Chicks act hungry but refuse to eat anything I give them.

[Jinx317]

I have a flock of 12 chicks (5 of them are 2 months old and 7 of them are 1 - 1 1/2 months old) and some of them have just stopped eating. They continue to act hungry and as if they want to eat—reaching their heads out of the coop to peck at the grass, scratching at the food I give them, coming up to the door when I get close, and even peck my feet when I walk in, and they’re still drinking water, but they refuse to eat much if any food at all.

I’ve tried 4 different types of food and have started giving them some pills that my dad recommended (Tony’s Treasure Tablets) as he has been using those pills for sick chicks for years now, but so far they haven’t seemed to have kicked in yet if they’re working at all (I’ve been giving them as prescribed every day for the past 3 days).

They’re starting to lose weight and I already lost one 2 days ago, so there’s no shortage of anxiety and heartbreak on my part. I noticed that some of them did take to the watermelon scraps I gave them, though. But I don’t think watermelon is very sustaining :/ I’m thinking about soaking their food and seeing if that gets them interested.

 

[Kiki]

What exact feed are you using?

Are you sure they aren't suffering from coccidiosis?
Can you Go sit out there with them right now and take pictures of fresh poop as soon as they poop?

 

[Kiki]

Also, can you post a direct link to these tablets?


Is it this?
https://birdpalproducts.com/products/tonys-treasure-tablets

If so Are you giving each bird one pill directly to its mouth?

 

[Jinx317]

What exact feed are you using?

Are you sure they aren't suffering from coccidiosis?
Can you Go sit out there with them right now and take pictures of fresh poop as soon as they poop?

I’m sorry I didn’t respond sooner! I’m really bad about forgetting to check my socials and such.

Me and my dad discussed it and we looked at their poop and symptoms and he said that it was probably coccidiosis. The pills we’re giving them have amprolium in them and have seemed to finally started taking affect. They still have bloody diarrhea but they’re eating better and have a lot more energy, and also don’t seem to be losing weight anymore. Even so, we ordered a water-soluble amprolium medication that we should be receiving tomorrow.

As for their feed, it’s usually a mix between 32% medicated meatbird start-to-finish feed and wheat, but when they refused to eat I tried giving them layer feed and wild bird seed to see if that interested them or not. Now that they’re eating again, it’s back to the medicated feed and wheat.

I just wish I knew what led to them contracting coccidiosis. I was doing my best to keep their water clean and their bedding clean and dry, although it has been quite rainy here the past few weeks. I feel bad that I didn’t do better and notice sooner that they were feeling ill, poor little guys. At least I haven’t lost any since the first one and they seem to be doing better.

Anyway, thank you for taking the time to reply, and again, I apologize for the late response.

 

[Jinx317]

Also, can you post a direct link to these tablets?


Is it this?
https://birdpalproducts.com/products/tonys-treasure-tablets

If so Are you giving each bird one pill directly to its mouth?

Yes, that’s the one! And yes on the dosage as well. I put the chicks in at night and in the morning I take them out one-by-one so I can give them a pill and don’t accidentally overmedicate/miss one.

 

[Kiki]

I’m sorry I didn’t respond sooner! I’m really bad about forgetting to check my socials and such.

Me and my dad discussed it and we looked at their poop and symptoms and he said that it was probably coccidiosis. The pills we’re giving them have amprolium in them and have seemed to finally started taking affect. They still have bloody diarrhea but they’re eating better and have a lot more energy, and also don’t seem to be losing weight anymore. Even so, we ordered a water-soluble amprolium medication that we should be receiving tomorrow.

As for their feed, it’s usually a mix between 32% medicated meatbird start-to-finish feed and wheat, but when they refused to eat I tried giving them layer feed and wild bird seed to see if that interested them or not. Now that they’re eating again, it’s back to the medicated feed and wheat.

I just wish I knew what led to them contracting coccidiosis. I was doing my best to keep their water clean and their bedding clean and dry, although it has been quite rainy here the past few weeks. I feel bad that I didn’t do better and notice sooner that they were feeling ill, poor little guys. At least I haven’t lost any since the first one and they seem to be doing better.

Anyway, thank you for taking the time to reply, and again, I apologize for the late response.

Glad to hear they are better.

Coccidia is every where...it's almost impossible to get rid of it so just be prepared to treat all new birds in the future.

 

[nuthatched]

As for their feed, it’s usually a mix between 32% medicated meatbird start-to-finish feed and wheat, but when they refused to eat I tried giving them layer feed and wild bird seed to see if that interested them or not. Now that they’re eating again, it’s back to the medicated feed and

Do you mean 23%?
What's the wheat for and how much do they get?

 

[Jinx317]

Glad to hear they are better.

Coccidia is every where...it's almost impossible to get rid of it so just be prepared to treat all new birds in the future.

Me too! I’ll definitely keep the amprolium medication around for future use. Thanks!

 

[Jinx317]

Do you mean 23%?
What's the wheat for and how much do they get?

I meant 22% actually, lol, I don’t know how I managed to not notice the typo. My bad!

I try to keep the mixture between 10 and 15% wheat, and it’s just been what we’ve fed chicks from age 2 months and up for as long as I could remember. We use it for the protein and fiber.

 

[rosemarythyme]

I just wish I knew what led to them contracting coccidiosis. I was doing my best to keep their water clean and their bedding clean and dry, although it has been quite rainy here the past few weeks.

It's simply in the environment. In some ways keeping the set up too clean works against you on this, as early exposure to moderate amounts of the coccidiosis parasite in the environment can help build up immunity so they don't get overwhelmed by it later.

Wet conditions can contribute to higher parasite loads as well.