Kes
Chirping
- Aug 9, 2017
- 58
- 78
- 71
I need some advice on my Olive Egger chick, Jade. She just turned a month old a couple of days ago.
I have six new chicks this year and they've all seemed very healthy. They're lively, growing well, have great appetites and no concerning noises or behaviors. Four of them are vaccinated for Mareks and two of them aren't because they came from a different place (Jade is vaccinated). I did take them out once about two weeks ago for a few hours but they've mostly been kept indoors.
It was finally warm today so I wanted to move them outside for a bit and see the older chickens. They're still very frightened about being picked up but my mom and I managed to gather them all. They explored normally for a bit when I noticed Jade was starting to "sneeze" a lot. I grew worried when it didn't stop so I took her out of the pen- she didn't really even try to run this time. I've heard of chicks choking on things so I gently stroked her neck and crop a little and held her upside down and that's when blood began coming out of her mouth. I took her upstairs and did a quick Google search but it didn't narrow anything down for me. Her breathing seemed labored and had a rattle to it and she was very lethargic suddenly. I really thought she was going to die within the hour, so we wrapped her in a towel and just held her most of the evening. The rattling and heavy breathing went away after a little bit and and there wasn't anymore blood beyond what came out when I held her upside down. She was sleeping off and on when she suddenly kind of perked up. She was still content to just stay wrapped in the towel but she seemed fine otherwise.
I brought the other chicks back inside and set up a separate space for her beside them. She tried to peep at them and sounded a little hoarse but other than that she was happy to see them and was relatively active.
I'm just confused now since coughing up blood points to an illness, but she's never showed any signs of this and didn't afterward either. She's a little smaller than the other chicks her age, but I think it's just due to what she's mixed with (welsummer, I think).
I'm worried that she was somehow injured when we were moving them- I'm pretty gentle when capturing them but it's possible the other chicks barreled into her or something during the frenzy. I kept the chicks separated from the older girls with a cage inside their run.
Below are some pictures (she's the dark brown one) before she began the noises and after we wrapped her in the towel.
Does anyone have any ideas? I wasn't sure about putting her back in the same room/air space but if it was an injury, I didn't want to stress her out more.
I have six new chicks this year and they've all seemed very healthy. They're lively, growing well, have great appetites and no concerning noises or behaviors. Four of them are vaccinated for Mareks and two of them aren't because they came from a different place (Jade is vaccinated). I did take them out once about two weeks ago for a few hours but they've mostly been kept indoors.
It was finally warm today so I wanted to move them outside for a bit and see the older chickens. They're still very frightened about being picked up but my mom and I managed to gather them all. They explored normally for a bit when I noticed Jade was starting to "sneeze" a lot. I grew worried when it didn't stop so I took her out of the pen- she didn't really even try to run this time. I've heard of chicks choking on things so I gently stroked her neck and crop a little and held her upside down and that's when blood began coming out of her mouth. I took her upstairs and did a quick Google search but it didn't narrow anything down for me. Her breathing seemed labored and had a rattle to it and she was very lethargic suddenly. I really thought she was going to die within the hour, so we wrapped her in a towel and just held her most of the evening. The rattling and heavy breathing went away after a little bit and and there wasn't anymore blood beyond what came out when I held her upside down. She was sleeping off and on when she suddenly kind of perked up. She was still content to just stay wrapped in the towel but she seemed fine otherwise.
I brought the other chicks back inside and set up a separate space for her beside them. She tried to peep at them and sounded a little hoarse but other than that she was happy to see them and was relatively active.
I'm just confused now since coughing up blood points to an illness, but she's never showed any signs of this and didn't afterward either. She's a little smaller than the other chicks her age, but I think it's just due to what she's mixed with (welsummer, I think).
I'm worried that she was somehow injured when we were moving them- I'm pretty gentle when capturing them but it's possible the other chicks barreled into her or something during the frenzy. I kept the chicks separated from the older girls with a cage inside their run.
Below are some pictures (she's the dark brown one) before she began the noises and after we wrapped her in the towel.
Does anyone have any ideas? I wasn't sure about putting her back in the same room/air space but if it was an injury, I didn't want to stress her out more.
