Day old chick - Leg Weakness

[ChicFil- A]

I saw something about this too! Like physical therapy for a chickie lol I love it!

Yes! because she thought the leg would loose muscle.

 

[ChicFil- A]

Yes, she is getting around as well, and so spunky! This is really promising to hear, thank you! I will try to keep a close eye and support her however I can, and hopefully it will work itself out... Time will tell!

please post as she heals so we will know.

 

[Chipmunk Chicks]

Thank you! I do appreciate the care and concern for our poor little chick. DH and I were able to examine her more closely and both of us felt the tendon on the left leg "pop." He may actually help me make a chick chair... This could get interesting lol

 

[Wyorp Rock]

I've started them all on a mild amprol solution in the water for the first week or so, and organic crumble and chick grit, but I also have nutridrench, I have not yet onboarded.

Her belly looks a bit better already, but you can tell it's dry and the down is rubbed bare from spending so much time sitting down on her belly, or scrambling to get around. The legs also look a bit red and swollen to me,

was the redness and swelling it seems of the hocks, but is that due to a slipped tendon? Or is that just due to her sitting back on her hocks too much of the time, i.e secondary to the weakness?

Yes, I had heard that, so I guess I was sort of waiting to give the amprol a few days to a week, before following up with the drench. Although I had a vet here tell me the exact opposite, as in they NEED the extra vitamins while they are on it. :/
So I'm like... Hm, who am I going to trust, BYC? or an actual vet.

Green poop is often seen in just hatched chicks so if she's only a couple of days old, then this is likely the cause.

I'd focus on getting the PND into her and also go get a bottle of human B-Complex and give her 1/4 tablet daily. This can be crushed and added to a little wet feed or you can dissolve the tablet in a tiny amount of water and syringe drops into her throughout the day. PND does not contain B2(Riboflavin) which is an essential B Vitamin to help support leg health.

Hard to know if the joints are swollen due to her laying down a lot, if she's got something else going on or what.
Do the best you can to get her hydrated and eating. Wet chick starter is always a good choice. See how it goes.

I'd stop the Amprol/Amprolium (Corid). It's a Coccidiostat not an antibiotic. Coccidiosis is usually not seen in chicks this young, but it's not impossible.

As for trusting a vet or BYC? Take all pieces of info that you receive and do some research on your own as well. Understand the meaning of words and how things are phrased.
The reason why most of us on BYC, including Me, recommend to omit Extra Vitamins and Supplements that contain B1(Thiamine) during the course of treatment with Corid (Amprolium) is because of information found in Plumb's Vet Drug Manual. There is a notation that "Excessive thiamine in the diet can reduce or reverse the anticoccidial activity of the drug". There is no definition of what "excessive" means in this case, so to err on the side of caution, I recommend that any Extra Vitamins/Supplements that contain B1(Thiamine) be left off until treatment is finished.
Their feed should already have the recommended daily amount of B1 in it to begin with and it would be unlikely that Amprolium would cause a deficiency in 5-7 days (there is mention of deficiency when giving high doses of Amprolium for prolonged periods of time), but after treatment giving vitamins and probiotics for a few days shouldn't hurt anything.

Snapshots of the drug manual are below.

If it was a big box ranch supply like Tractor Supply or Big R, they routinely give the chicks something to stop up their bowels so they don't soil the litter. (My son works at Big R, he came home SO mad when he found out) It's possible your chickie is bound up and having issues from that... many of those big box chicks don't survive, but this one looks like you can save her!

Exactly what would be given to chicks to stop up their bowels?
Can your son get a photo of the product or the label of the product?

 

[Chipmunk Chicks]

Green poop is often seen in just hatched chicks so if she's only a couple of days old, then this is likely the cause.

I'd focus on getting the PND into her and also go get a bottle of human B-Complex and give her 1/4 tablet daily. This can be crushed and added to a little wet feed or you can dissolve the tablet in a tiny amount of water and syringe drops into her throughout the day. PND does not contain B2(Riboflavin) which is an essential B Vitamin to help support leg health.

Hard to know if the joints are swollen due to her laying down a lot, if she's got something else going on or what.
Do the best you can to get her hydrated and eating. Wet chick starter is always a good choice. See how it goes.

I'd stop the Amprol/Amprolium (Corid). It's a Coccidiostat not an antibiotic. Coccidiosis is usually not seen in chicks this young, but it's not impossible.

As for trusting a vet or BYC? Take all pieces of info that you receive and do some research on your own as well. Understand the meaning of words and how things are phrased.
The reason why most of us on BYC, including Me, recommend to omit Extra Vitamins and Supplements that contain B1(Thiamine) during the course of treatment with Corid (Amprolium) is because of information found in Plumb's Vet Drug Manual. There is a notation that "Excessive thiamine in the diet can reduce or reverse the anticoccidial activity of the drug". There is no definition of what "excessive" means in this case, so to err on the side of caution, I recommend that any Extra Vitamins/Supplements that contain B1(Thiamine) be left off until treatment is finished.
Their feed should already have the recommended daily amount of B1 in it to begin with and it would be unlikely that Amprolium would cause a deficiency in 5-7 days (there is mention of deficiency when giving high doses of Amprolium for prolonged periods of time), but after treatment giving vitamins and probiotics for a few days shouldn't hurt anything.

