Chicks are slowly dying - please help!

[krobby]

I'm new to chickens. We brought home 10 chicks from our local farm store 3.5 weeks ago. They were on probiotics + electrolytes in their water every day for the first 2 weeks or so. We've been vigilant to keep their food and water and bedding clean, their temperatures correct, etc. I check on them every hour or 2.

At 2 weeks, we noticed one of our Easter eggers standing up while sleeping, a lot. She would never lay down. Ever. She was kind of puffed up round and had no interest in eating or drinking. She started pooping something whitish and mucous-like, but not bloody. (I was later told this could be due to the fact she wasn't eating?) She didn't have pasty butt. We tried everything -- adding extra heat, extra electrolytes, Corid in the water in case of coccidiosis, apple cider vinegar in the water...

1 or 2 of the days she'd rally and eat and drink, then she'd be looking like death again. We tried feeding her with a syringe with extra electrolytes and also tried raw egg yolk. Sometimes we were successful, sometimes not. After more than a week of this, she hadn't grown at all and stopped her 'rallying' days... she was clearly suffering so we made the extremely difficult decision to put her down.

Now, nearly a week later, I'm afraid another chick, this time a rhode island red, is headed down the same path. She is sleeping standing up by herself, not interested in eating or drinking. She seems kind of rounded and puffed up like the first. I am terrified to lose another chick. I don't know what I could be doing wrong or what's causing this.

I thought possibly sour crop, but our RIR doesn't have a full or hard crop. I did snuggle her up a bit and massaged it in a downward direction, though, just to try it.

Neither of them ever seemed to be gasping or struggling for air, so I don't think it's pneumonia either.

Please help. I don't want to lose her.. she happens to be my favorite of the group, too But I have no idea what to do!

 

[featherhead007]

I'm new to chickens. We brought home 10 chicks from our local farm store 3.5 weeks ago. They were on probiotics + electrolytes in their water every day for the first 2 weeks or so. We've been vigilant to keep their food and water and bedding clean, their temperatures correct, etc. I check on them every hour or 2.

At 2 weeks, we noticed one of our Easter eggers standing up while sleeping, a lot. She would never lay down. Ever. She was kind of puffed up round and had no interest in eating or drinking. She started pooping something whitish and mucous-like, but not bloody. (I was later told this could be due to the fact she wasn't eating?) She didn't have pasty butt. We tried everything -- adding extra heat, extra electrolytes, Corid in the water in case of coccidiosis, apple cider vinegar in the water...

1 or 2 of the days she'd rally and eat and drink, then she'd be looking like death again. We tried feeding her with a syringe with extra electrolytes and also tried raw egg yolk. Sometimes we were successful, sometimes not. After more than a week of this, she hadn't grown at all and stopped her 'rallying' days... she was clearly suffering so we made the extremely difficult decision to put her down.

Now, nearly a week later, I'm afraid another chick, this time a rhode island red, is headed down the same path. She is sleeping standing up by herself, not interested in eating or drinking. She seems kind of rounded and puffed up like the first. I am terrified to lose another chick. I don't know what I could be doing wrong or what's causing this.

I thought possibly sour crop, but our RIR doesn't have a full or hard crop. I did snuggle her up a bit and massaged it in a downward direction, though, just to try it.

Neither of them ever seemed to be gasping or struggling for air, so I don't think it's pneumonia either.

Please help. I don't want to lose her.. she happens to be my favorite of the group, too But I have no idea what to do!

I have lost birds that have had the same symptoms. I made the mistake of trying too hard to save them. I don’t have any advice for you but to love them all you can and pray that they will improve. No special feed, or chemistry in the water. Only a small amount of baby aspirin can help them feel better . I’m hoping for the best for you and your

 

[GirlsHuntToo]

Awww @Eggcessive might be able to help. She's so good at chick problems!

