HELP sick chick not eating/drinking, lethargic, congested - what do I pick up at the feed store?

[Erica]

Hi jojomojo,

those red lights as I understand it work not by heating air, but by causing surfaces/materials to heat up. I wonder if this is causing the paint to give off greater fumes than normal?

Alternatively a lot depends on how you measure temp: with red lamps, it's not so much about air temperature but the temperature of objects sitting below the lamp (or anywhere else in the brooder). Air temp might be normal but if you put your hand in the brooder, you might find it eventually starts to feel rather scalding where the light is striking. It sounds like your chicks are behaving normally in general (apart from the sick ones), and the 80 degree corner sounds like a cool enough spot, but I just add these comments in case it might be worth rethinking how you gauge temperature.

If they're near a kitchen, consider whether non stick frypan use is harming them (toxic fumes from those pans will readily kill small birds caged indoors). Why on earth we let such cookware into our homes I don't know, but that's a separate issue.

Sorry if this is unhelpful, it's a pretty unhappy mystery, all things considered. Respiratory disease remains a possibility, but my feeling is the majority take a little longer to show up. But I could be wrong.

best wishes
Erica

 

[jojomojo]

The infrared thermometer measures the surface temps in the brooder. I thought about the heat possibly causing the the paint to give off fumes it otherwise wouldn't, but thats why I set it up with heat a couple of days prior (did not notice it at all....of course, chicks are more sensitive than me).

We're a non-non-stick household Cast iron all the way.

The silkie seems to be moving around the box a bit more this afternoon, eating with the rest. I guess I'll just keep an eye on them and set up a sick brooder if needed tomorrow when the ecoglow gets here. It sounds like vitamins (and possibly electrolytes) is about all I can do.

 

[jojomojo]

Seeing a very small amount of blood now in the poop (just since the towel change mid-morning. Sounds like cocci, right? They are on medicated feed, but from what I read, thats not enough to be really effective?

I have Corid, but the instructions on the bottle don't mention anything about chickens, just calves. Its the 9.6% solution. I've found lots of different dosage rates, but not sure if they for the solution form (there's powder too, right?), or for 5 day old chicks.

 

[jojomojo]

I found a post suggesting 6 cc / gal for very young birds. Their waterer is a quart jar, so I'm going to use 1.5 cc. Would still love some input, I'm sure I could dump that and re-dose if its wrong.

 

[moomoodiddy]

Yeah, I expected to lose one or two. I ordered a few more than I actually wanted to keep. We've lost 3 and now 3 more are seeming a little off (silkie & two BCM, the welsummer I posted about first seems much much better), makes me nervous. When the ecoglow gets here tomorrow, I can set up a sick brooder if needed, right now I just have the one bulb. 

thats good. i just remembered one year all of my baby ducks and chicks died all of a sudden. it may just be somethin goin round and might pay off to buy a new batch at a dif place. good luck

 

[Whispering_Raven]

I feel for you dearest! Since this is your first time, please allow me to speak a few words. First, take a breath! Relax! I know....easier said than done. In the morning, you need to call the hatchery and tell them what's happening with the babies and ask if they've received any vaccinations and/or similar calls. Others with more experience than I may say different, but in my humble opinion, STOP with all the meds and rushing out for this, that and the other. Pedialite is good....Sugar water is better. Medicated feed...hmm....Being organic,I've never used it, never will. Regular ole chick feed....If you want to grow your own, that's another thread altogether.

As far as the "EcoGlow" thing....I regular light bulb works just as well as anything else, although I do prefer to use both the higherr wattage white light and red lights.

I know you don't want to hear this, but sometimes babies die. And when we all started, we all cried when they did. Even now, our human hearts want to save them all, but sometimes we just can't. But right now, you are panicking and I think your best bet is to contact the hatchery as soon as they open and try to figure out what may be happening instead of stressing and guessing.

I wish you success with the babies! I will watch the thread for updates!

