Chick healthy and now wont open eyes - Help

[Kirsti1217]

She's what around 10-11 days old now? The roundness you mention is concerning - where exactly is the roundness? Is it in the abdomen? Her navel is healed correct?
Does she feel full of air?
The neck being short - does she have it drawn in or is it actually short?

Can she stand up and walk - you mention she's sitting all the time with her wings spread out - does she seem too hot?

does come to mind. There are 9 strains and only 1-2 show as blood in the stool. Behavior and symptoms are often a better indicator unless you can take a sample to the vet for testing in quick order.

Try dropping water beside her beak and let it roll around the outer edge - see if she will take that in.

Thanks, I’ll take photos when I’m home and upload as soon as I can.

age - 14 days old
roundness- best way I can describe it is like she stopped developing. All other chicks are elongating as they grow, she is still a little fluff ball and much lighter than the others. She can extend her neck but it just seems shorter. I’m not sure in the navel but will check. I’ve been checking her bottom for pasty but and haven’t noticed anything unusual.
walking - yes she can but only short distances and she plops herself back down. Also a little wobbly and does not stand up when startled.
heat - I’m actually a little worried it’s too cold. Brooder says 85 and I’m struggling to increase it. The temps Dropped suddenly here last night but are on the rise again now so should be better shortly. Brooder is in a back room of house with no central heating. Have 3 heat lamps and have a blanket around the brooder to help stop heat escaping with the extra cold.

I hope it’s not Coccidiosis. I have her separated at least and no symptoms in any other chick. She also seems to be breathing a little heavier and perhaps a little faster today. Have tried all sorts of positions with the feeding and drinking ... she’s stubborn. My vet is not a fan of intervening with chicks. I asked previously and she believes it’s best to let the strong ones survive to keep your flock healthier in future. I understand the logic, but I’ll keep trying to help her.

 

[Wyorp Rock]

Thanks, I’ll take photos when I’m home and upload as soon as I can.

age - 14 days old
roundness- best way I can describe it is like she stopped developing. All other chicks are elongating as they grow, she is still a little fluff ball and much lighter than the others. She can extend her neck but it just seems shorter. I’m not sure in the navel but will check. I’ve been checking her bottom for pasty but and haven’t noticed anything unusual.
walking - yes she can but only short distances and she plops herself back down. Also a little wobbly and does not stand up when startled.
heat - I’m actually a little worried it’s too cold. Brooder says 85 and I’m struggling to increase it. The temps Dropped suddenly here last night but are on the rise again now so should be better shortly. Brooder is in a back room of house with no central heating. Have 3 heat lamps and have a blanket around the brooder to help stop heat escaping with the extra cold.

I hope it’s not Coccidiosis. I have her separated at least and no symptoms in any other chick. She also seems to be breathing a little heavier and perhaps a little faster today. Have tried all sorts of positions with the feeding and drinking ... she’s stubborn. My vet is not a fan of intervening with chicks. I asked previously and she believes it’s best to let the strong ones survive to keep your flock healthier in future. I understand the logic, but I’ll keep trying to help her.

For her she likely does need to be kept fairly warm, but there does need to be room for her to be able to get to a cooler spot - chicks don't regulate body heat as well as adults.
As for the rest, if they are doing well, then you're o.k. with that temperature. Again, the rest of the brooder can be cool - chicks only need one warm spot, the whole brooder doesn't need to be all the same warmth - think of a mother hen, she's not heating up the whole brooding area, she's providing a nice warm toasty spot for chicks to cuddle up - the rest of the time chicks are roaming/eating/drinking in different temperatures. (I use a heating pad system to brood chicks - same concept - I've had chicks outside in 20F weather with just a heating pad - their food and water were in the cold area and they did fine with the one warm spot)

Sadly, she may be failing to thrive. I understand and would continue to see if I could get her to eat/drink, but sometimes there is nothing more you can do with them.

 

[Kirsti1217]

I think it’s the chicken cold again (coryza) She’s started to get puffy eyes but is still hanging in there. I added a tunnel type area to the brooder and she’s moved to sleep half in/ half out it really just seems like she has a bad flu and has also lost her voice. She tries to chirp and it’s just air bless her. She’s started eating and drinking again though so maybe she’ll pull through too.

 

[Wyorp Rock]

I think it’s the chicken cold again (coryza) She’s started to get puffy eyes but is still hanging in there. I added a tunnel type area to the brooder and she’s moved to sleep half in/ half out it really just seems like she has a bad flu and has also lost her voice. She tries to chirp and it’s just air bless her. She’s started eating and drinking again though so maybe she’ll pull through too.

OK, wait....what? You think she has Infectious Coryza? Sweetie that's no cold, Coryza is a highly contagious respiratory disease.
If you can get some photos that would be good.

Are her eyes filled with pus? Can you clean them out?

 

[Kirsti1217]

OK, wait....what? You think she has Infectious Coryza? Sweetie that's no cold, Coryza is a highly contagious respiratory disease.
If you can get some photos that would be good.

Are her eyes filled with pus? Can you clean them out?

That was the vet thought when I described the symptoms in the original chick. I asked for antibiotics and she would only prescribe for adult chickens

No puss but eyes seemed glued shut. You could tell she was trying to open them but couldn’t. After 5 or 6 days of lots of hand feeding she recovered and now seems to have even caught up in growth with the others. (She was also very weak, wobbly and showed some respiratory distress at times) I had 2 more chicks that displayed mild symptoms and only in 1 eye around the same time frame. This chick that is sick right now is one of those 2.

Both eyes are still open but are starting to look swollen. She also seems to be breathing heavily and has lost the ability to chirp. She is pretty weak but can stand For a short while. It may not be the right dx but I’m not sure it changes anything. Just keeping her separated and a lot of hand washing etc.

 

[Wyorp Rock]

That was the vet thought when I described the symptoms in the original chick. I asked for antibiotics and she would only prescribe for adult chickens

No puss but eyes seemed glued shut. You could tell she was trying to open them but couldn’t. After 5 or 6 days of lots of hand feeding she recovered and now seems to have even caught up in growth with the others. (She was also very weak, wobbly and showed some respiratory distress at times) I had 2 more chicks that displayed mild symptoms and only in 1 eye around the same time frame. This chick that is sick right now is one of those 2.

Both eyes are still open but are starting to look swollen. She also seems to be breathing heavily and has lost the ability to chirp. She is pretty weak but can stand For a short while. It may not be the right dx but I’m not sure it changes anything. Just keeping her separated and a lot of hand washing etc.

I'm sorry that she is not doing well

Interesting that the vet thought Coryza but didn't offer any type of treatment. It is a bacterial disease and does respond to sulfa antibiotics - it's not a cure by any means but can help with symptoms. If it's Coryza, then she and those that have been exposed to her would be considered carriers for life. Infectious Coryza is a nasty disease that you really don't want to deal with for years to come.

If her eyes seem glued together, you can use a warm compress to help soften the gunk and help you pry them open.

 

[bradymars]

I had a delivery of 8 chicks yesterday, all were lively out of the box and began eating and drinking right away. This morning I woke up to find the Lavender Orpington by herself and slow to respond. She seemed drowsy and now her eyes are permanently closed. She did poop and it looked normal but now she wont eat or drink. All other chicks looks great still. Brooder is 95 degrees, I have electrolytes in the water and am feeding chick starter. I'm going to buy some Poly-Vi-Sol and try raw egg yolk as I've seen a lot of posts about that. Any other suggestions? She was so lively and within 12 hours is a totally different chick.

Cull as she can infect the others, this is just part of raising strong chickens. Sorry to be blunt but if you doctor all the time you’ll always have problems