help! baby chicks dying :-(

[French Hen]

Hello. I hatched some shipped Americaunas. Only 3 of 18 hatched despite perfect conditions but shipped eggs are unpredictable. One chick was hatched with very severe wry neck. I definitely did not expect the chick to live. Two others were healthy. A fourth chick pipped internally and then died in the shell.

A week went by and won't you know it the wry neck chick was actually better after days and days of treatment. Started walking and not just flipping on her back.

Then two nights ago wry neck chick started running around peeping like crazy. All night long she peeped. I couldn't figure out the problem. I tried everything but she just kept chirping loud. Sort of like they do when they're cold.

Mid afternoon the next day she died in my hands.

That night one of her sisters started peeping loudly then looked like she was dying. Just laying there. Her crop was empty completely so I gave her some honey and water and a half hour later she perked up significantly within a half hour. I spread lots of food around and went to bed.

This morning she was dead.

Now the final remaining chick from this hatch is running around peeping her head off. So I'm guessing she's gonna drop dead on me too.

What gives?? Any advice? They are on medicated crumbles and have fresh clean water and they've been eating and drinking on their own for a week. What could be the problem?

She looks so healthy. No pasty butt. Clean fluffy down. Normal poop. Bright eyes and clear sounding airways.

I'm totally at a loss.

Her crop looks like it is empty but there is food everywhere for her. On the floor and in the feeder.

Any suggestions? I'm going to try dropper feeding her some egg yolk in honey because she isn't voluntarily eating anything as far as I can tell.

She has an eco-glow brooder down low so she can go under there if she wants or move back out of the heat since there is tons of space in there for her.

She isn't alone as there are other chicks in there from a hatch from a different batch of eggs. None of the other chicks seem sick but I'm afraid they'll all start dying on me!! :-(

 

[French Hen]

Anyone??

 

[welasharon]

Usually the first thing to suspect if chicks start dying is cocci. It doesn't always show as blood in the stool. I would try corrid just in case.

 

[Eggcessive]

I have had really bad luck with shipped Ameraucana eggs in the past from multiple sellers, so 3 out of 18 probably isn't that bad of a hatch. So sorry about your chicks, but I really feel like there is something going on either with a possible genetic problem with the parent stock, or possibly an infection they have contracted though the eggs or the incubator. There can be so many variables in hatching eggs, and the health of parent stock and hatching conditions has a lot to do with how the chicks turn out. Sorry about your losses, and I hope your chick makes it. If it dos, it could be in danger of getting coccidiosis from the older chicks, so I would probably treat it with Corid, either with the treatment dose, or even the preventative dose if it recovers enough.

 

[French Hen]

Thanks everyone. I will treat everyone with corid. I have been giving them egg yolks with vitamins and my panic-peeping chick is inhaling this and quiets down for a good 6 hours or so. I repeated two more times and today other than early this morning she seems very happy. Hopefully it was just a vitamin deficiency from parent stock and nothing else. I suspect something off with parent stock because of the hatchling with wry neck.
Hopefully our little chick makes it. And watch her turn our to be a rooster ;-)
Shame about Americauna shipped eggs bring tough to hatch!! Suppose I will look for someone with chicks to sell.