 

[Eggcessive]

At this age of 3.5 weeks, I would treat the chick with Corid in case of coccidiosis. Dosage is 2 tsp of the liquid or 1.5 tsp of the Corid powder per gallon of water for 5-7 days. Change it daily. It is safe for the others as well. Make sure the chick is drinking enough of the treated water, or you will need to give it orally. Mix some Corid water in a small amount of the chicken feed as well.

 

[ChasingChooks]

So sorry! Hope she gets better.

 

[krobby]

At this age of 3.5 weeks, I would treat the chick with Corid in case of coccidiosis. Dosage is 2 tsp of the liquid or 1.5 tsp of the Corid powder per gallon of water for 5-7 days. Change it daily. It is safe for the others as well. Make sure the chick is drinking enough of the treated water, or you will need to give it orally. Mix some Corid water in a small amount of the chicken feed as well.

Thank you. I treated the whole flock last week while the last chick was ill, but I can treat again. I also just found a post on here from 2013 from someone who is describing something very similar and were recommended to try Tylan 200. Do you have any thoughts on that?

 

[Eggcessive]

Tylan is an antibiotic that is used to treat MG respiratory infections and sometimes to treat enteritis which they can get from the soil. If your vet could do a fecal float with a gram stain, that might rule it out. It won’t hurt to throw every thing you can if the chick is very sick. If you lose the chick, have your state vet do a necropsy to see what was wrong. Here is a list of state vets to contact, and the body must be kept cold, not frozen:
https://www.metzerfarms.com/poultry-labs.html

 

[RoyalChick]

I'm new to chickens. We brought home 10 chicks from our local farm store 3.5 weeks ago. They were on probiotics + electrolytes in their water every day for the first 2 weeks or so. We've been vigilant to keep their food and water and bedding clean, their temperatures correct, etc. I check on them every hour or 2.

At 2 weeks, we noticed one of our Easter eggers standing up while sleeping, a lot. She would never lay down. Ever. She was kind of puffed up round and had no interest in eating or drinking. She started pooping something whitish and mucous-like, but not bloody. (I was later told this could be due to the fact she wasn't eating?) She didn't have pasty butt. We tried everything -- adding extra heat, extra electrolytes, Corid in the water in case of coccidiosis, apple cider vinegar in the water...

1 or 2 of the days she'd rally and eat and drink, then she'd be looking like death again. We tried feeding her with a syringe with extra electrolytes and also tried raw egg yolk. Sometimes we were successful, sometimes not. After more than a week of this, she hadn't grown at all and stopped her 'rallying' days... she was clearly suffering so we made the extremely difficult decision to put her down.

Now, nearly a week later, I'm afraid another chick, this time a rhode island red, is headed down the same path. She is sleeping standing up by herself, not interested in eating or drinking. She seems kind of rounded and puffed up like the first. I am terrified to lose another chick. I don't know what I could be doing wrong or what's causing this.

I thought possibly sour crop, but our RIR doesn't have a full or hard crop. I did snuggle her up a bit and massaged it in a downward direction, though, just to try it.

Neither of them ever seemed to be gasping or struggling for air, so I don't think it's pneumonia either.

Please help. I don't want to lose her.. she happens to be my favorite of the group, too But I have no idea what to do!

So sorry - it is heartbreaking.
When you say the temperature is correct, what do you mean exactly? It might help to post some pictures of your set-up. Chicks need a place to get warm, but also a place to be cool - let them decide - is it possible they are too hot?
As I said, a few pictures of your set up would help.

 

[krobby]

So sorry - it is heartbreaking.
When you say the temperature is correct, what do you mean exactly? It might help to post some pictures of your set-up. Chicks need a place to get warm, but also a place to be cool - let them decide - is it possible they are too hot?
As I said, a few pictures of your set up would help.

I have the heat lamp on one side so the chicks can move under it when they're cold, and move out when they're warm. I have a thermometer sitting in the brooder to be sure of the temperatures. We've slowly raised up the heat lamp each week - Right now it's running in the high 70s each day.