Disease in my flock of 9-week chicks

[Aliamiri]

Hi,
To this hour 5 out my 45 chicks died of a fatal disease. After searching through the Internet I am suspect of Coccidiosis. But there is not any bloody poop of sick chicks. Could it be sth else?
Some pictures of sick birds are attached.
Thank you

 

[azygous]

This is very scary. I'm so sorry. A few questions might help us tell you what could be killing these chicks.
1. Are they having trouble breathing? Rattles, wheezing, whistling?
2. When did this begin? How long between symptoms and death?
3. The faces appear to be swollen. Is that what you see?
4. Do any of the chicks have trouble standing or walking, seem unbalanced?
5. When you find a dead chick, are the legs splayed as in one pointing forward and the other the opposite direction?
6. Where are you located in the world?

 

[Eggcessive]

Welcome to BYC. The most common illness in you g chickens is coccidiosis. Symptoms include diarrhea, being sleepy or lethargic, hunched or puffed up appearance, not eating, and runny poops. Get some amprollium or amprol, or sulfamethazine and treat them right away. Toltrazuril may also be used. Make sure they are drinking the medicated water or give it with a dropped. Let us know what product you get, and we can help with dosage. Good luck.

 

[Aliamiri]

Thank you #azygous and #Eggsessive
And answer to the questions asked above:
1. No there isn't any symptoms except drooping wings, lack of appetite, diarrhea and being listless.
2. It get about 3 days. At first day a bit listlessness, second day comes drooping wings and finally death the day after.
3. Yes this symptom is for the last day. Before dying it seems chicks head wants to explode because of the pressure of fluid inside it. And just before dying fluid flows from its mouth, nostrils and eyes.
4. They are reluctant to walk and even they won't sit down.
5. No, their legs are normal.
6. I live in Iran.

 

[azygous]

I'm very suspicious your chicks may have Newcastle disease. Read this and see what you think. http://publichealth.lacounty.gov/vet/VirulentNewcastleDisease.htm
Unfortunately, there isn't much you can do except sanitize everything after the last chick dies and start over. Newcastle is a big problem right now in your country.

It could be something else, one of the respiratory diseases, but I doubt you'd be seeing such a virulent progression, almost all birds uniformly affected and dying as if to some strict time table.

 

[ChickNanny13]

 

[azygous]

Here is an excerpt:

"What are the symptoms in VND in birds? The symptoms of VND in birds can be highly variable and depend on the species of bird. Most infected birds become lethargic, lose their appetite, and have diarrhea. Chickens are more likely to have additional symptoms such as swelling of the eyelids, oozing of fluids from the nose and mouth, difficulty breathing, and sudden death. Occasionally neurologic signs such as paralysis of the wings or a twisted neck are also seen. The incubation period for VND is between 2-15 days (i.e. how long it takes for the symptoms to start after a bird is exposed to it)."

 

[Aliamiri]

Maybe VND is the culprit but my chicks do not show the symptoms collectively at the same time. In average one or two birds per day got contracted the disease in the past week. In addition, there isn't any coughing, sneezing, nasal discharge(just during death throes) , tremors, twisting of the neck and sudden death.

 

[azygous]

Do you have an agricultural laboratory that assists farmers in determining diseases that are killing their livestock? The best thing you can do is call your closest university and ask to talk to someone in their agricultural sciences department. Tell them what's been happening to your chickens, and ask if they do necropsies there, or if they know where you can take one of your dead chicks to get one done on the body.

They take the body apart and examine the cells and test for bacteria and viruses. That way you will know what is making the chicks so sick and killing them so quickly. Newcastle does have a preventative vaccine to help future chickens of yours become resistant to the disease if it's what's been killing the chicks you now have.

 

[Eggcessive]

It might be worthwhile to treat your chickens for possible coccidiosis, just in case. You may be able to get sulfa antibiotics locally or from a vet. The sulfa antibiotics can be helpful with some respiratory and other intestinal infections. If it is Newcastles, they usually gasp and may have nervos symptoms. There is no treatment for Newcastles Disease. Below is what sulfamethazine may look like, but it might have a different package: