Chicks dying, got one sick one now. What the heck is this illness?

[Shura]

Further clarification: The birds were not all on Terramycin until a week ago, and they are 3.5 weeks old right now. Btw the bird with the eye issue has totally cleared up.

I don't think Terramycin is what did me any good, actually. I think they have Aspergillosis (Brooder Pneumonia). My chick that got sick today died, sadly. But I was looking at more and more poultry illnesses, and this seems very likely. His breathing was more and more labored as he got closer to the end, and it was like he was sleepy... as with my other chicks. In the last hour he was wheezing, and close to the end there was also some gurgling and bubbles from his beak. Brooder Pneumonia also doesn't strike all the chicks at a time... which explains why it's only one or two here and there getting this and dying.

I think I'll stop the terramycin tomorrow. It's been very hot here, very rainy, and VERY humid. Perfect environment for a mold or fungus based sickness. I'm going to start changing 100% of the litter every single day, and I might just put the birds outside in a small pen and let the sun shine on the brooder box every day too. They're almost out of the brooder, but for their remaining time in it I think that's what I'm going to do.

At least now I have a pretty good idea what's going on.

 

[threehorses]

Did I miss the eye issue? Was it bubbling? Frothy eye? Or just the closed eyes?

Is it possible that the babies are getting too hot? All of what you described can fit that easily.

As for the symptoms, they fit many illnesses and many things that aren't diseases but are conditions (like overheating, underheating, malnutrition, etc). It's very hard to tell from here.

Note however that all respiratory illnesses don't strike all chicks at the same time.

I'm really wondering about the heat and humidity. Any chance that you can get the babies into a place with more air flow? Their bedding shouldn't be an issue unless they're spilling their water. Pine is very absorbant and dry. I'd worry more about stirring it up too often, myself.

And I would NOT let them have sun with this weather. It's too hot for that.

When you say they're almost out of the brooder, where will they be going? do you have other birds as well?

Sorry for all the questions.

 

[Shura]

I did mention the eye issue. It was with my Buff Cochin pullet, who is 4.5 weeks old, whereas my other chicks are 3.5 weeks old (she was a freebie thrown in because they were short on some of my order and had her left over from previously). She had swelling around her right eye and kept her eyelids closed, and that's why I started giving terramycin. When I found it impossible to keep her from breaking out of her little fenced in area of the brooder... and to keep the other chicks from trying to break in since they apparently like her or something.... I just removed the partition fence and put terramycin in both waterers.. since I needed to make sure Mongo (the cochin) got the medicine. I figured it wouldn't hurt the other chicks to have it since they'd been dying of this mysterious illness anyway one or two at a time.

I don't think it's getting over 100F in where they're at, during the hottest days. I can go in there and it's better than being outside when it's 100F. But I know darn sure it's not getting below 80F like somebody was worried about. heh, no way. I run the 250W brooder lamp at night to keep them warm, and I unplug it in the morning to keep them from getting to hot during the day.

Well it's not malnutrition unless Manna Pro feed is bad, because their chick starter is what I was feeding until the other day, along with yogurt. Not I'm using Nutrena chick starter since it comes in a bigger bag. I really don't think it's underheating or overheating, i'm watching that. They're getting good, clean water, sand for grit, and I was giving them grass and dirt... though on this thread I've now been warned about that.

I will read up more on respiratory illnesses, but brooder pneumonia describes perfectly what our little roo had yesterday.

My understanding is that in another week or so the chicks will be fine to put in a coop outside, instead of in the brooder, that is my plan. I'm about to go construct a run and pick up an old but still serviceable shed building my uncle has to give me. The place where I will be putting them gets the morning sunshine, but is shaded in the afternoon so it should be a pretty good spot I think. I plan to free range the chickens during the day as long as I have bugs and grass for them to eat... half the reason I wanted chickens was for bug control.

Don't worry, if I put the chickens out for a while this afternoon there are plenty of well shaded places I can do that where they can go between sun and shade. We have some big maple, oak, and sycamore trees here.

 

[Barbara9642]

I am no chicken expert, joined here recently when mine were killing each other. I have however raised goats for quite a while- this sounds completely to me like something they are passing around. I would quarintine everyone now. I know that means having them all over the place, but I would think those that don't have it yet will, and those that do have it are going to die anyway. Separate everybody and disinfect absolutely EVERYTHING that they touch, cage, food and water bowls, housing. I am in Carolina- I didn't think too cold, I though heat exhaustion. I have some babies in my pen in the barn now, and if I put the lamp on day or night I am going to cook them. First and foremost, if I were you, I would assume viral and seperate everyone. And for heaven sake don't mix them with your other birds.

 

[threehorses]

It's such a mystery. I think my brainstorming has just gotten my brain going in circles. lol

The tricky thing about respiratory illnesses is you can never really tell (until a certain breaking point) if they're fungal/mildew, viral, bacterial. /sigh It's really frustrating. Sometimes - like this - it's hard to even tell quite yet if it's truely respiratory as labored breathing can also be stess. I wish it were more clear so we could say "Use product X! That'll fix it." But this is just not one of those cases yet.

On the runs and stuff, of course just make sure they always have a shady cool spot. I bet if they get a nice sun spot you'll have some sun bathing babies.

And of course, sunlight is always beneficial to calcium absorbtion as it helps convert vitamins D into d3. yada yada.

Please let us know how this goes, if there are any changes - even little - as they might indicate something.

Have you made a decision on the meds yet btw?

 

[Shura]

yeah, I made a decision on the meds last night, I gave them plain clean water last night before bed with NO terramycin mixed in. I also changed all the litter yesterday, and will continue doing that every day or two.

I'm going to proceed as though it's a fungal/mildew issue with the litter. Conditions in this part of the country are literally perfect for that kind of problem right now... with heavy rains, high temps, and lots of humidity. We'll see if I'm right or if I'm wrong, but the symptoms of brooder pneumonia sure seem just like what most of my chicks have been dying of.

The chicks will still be getting some yogurt once a day, and Nutrena chick starter, and lots of clean water. I'm also going to keep giving them some grass and dirt: I've heard from far too many people that doing so is a GOOD thing, including many of the old timer's books from 1900-1930 on poultry... plus I had chicks dying of this weird illness before I ever gave them grass and dirt, so that didn't cause it. They love the stuff, so I'm still going to give it to them. I only give about a 8"x8" square chunk of dirt and grass per day for what is now 32 chicks of nearly 4 weeks of age and one chick nearly 5 weeks.

 

[stephys_fluffybutts]

Sounds like upper resipitory problems or pnemonia..
You need to disinfect the entire cage that he is in.. including the feeders and waterers. Fresh food and water... the works
Best thing to use is bleach..

What kind of light are you using?
Its sounds like they are a bit older.. like 2 weeks old
by now they should get a 60w or a 100w without a towel.
If you have a high watt light bulb it just leaves moister in the cage..
And with everything it just spoils faster and germs grow.

I have had it happen before. I hatched 7 chicks.. and most of the surley and slowly died and I couldnt figure it out..
They had everything your birds had (symptoms)

I finally found out it was bad feed.. who ever thought my new bag of chick feed had anything wrong with it.. I threw it all out and bought something else.. Surely my last and single chick got better.. It did mess up with her growth pattern.. And her being 3 months old she had to stay in a pen with 1 day olds... And yes she was that small..
Luckly she has grown up and is of normal size.

And it was sad that I lost that many lives.. They were honestly the best batch of silkie chicks I have ever gotten...

Quote:

 

[threehorses]

Well you know - it just might work.

Sometimes I think we end up doing too much. I think sometimes air and clean water and the right food do a whole lot towards fixing things.

And I understand the dirt thing. I just hope you understand why I recommended against it. It isn't because I'm afraid of germs (actually I think people are TOO afraid of them, while they're a natural part of a bird building immunity). Just I wanted to eliminate that from the issue. IN a healthy flock, that's another thing. I don't do it, but only because it's just not something I do. I build immunities through leaving litter longer. There are different schools (and honestly often the old schools win, to me.)

Please will you let us know how it goes so that we can all learn from it? I'm particularly interested in how your method works, if you don't mind? This is how I keep my mind open.

Thanks a ton, and I'll be crossing my fingers for ya.

 

[mekasmom]

Quote:
Mycoplama Gallesepticum
The closed eyes (swollen eyes) are the primary symptom, then lethargy, fever, death. Sometimes they develop a respiratory illness.
Septimycin (sp) in the water works. Injected tylan works, but it doesn't absorb well in the gut, so it has to be injected.
I just got some new chickens a while back, and went through this because they brought it in. I lost dozens and dozens and dozens of chicks, even a few adult birds as it spread. The septimycin (sp) was a Godsend. They all got well within hours. I took one sick rooster into the vet to see what in the world was wrong, and his temp was over 107 degrees and he was barely alive because of the wheezing. My vet immediately recognized the disease, and treated them. The rooster is still alive today, and chasing his hens. MG spreads so very fast and kills so many birds within a couple of days. By the time you figure out you have a problem, you have lost 100 chicks and some big birds all in one day.

I did exactly like you, treating it at home with one thing or another for two days. After loosing over a dozen adult hens in one day plus over 50chicks in one morning, I went to the vet. As soon as he gave us the medication, I came home and put it down each chicken on the place. No more died, and all the sick ones recovered within a day.

Chances are the chicks brought it in with them just like they did to my property.

 

[hinkjc]

I didn't read all of the posts, so maybe this was covered. In reading the OP, I came upon the part about giving them grass. This is a big no-no for brooder raised chicks. These chicks are not exposed to disease from outside and have no immunity developed. I would guess this brought something into your brooder, which is weakening and killing the chicks.

Another thought is that there may be molds in the brooder due to moisture or the yogurt treat. This is very toxic and will result in rather sudden death as you explained.