help please, sick 4 week old chicks

[chopperchick]

hi there, please some advise, i have 5 spangle hamburgs chicks that have been nice and healthy up until today, i went to feed them this morning, one looked quite slow, didnt get off perch, not interested in food, i picked it up, butt end looks fine ( not runny or smelly), crop doesnt seem hard or compacted, so left it alone, just went to check and now another one has gone the same way, cant seem to hold up the weight of their wings, they just flop down, eyes are bright, but as soon as i step away from them they close their eyes and hang heads...........
i ran out of food a couple of days ago and have been feeding cooked rice and bird seed till i got back into town, is this a problem.....
i have removed these 2 from the others, any ideas please, i really dont want to lose these little darlings. thanks

 

[william9792]

i don't think they are ready to eat those food yet as a only food, they need to be on starter feed asap

 

[chopperchick]

have removed them and given them the starter again, is there anything else i could do?

 

[sammi]

keep a check on the crops and droppings,
and get them some chick vitamins..
hope they perk up..

how old are they?
what temp are you keeping them?

 

[chopperchick]

well the bad news is that one has since died and the other is extremely unwell too,
they are 4 weeks old and because i am in new zealand its the middle of summer and stinking hot, i am not worrying about the temp, they have been outside for about a week now in their own coop,
the other 3 i have moved the coop into new grass and sprayed the whole coop and area with a strong virus disenfectant, they are back on chick crumbs - medicated ones, so i guess thats all i can do?

 

[tiki244]

just something here to add: I dont know for sure, but I think you should keep younguns away from your older chickens for about 4 months. I mean not in the vecinity of them at all. I dont know if you are doing this but thought I should mention it.

Because they need to build up the immunity first before they are exposed to older chickens. And some diseases can be airborne.

 

[Enchanted Sunrise Farms]

Since you had them off the chick starter, make sure you give them some grit so they can digest that rice and bird seed. And exactly how hot is it? Chickens are better at tolerating cold than heat. When it gets too hot here i add misters around my coops, spray down the dirt frequently, and even add a fan.

Other thing to check is for mites and lice. Tip them over and check their vent area, close to the base of the feather shaft, and see if you see anything moving. Look close, those little buggers are small.

Also, can you take a fecal sample into a vet to check for worms and coccidiosis?