Hi, we've got 50 2-week-old buff orpingtons and 49 are just fine but one (the littlest) always seems to be breathing heavy and you can hear a raspy clicking when it breathes and it's eyes are usually closed. When it opens it's eyes they are clear and clean like the others, and it seems to be eating and drinking.
We separated it until we discover it's problem and it found the new food and water right away so it's alert and active. But like I said, it has raspy breathing, it's eyes are usually closed, it seems to heave with every breath, much more than the others, and it stretches and makes a crying chirp unlike the others.
When I looked in our chicken books, the symptoms (minus raspy breath) are similar to being too hot, but the temp is right and none of the others are having same problems.
I'm not in favor of the concept of "culling" but I'm afraid it might have some kind of a lung infection or cold and I don't want it to transfer to the others.
Just to give full back ground, we also have 9 healthy adult laying hens on the property but they are well separated from the chicks. No other animals except a cat. We got the hens as adults so this is our first chic experience.
If anyone has any advice or direction I should look I would much apprecaite it.
Thanks, firefarmer
We separated it until we discover it's problem and it found the new food and water right away so it's alert and active. But like I said, it has raspy breathing, it's eyes are usually closed, it seems to heave with every breath, much more than the others, and it stretches and makes a crying chirp unlike the others.
When I looked in our chicken books, the symptoms (minus raspy breath) are similar to being too hot, but the temp is right and none of the others are having same problems.
I'm not in favor of the concept of "culling" but I'm afraid it might have some kind of a lung infection or cold and I don't want it to transfer to the others.
Just to give full back ground, we also have 9 healthy adult laying hens on the property but they are well separated from the chicks. No other animals except a cat. We got the hens as adults so this is our first chic experience.
If anyone has any advice or direction I should look I would much apprecaite it.
Thanks, firefarmer