Help! Back Chick Is Sick!

[Tara Black]

Hi, and thank you in advance for any help given. I'm kinda new to chickens and I had a some shipped to me today. They are only about 4-5 days old, I think. I have a blue laced red Wyandotte, that is weak, wobbly and seems to be having a hard time eating and drinking. When it drinks, it makes a choking motion a few times and the water drools out of its mouth. It makes the choking motion when it eats too. I don't know what to do an I've searched on here but I'm not sure about what's wrong and its younger than a lot of the other chicks in the posts, so I started a new one.

 

[Eggcessive]

Feel its crop to the right side under the neck. Is is full? I would wonder if the the chick may have eaten bedding or something in route and has an impacted crop. Are you sure these chicks are that old? Usually they are shipped at day 1, and can live up to 3 days without food and water, but a chick a few days old could not survive in the mail without it. It sounds like you really need some chick vitamins with electrolytes. Did they send them with any Gro-gel, a blue-green gelatin substance that has vitamins and protein. If so, I guess the chick could have some of that caught in it's throat. With the heat everyone is having, I'm surprised they made it. I certainly hope you can dip it's beak into water and get it back up to speed. Let us know about the progress.

 

[Tara Black]

I'm not sure about the age, they just seem to have more wing feathers than the ones I got from McMurray a few months back, and they were seriously hungry when they got here. We over nighted them, and it took less than 24 hours to get here. I tried feeling her chest, but I'm not sure exactly what I'm feeling and she is so tiny. How would I help with an impacted crop? I didn't get any supplements in the mail with them, but I did have a tiny bit left over from my last batch so I used what was left. I also have her a few drops of water mixed with a tiny bit of honey (for its antibiotic properties) so she is perking up a little, but still lethargic and making the chocking motion when she tries to eat. I've never lost a chick, and I'm trying to find out how to avoid losing this one.

 

[Tara Black]

Ok she has perked up, is eating, drinking and pooping just fine now. Thank you for your help Eggcessive, you have no idea how much I appetriciate it. She seems to have a few toes that are twisting inward and curling under, which is making her unstable and having a hard time standing up, but I'm going to see if B2 and some stretches fix it.

 

[Tara Black]

Well she passed away and now I have another baby LB not eating and drinking much and acting lethargic. I have vitamins and electrolytes in the water. I have a heat bulb on one side if my brood box, so them can thermo regulate. I don't know what I'm doing wrong.

 

[ten chicks]

Well she passed away and now I have another baby LB not eating and drinking much and acting lethargic. I have vitamins and electrolytes in the water. I have a heat bulb on one side if my brood box, so them can thermo regulate. I don't know what I'm doing wrong.

What is the temp in the brooder? Look at info for Coccidiosis. Cocci is a parasitic infection of the intestinal tract,most birds have some cocci in their small intestines,only a problem if they have an overload then we medicate to bring it back under control. Very common for chicks to have an overload,cocci thrives in damp warm conditions,and brooders are ideal for cocci growth. Cocci is spread by droppings which get into feed/water via droppings. Some symptoms are runny/watery poop(may or may not contain blood,depends on which of the 9 strains it is)fluffed feathers,lethargic,weight loss,not eating/drinking properly. Coccidiosis can kill very fast. If symptoms match,purchase Corid(amprolium)dose for Corid 20% powder is 1/2 tsp per gallon of water,dose for Corid 9.6% liquid is 2 tsp per gallon of water. Treat ALL chicks for 5 days,do not give vitamins during treatment(interferes with medication)give vitamins after treatment is complete. Make sure medicated water,is the only water they have to drink.Treating chicks for Cocci will not harm them,but not treating (if they have cocci)will probably result in deaths. Cocci is always my first guess,when chicks stop eating and become lethargic.

 

[Tara Black]

She did have a little blood in her stool a little while ago, and it was very runny. Omg! You are my life saver! Thank you!

 

[ten chicks]

She did have a little blood in her stool a little while ago, and it was very runny. Omg! You are my life saver! Thank you!

Welcome.

 

[ChicksandWeeds]

i just recently had a weak, wobbly, toe turned inward infant baby chick. it had serious trouble getting around and was just mostly standing there. started handfeeding it high protein food and reading up on the turned inward toe thing. was not better the next day - taped the toe for 24 hours on day 2 (https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?...10622815.64187.261323850623341&type=1&theater) - and fed it foods full of vitamin b12 ...dropperfed the chick electrolyte vitamin solution as well as dipped the beak into it a few times a day. (vit b rich foods: scrambled eggs, hard boiled egg yolks, sardines (very little), cooked liver, feta (very little) after 3 days i dusted the scrambled eggs with crumble dust - and it always had access to the crumbles. hand fed it almost 5 days. as long as they are eating ...it'll be ok. if you are treating - then hold off on the vitamin/e-lyte solution. it helped when the other chicks also wanted to eat and i made the pieces very small. my chicks are exposed to dirt so i don't treat for coccidiosis. this chick pooped pretty liquidy the first time i saw it - but there was some sugar in the water that i added on day 1.

 

[Tara Black]

So here is my next question; She is still hanging in there, and I am on day 4 of Corid treatments, but she is still very weak and barely eating or drinking. I'm not afraid to give her drops of water with the Corid in it, via a dropper, but what can I do about her diet? She eats a little maybe 4 times a day, and she is so much smaller than her clutch mates. She drags her wings and barely walks or moves, except for those few times a day that she eats and drinks. If I can't give her the vitamins while she is on Corid, can I make some kinda thin slurry and dropper feed her a bit? If so how do I properly do that? I don't want to make her choke or anything. Should I treat with the Corid for an extra day or two? What else can I do to ensure she gets better?