weeks of age. Give milk to drink, and scratch grain in addition to the dry mash.

So should I soak some of the chick feed in cod liver oil ?

When they say give it milk to drink, is that just ordinary cow's milk ?

What is scratch grain ?​

 

[countryboy]

your better off PMing silkiechicken on that. have only heard of that for leg mites.

 

[jnjc]

Quote:
Sorry if this is a dumb question, you'll have to bear with me I'm in completely uncharted waters here.

I take it Durvet is specially for chicks/animals ? I don't have feed stores or stuff like that nearby, do you think there is something else I could use as an alternative ?