Help! Something wrong with my baby Sultan!

[dancinhorse]

I just got 6 new chicks (different breeds) 6 days ago and now today I see one of the sultans has not grown as much as the others and today is looking half dead. She can barely lift her head and when she does it tilts to the side. She cant walk in a straight line and keeps falling down. What do I do????

 

[arlee453]

First, WELCOME! Sorry your first post is about your sick chick.

Sometimes chicks just don't thrive, but it's often the case that one that is a little bit weaker, or a little bit less aggressive gets shoved away from the feeder and can't get enough to thrive. Then it becomes a vicious cycle of not getting enough and getting even smaller, and getting even less, etc, etc.

What I'd do is first of all, take out this chick several times a day and offer a mash made up of your chick starter with warm water added. Dip her beak in there and encourage her to eat until her crop is full. That will allow her to get as much food as she wants without having to deal with being jostled around at the feeder. Then offer water as well. This will help restore her strength. You may also want to add a suppliment like ChickQuik or AviaCharge 2000 to the water to help boost electrolytes and give extra vitamins to this chick.

As far as the neck - it may be wry neck, which can be from a vitamin/nutritional deficiency or injury OR could be something more serious like Marek's disease.

Mareks usually only hits once the chicks have had a chance to be out on the ground or if they are being brooded in an old or contaminiated brooder. What's your brooder setup? If the brooder is new and the chicks haven't been around other birds or on the ground yet, it is not likely to be Mareks...

Just my 5 c worth....maybe others will chime in with other ideas.

 

[chickenzoo]

I agree, but if you don't have any Vitamins on hand try some sugar water, then get some Poly-vi-sol or chicken Vitamins. If she is getting trampled you might want to put her in a seperate plastic bin etc. that you can still keep in the brooder. That way she will not get squashed. I use plastic bins from the dollar store that have little holes in the sides. Hope she pulls through!

 

[kellim]

Also, if no electrolytes on hand you could try 100% apple juice. I used this with my sick rooster for a few days til I could get Vitamins and Electrolytes and the apple juice worked wonderful.

And Also BTW,

 

[dancinhorse]

Thank you so much for your help and a nice welcome!! Unfortunately my poor little chick died during the night. The others look normal and healthy, but should I give them the vitamins just in case?

To answer one of the questions regarding possible Marek's, I have kept these chicks by themselves in the house away from my chicken coop. Also, I ordered them from Ideal Poultry so I dont know what else they've been exposed to. The cage I have them in has never been used for chickens before.

so, does this mean that it was most likely a vitamin deficiency?

Thanks again for all your replies!!

 

[chickenzoo]

So sorry you lost your baby. It sounds like IMO that is was just the stress of shipping and perhaps just a failure to thrive. It happens to the best of us, out of our hands. If everyone is doing well etc. I wouldn't worry to much, just keep an eye on them.