Help! Chicks dying!

[Stacey050608]

My babies are dying on me, and I can't pinpoint why!!!! We had a couple sudden deaths, with no symptoms beforehand. Then a few started to get puffy eyes, and were acting lethargic.

We've treated the coop for mites/lice with Permethrin, bc I thought I saw something crawling on one of the sick babies. We put Corid in their water, treated with Tylan, and Terramycin for their eyes.

I have 13 babies left, ranging from 4-6weeks approximately. 3 have been quarantined for a few days, no improvement. And woke up to a 4th with a puffy eye yesterday.

I've been lucky over the last 6 or so years I guess, because I've never dealt with sick chicks before. What could be going on here???

 

[Grits&Eggs]

I usually keep mine separate from the flock until they are about 5 weeks, so not sure - could they be bullied by the rest of the flock?

 

[Stacey050608]

They are separated. My older 5 hens are across the yard in a separate pen. :/

 

[nightowl223]

Your flock may have picked up one of the large list of diseases that wild birds carry all the time. It's almost impossible to prevent a flock from being exposed to them unless you have extreme biosecurity, including having your flock inside an enclosed building with no access to the outside. And that's no real life for a chicken, IMO. The problem with getting help through this kind of forum is that we aren't there to see the symptoms closely, and can't run tests to find out what it might be. All we can do is give you suggestions based on what we have gone through, ourselves.

It sounds like you've tossed several medicines at the problem. That's not always the best thing, as some medicines can inhibit how other medicines work. I would pick one medicine, like the Tylan, and stay with it until it's had at least a few days to see if it will do anything to help. Corid is usually only good for coccidiosis, although it's excellent against it. You can still put the antibiotic ointment in their eyes, as that won't affect Tylan.

You can also put ACV (with the mother) in their water, and maybe honey, too, to give them an extra boost, IF you're not using the water to dose them with the Tylan. Either way, you need to use glass or plastic to hold the water, as both Tylan and vinegar can react badly with the metal in waterers. I'd do the ACV & honey every other day, and the off days, I'd add the water-soluble vitamins/electrolytes like Durvet sells to their water. Of coures, if you're using Tylan in the water, that means you can't put the other stuff in the water. You could make a mash with their food, using water mixed with the vitamins/electrolytes one day, and the ACV/honey the next. That could get the extra boost into them without interfering with the Tylan in the water.

I would also say that, at this point, whatever it is has already been likely spread to the other little ones, too, so I'd give the same treatment as I listed above to them, too, if you're not already treating them, as well. Best of luck to you!

 

[Stacey050608]

This has been over the course of about 3 weeks now. Corid was what we used first, for 5 days in their water. Nothing changed.

I will have to go get some of the ACV with the mother. But at this point, I'm not very optimistic.

Thank you for the response!

 

[Kiki]

They are separated. My older 5 hens are across the yard in a separate pen. :/

Have your older hens ever suffered from an illness? Across the yard is not far enough to keep anything's ng from spreading.

 

[Stacey050608]

Never! I've never had an illness in my flock before. I'm baffled!

 

[nightowl223]

Never! I've never had an illness in my flock before. I'm baffled!

Just becaues you've never had anything before doesn't mean it can't happen. Like I said before, it's almost impossible to avoid getting at least something from wild bird flocks. You can hope it's something your birds are immune to, but I'd wager that any flock that has contact with the outside world which also has wild birds, even songbirds, around, has got at least some form of disease from them. It's sort of like how chicken pox used to be, it was just something kids always got, and then they were immune to it afterwards. Or how the common cold is - sometimes, in some people, it can develop into something worse. Birds get viruses or bacterial infections, too, and they spread them everywhere they fly and flock. And if your chickens are able to be outside, they are exposed to whatever the songbirds in your area have. It's nothing against the flock keeper, it's just a fact of life.

Whatever it is, it's quite possible your adult birds are likely already immune to it, and your younger ones haven't yet developed an immunity to it.