Tracy

 

[jojomojo]

I feel for you dearest! Since this is your first time, please allow me to speak a few words. First, take a breath! Relax! I know....easier said than done. In the morning, you need to call the hatchery and tell them what's happening with the babies and ask if they've received any vaccinations and/or similar calls. Others with more experience than I may say different, but in my humble opinion, STOP with all the meds and rushing out for this, that and the other. Pedialite is good....Sugar water is better. Medicated feed...hmm....Being organic,I've never used it, never will. Regular ole chick feed....If you want to grow your own, that's another thread altogether.

As far as the "EcoGlow" thing....I regular light bulb works just as well as anything else, although I do prefer to use both the higherr wattage white light and red lights.

I know you don't want to hear this, but sometimes babies die. And when we all started, we all cried when they did. Even now, our human hearts want to save them all, but sometimes we just can't. But right now, you are panicking and I think your best bet is to contact the hatchery as soon as they open and try to figure out what may be happening instead of stressing and guessing.

I wish you success with the babies! I will watch the thread for updates!

Tracy

I wouldn't say I'm panicking

I posted once a day for 3 days with no reply (I was very grateful for input when I got it though!). Seems when chicks start heading downhill, they go fast. By Saturday, I figured I'd just grab several things to keep on hand for a little first aid kit (actually meant to do it before they got here...but I procrastinate). So if someone did come along and say "you should try such and such", I could. Its not easy for me to get to the store too often, could be another week before I could get there. But if someone had come along and said "you're doing all you can"....I could live with that Up until tonight, all I've given them is food, water & vitamins (if I could have found unmed/organic food in this town I would have bought it, but there's none to be had).

Completely unrelated to chickens....I kind of have an anxiety about smoke/fire. The bulb has to go

I appreciate your wish for success. I wish for it too! All of them seem much better this evening. I thought about contacting the hatchery, but wasn't sure what they'd say (I did contact them about the one DOA and they refunded).

 

[Whispering_Raven]

So glad to hear your babies are doing better. I had a shipment come in this morning myself of 43 chicks. I've lost three so far and looks like one more might not make it. It sucks, but it happens. I'm actually going to ask a forum what a typical mortality rate is on hatchery shipments since this is my first time buying from a professional hatchery. I'm curious to know.

I also live in a rural community so I understand exactly what you mean about getting to the store. More of a chore than anything!

Please keep posting! I'd like to know how they continue to do this week!


-Tracy

 

[jojomojo]

Tonight will be day 4 of Corid. There's still blood showing up in the poop (and some still have watery poop, some dark brown, some clear like water). Other than that, they all seem perfectly normal. I don't hear the clicking in the two birds that had it. And I think the silkie that seemed uninterested in the food may have just been holding back because all the big chickies just squish her out of the way anyway (she was chowing down after they had their fill). They are all darting around the brooder, testing their wings/feathers, some trying out the roost (and the ones who haven't figured it out, pull the ones that did down by their toes lol).

So I have a couple of questions...

Since they are so young, I've been giving Corid at 6cc/gal, no vitamins. Should I stop at day 5? Go for 7 days?

Would it be a good or bad idea to get a chunk of grass/dirt from the backyard and put it in their brooder? (or just take them outside). We have a TON of birds around our yard (just moved here, previous owners must have LOVED feeding birds, 6-7 birdhouses & feeders...each lol). I've read that some people start day old chicks right off with some dirt from outside, but unsure if thats a good idea at this point (since they are already stressed & have blood in their poop). Should I let them get completely better before introducing dirt/grass?

Is there an amount of time I should wait to start vitamins after stopping Corid?

The diarrhea they've been having...could this just be from excess water from their "treat"? I mix a couple of T. of starter with about 3 times the amount of their water. They love it

Thanks for the help everyone!

 

[GrandmaChickie]

I'm going to be very clear that this is just my opinion. But I started taking my chicks outside from day one. I could be completely wrong, but that's what mother hens do, and I think all growing things need some sunshine to be healthy. Of course, I supervised my chicks closely, and I only had one sickly chick, whom I nursed along with sugar water, then electrolyte water, then on crushed crumbles in water for a week before she perked up. She was just weak from the trip, however, not really sick.