Finding an avian Vet? Very sick chick, hope not but may need to cull flock?

[Oldtymegal]

Sorry it took so long to reply Mrs. Bach Bach, I have been talking to Kathy & running all over trying to find the tiny gauge needles & anything I could find to make a crop tube to give her fluids. She still refused to eat or drink so I've had to give fluids by dropper. No luck on a crop tube, at least not today. At this point I am more concerned she will die from dehydration.
I actually gave Corid for 7 days to all the chicks & just stopped about 5 days ago. Pretty sure this time its respiratory since the chick "rattles", wet sounds when she breathes, more noticeable when I dropper feed her or otherwise agitate her. I change the feeders out every or every other day. One thing I probably did that might cause mold is that I keep feeders in the coop with the door open, but sometimes I worry when they are "busy" out in the run area that they forget to go back in the coop when they are hungry because sometimes they don't seem to empty the feeder as fast as they did when they were little & were in the coop/ brooder. So, I was throwing some feed on the ground outside the coop. That probably wasn't good because that could get moldy with all the rain. I don't keep any feeders outside because of all the rain & the flies are so bad. They seem to be eating more weeds, grass & bugs lately so maybe that is why they don't seem to empty their feeder as quick? I empty poop trays every day. I do have poultry drench & put some in their water after treatments & lately have been adding apple cider vinegar to their water because I heard that acts like a natural antibiotic. I have the sick one isolated inside the house for now. You are so right in how they hide their illness. Just 3 days ago she was running around with her sisters & at a glance the fluffy feathers hide how dehydrated she was getting! I am still very new at this. Thank you for all of your kind suggestions.

 

[MrsBachbach]

Sorry it took so long to reply Mrs. Bach Bach, I have been talking to Kathy & running all over trying to find the tiny gauge needles & anything I could find to make a crop tube to give her fluids. She still refused to eat or drink so I've had to give fluids by dropper. No luck on a crop tube, at least not today. At this point I am more concerned she will die from dehydration.
I actually gave Corid for 7 days to all the chicks & just stopped about 5 days ago. Pretty sure this time its respiratory since the chick "rattles", wet sounds when she breathes, more noticeable when I dropper feed her or otherwise agitate her. I change the feeders out every or every other day. One thing I probably did that might cause mold is that I keep feeders in the coop with the door open, but sometimes I worry when they are "busy" out in the run area that they forget to go back in the coop when they are hungry because sometimes they don't seem to empty the feeder as fast as they did when they were little & were in the coop/ brooder. So, I was throwing some feed on the ground outside the coop. That probably wasn't good because that could get moldy with all the rain. I don't keep any feeders outside because of all the rain & the flies are so bad. They seem to be eating more weeds, grass & bugs lately so maybe that is why they don't seem to empty their feeder as quick? I empty poop trays every day. I do have poultry drench & put some in their water after treatments & lately have been adding apple cider vinegar to their water because I heard that acts like a natural antibiotic. I have the sick one isolated inside the house for now. You are so right in how they hide their illness. Just 3 days ago she was running around with her sisters & at a glance the fluffy feathers hide how dehydrated she was getting! I am still very new at this. Thank you for all of your kind suggestions.

Yes, as they grow older they do lose some interest in their feed. I wouldn't leave the feed out in the rain though or put it on the damp ground. If you don't have a covered run, you may be able to make a little covered feeding station outside in the run.
I use IV line for a crop tube. It's pretty small so would be good for small birds, but you can probably find the small diameter aquarium tubing at a pet store or may even find something similar at hardware stores, water tubing. I think I saw some at Tractor supply recently.
I would still pick up some VetRX at the feed store and try that. ACV helps cut down mucus in their throat and such also which may help. I don't think it treats bacterial infections though. It may act like a preventative. If you mix it too strong they won't drink it though. I use about a tablespoon per gallon. Your sick chick could be suffering from viral or fungal too. I have read Oil of oregano is a very good anti bacterial, anti fungal, anti viral herb. It is very bitter though and has to be mixed with alot of water. They may not drink it willing. May need to be used for a couple of weeks, idk, because I have never found any dosing info. If it was me, I would quarter a vitamin C tablet and poke it down the back of the throat of the chick for several days along with the medicine you are giving.
Nutri drench does not contain a wide variety of vitamins/minerals so I would look for something else. That does help with a weak chicken in perking them up, but is not a maintenance type vitamin mix imo because it is limited in scope. They do sell packets in feed stores of vit/electrolyte mixes for farm animals and I have seen some at Tractor Supply for chickens that also contain the probiotics which the birds need to maintain good bacteria in the gut, especially needed after antibiotic treatments. With the heat and the problems I had finding feed that was fresh (not older than three months) this year, additional nutritional supplements are almost a must in hot weather, at least a few times a week. I learned, after making a few phone calls, feed should not be older than three months in warm weather, as it quickly deteriorates and loses nutritional value.
So, after the antibiotics I would give some probiotics. The sick chick could use the nutri drench also. If you do find a suitable tube line, you can rehydrate the bird slowly (several times a day, dont overfill the crop) with some vitamins mixed in, then start some liquid food. I think Kathy recommends the baby parrot food found at pet stores. I just use stuff I have around the house or buy baby food veggies, but the parrot food would be more complete.
It could just be that bird wasn't eating enough (some birds will not go to feeders if they have been pecked by others to stay away) and becoming weakened, succumbed to illness. When raising a number of chicks, it helps to have more than one feeder to help prevent such a thing. Because there will always be those on the bottom of the pecking order that are run off from the feeders.

 

[Oldtymegal]

Thanks so much for all the great advice. I especially like to try natural preventatives & made a list of all those you suggest for reference. I found a 14 Fr suction catheter I converted for a feeding tube & have tubed the sick chick 4 times now. If I sit & place her beak in food bowl & water bowl she will eat & drink a little on her own. What bothers me is that she makes no attempt to go to her bowls & eat & drink on her own. She still looks very ill. Tommorrow will start the 3rd day of Tylan injections & I really hope I start to see a change. She still does a head shaking thing occasionally, wobbling her head back & forth like she is saying "no". That really bothers me but she doesn't seem to do it as often. She mainly just sits still in the box I have in the house, but seems alert when I talk to her. I am just keeping my fingers crossed that she will pull through.