Snapshots of the drug manual are below.

Exactly what would be given to chicks to stop up their bowels?
Can your son get a photo of the product or the label of the product?


View attachment 3476621

Thank you so much for your reply! I see what you're saying, the nutridrench doesn't actually contain the B vitamins that would inhibit the corrid anyway, only specifically extra B supplimentation would. I can see how that makes sense.

I started the nutridrench and I have liquid B vitamins too, but they are all resting now so I'll wait at least till she wakes up.

I did try to set her up in a little supportive hobbling device, but DH wants to perhaps try a different style. I also didn't feel comfortable leaving her immobilized overnight under the light without the ability to self regulate her temperature so.

I tried something. I don't think I injured her any further.

She is still doing some nice standing on her own, but I heard that the bone can pop through eventually if it's not treated, and the earlier they are treated, obviously the better the outcome, so I didn't want to wait. I just want her to pull through and have a nice life with her sisters.

But I'm also trying not to be annoyed a bit, because I find it hard to believe the kid couldn't tell she was smaller than the rest. I mean if we didn't take her, she might have just died in the store. But as it is, here I am spending all my energy worrying about this weak little chick ...instead of whatever else is going on in my life that I'm supposed to be dealing with lol

Everyone else is totally fine and super low maintenance. But last year with the eye pecking that happened with one of our shipped chicks, and now with this baby, it seems like there's just got to be one that makes you lose sleep for days! #motherhood

I basically tried a modified version of this, without taping individual toes.

 

[Wyorp Rock]

I see what you're saying, the nutridrench doesn't actually contain the B vitamins that would inhibit the corrid anyway, only specifically extra B supplimentation would. I can see how that makes sense.

Poultry Nutri-Drench Does contains B1(Thiamine) so yes it does actually contain the B Vitamin that could inhibit the effectiveness of Amprolium.
Read your label.

omit Extra Vitamins and Supplements that contain B1(Thiamine) during the course of treatment with Corid (Amprolium) is because of information found in Plumb's Vet Drug Manual. There is a notation that "Excessive thiamine in the diet can reduce or reverse the anticoccidial activity of the drug".

 

[Chipmunk Chicks]

Poultry Nutri-Drench Does contains B1(Thiamine) so yes it does actually contain the B Vitamin that could inhibit the effectiveness of Amprolium.
Read your label.

Sorry, it was very late and I could barely see straight. It's morning, and I can still barely see straight. Lol Thiamine is listed in the ingredients, but not as "B Vitamins" on the "guaranteed analysis."

So ultimately, I must have completely misunderstood the point of what you were saying.

You are saying to hold off on additional vitamin supplementation - including nutridrench - bc of the thiamine content during corrid treatment, because it will limit the drug's effectiveness. Yes? ETA and scrolling back, I see that you said this explicitly.

The vet said the opposite, which is why I said that about BYC information. She said to give *extra* vitamins, like Nutridrench, while treating with corrid, because of it's thiamine blocking method of action, so they don't develop a deficiency. Which again, seems like more of a potential concern only if you are treating for an extended period of time.

 

[Eggcessive]

Very good info from @Wyorp Rock. I would stop the Corid. Start the B complex which includes riboflavin (B2.)

Could you ask your son about the substance they give at his feed store to stop them from pooping. I really think that is a misunderstanding because baby chicks can have problems with pasty butt constipation that can kill them or put them behind in growth. It is usually a result of chilling and dehydration during shipping to the feed stores. I wonder if they maybe were giving grow gel or electrolytes with vitamins. Most feed stores just seem to use plain water and feed.

 

[MamaFox78]

@Wyorp Rock and @Eggcessive
So I checked with my son again and clarified... he says they load the chicks' water with extra high doses of probiotics and electrolytes (he's not there right now to confirm exactly the products used). He suspects it's to counter the stress of transport through the mail, but the constipation is a side effect.

Either way, whether intentional or not, the chicks at those big box stores are generally pretty unhealthy and many of them die. Poor babies.

 

[Wyorp Rock]

Lol Thiamine is listed in the ingredients, but not as "B Vitamins" on the "guaranteed analysis."

Right. Thiamine is B1.
There are eight B Vitamins when it's all said and done. B1, B2, B3, B5, B6, B7, B9 and B12.

Thanks for following up on our question about what is given to the chicks in the feed store. Electrolytes and probiotics shouldn't cause constipation. It sounds more like the store does not have a knowledgeable or dedicated person to receive the chicks and care for them properly once they arrive at the store. Shipped chicks still need to be shown food/water and checked for pasty butt, they are often stressed and need some extra care for a few hours upon receiving them.

@Wyorp Rock and @Eggcessive
So I checked with my son again and clarified... he says they load the chicks' water with extra high doses of probiotics and electrolytes (he's not there right now to confirm exactly the products used). He suspects it's to counter the stress of transport through the mail, but the constipation is a side effect.

Either way, whether intentional or not, the chicks at those big box stores are generally pretty unhealthy and many of them die. Poor babies.