Help Sick Chick

[Creativedogma]

OK..just went to check on the girls...all 10 weeks old & on medicated feed. One is cowering in corner. She didn't fight at all when I picked her up. She seems week in the knees. She might be the chick I saw earlier on a very high roost who seemed afraid to get down...maybe she is hurt. She feels warm but not too warm.

I have all sorts of meds available for chicks...you name it I am prepared. I would like to go natural first....any experience with collodial silver out there?

She can walk but she seems down in the dumps. She made a poo that looked white & runny.

I have isolated her in the "hospital" mini coop.

Thanks in advance for advice.

 

[chickletranch]

She just may be the lowest chick in the pecking order and afraid to eat, or mix with the others. I would separate her and see if she eats. Try giving her some scrambled eggs. You can also put some vitamins in her water (I use Vita Flight, which is easily found at most pet stores). If she eats, that's a good sign. Good Luck, Lynn

 

[threehorses]

First off, by medicated do you mean with amprolium alone?

The white runny dropping is not normal. The temperature is normal. Birds don't really run fevers. Their normal temperature is around 105.7 degrees and can safely go above that. (Of course, we're not counting overheating due to environment as a fever - we're talking about their own body temperature going up without external factors.)

I wouldn't use colloidal silver anywhere except externally with birds.

Some questions for you. First, is this chick from a professional hatchery, feedstore that buys from a hatchery, or a breeder? Or were they home raised? If home raised, were your original birds from the above sources? Or did you get them from an individual who possible doesn't test for pullorum?

Is it possible that, due to the heat, she drank a lot of fluid and passed her urates (the solid white of droppings that are usually the bird's 'urine') along with the extra water? You'll want to check all of her droppings, keeping her separate and handling her as if she's a sick bird until otherwise cleared. Make a special note of all of her droppings within the next few hours.

Her weight - is she thin about her keel, as if she's being pushed around? Or is she quite heavy? What breed is she?

Put her in a separate brooder, and make sure that they're not too hot. This can cause all of what you've seen. Check her and make sure she doesn't have mites, etc. Give her a batch of feed including some yogurt or (better yet) acidophilis tablets from the grocery store/pharmacy. You can find them in the vitamin section. You crush one of the tablets, mix it with some mashed egg yolk - make a teaspoon out of the mixture, and give that to her. You can add a little water to make it easier to eat. If you have yogurt, use a 1/3rd teaspoon or so of yogurt (plain, or no chunks) with the egg yolk and try that. Leave her medicated crumbles in with her and some water. Do not put extra stuff in the water yet. If you feel she's too hot, you can use a small amount of pedialyte, or organic apple cider vinegar.

I would absolutely give her either the yogurt or acidophilus as whatever she has, until we determine what it is, is causing her digestive system to not work as normal producing excess water. Were she simply not eating much, the droppings would be thin, darkish (forest) green or bright green with bile.

Watch her eating especially - make sure she does. Watch the other birds. If any other bird shows the same symptoms, put them in with her. They do better with a buddy.

 

[Creativedogma]

Thanks for all the feedback. Reputable seller/breeder who buys from a very reputable hatchery.

Just checked...she has mites ....what do I do now?

I dusted her & all the others with diatomaceous earth just now. I will continue to keep her separated. She looked fine this morning.

She has mites & it appeared a couple of the others did too. I rubbed DE all under all of their wings & really all over their bodies.

What kinds of symptoms do you see with mite problems?


She is eating & drinking but is very lethargic.

 

[Creativedogma]

Forgot to say...she doesn't seem thin about the keel. She is a barred rock about 10 weeks old.

 

[threehorses]

Ah mites - good - that's something we can work with!

You'll want to actually treat her for mites with dust, rather than DE. You don't ever want to dust a bird with DE - it's too hard on their respiratory system. You want to put it in their dustbathing area and in amounts where you can't see. So try to cover her face a bit and ruffle that stuff out of her feathers, please.

I'd use something like a poultry dust or sevin. You'll need to do all your birds and the premises. Then do it again in 10 days.

Mites will make a bird very anemic very quick. The symptoms range from lethargy, to shock, weight less, inability to stand, etc etc etc. It can also include pasty vent as anything that causes stress slightly disables the good bacteria from doing their best at keeping the gut healthy and moving. I am not surprised to hear of crop stasis (sour crop) in mite birds, either. It can quickly kill them.

Alot of power in a small mite, there is!

You'll need to build her back up - her blood. Don't do it with normal chick vitamins/electrolytes. Use the non-iron added baby vitamins that others recommend here. Then use probiotics of some sort as I mentioned in my other post. Egg yolks - mashed with the yogurt or whatever, a little water, that would help tremendously.

 

[NotTheMomma]

Read through threehorses's post and nodding my head yup, yup, and yup "what she wrote!!"

Keeping ya chicka in my thoughts!

Mites or Lice?

 

[threehorses]

Quote:
All mistakes made by me. All mistakes I swore I wouldn't let someone else learn the hard and heartbreaking way.