Help! very sick chick

[winky]

I have a 3 month old chick who is suddenly very weak and lethargic this morning. So weak she won't eat and can barely hold her head up. A quick exam showed
no obvious trauma and respiratory rate seems about normal. Her crop is empty so I gave her some oral dextrose just in case she's hypoglycemic for some reason... that was just a few minutes ago so I'll know if that helped in a few minutes. I also gave her a heat lamp. She's housed in a stall with access to an outdoor pen. She has other chicks in with her who are all acting normal. I switched food about two weeks ago and most of the flock isn't eating as much (the new diet is wheat based and is corn and soy free) so I've been sprinkling in some scratch to keep them eating, but no other changes. I have lots of emergency medications and some vet tech skills but I just don't know where to begin with a sick chicken. I'm pretty sure this bird is not long for this world but I want to try something. Any thoughts?

 

[collisinana]

Hmmm, Something like that happened to one of my two month old red cap chicks. My best advice would be to keep her comfortable, maybe wrap her up in an old towel and hold her for a little while. Fill up a small spoon with water and add any vitamins if you have any. I think the ones I used were gro-chick or something. Dip her beak in it and see if you can get her to drink anything. I wouldn't work to hard on getting her to eat. Try to keep her happy because she probably wont last much longer Good luck. I hope this helps.

 

[cafarmgirl]

At that age and with the sudden onset of those symptoms I would treat them all immediately with a round of Corid. As in today, now. Doing so will at least rule out coccidiosis which is so common in young birds and extremely lethal in a very short amount of time. Corid works very fast, if it is coccidiosis you will see improvement very quickly provided it hasn't progressed too far. For the sick bird, dose her with it directly by putting some in her beak every hour or so the first day. WIth luck she'll be eating and drinking on her own by the next day.

Now obviously if you run this treatment and still have the same symptoms showing then your dealing with something else and will have to investigate further. But, if it IS coccidiosis you may well save this one and the others by treating now.

 

[winky]

Thanks for your prompt replies! I managed to get some subQ fluids in but she's still really dumpy even after the fluids and dextrose. I do have Corid 9.6% but it's labeled for calves. Any ideas about mixing this for poultry? Is 4.7ml/gallon sound right?

 

[cafarmgirl]

Thanks for your prompt replies! I managed to get some subQ fluids in but she's still really dumpy even after the fluids and dextrose. I do have Corid 9.6% but it's labeled for calves. Any ideas about mixing this for poultry? Is 4.7ml/gallon sound right?

That is correct, Corid is lableled for calves. I am not sure of the dose for the 9.6%, I've only used the 20% powder. I think you'll find the answer if you do a quick search on this forum. Good luck, hope she makes it.

 

[dawg53]

Thanks for your prompt replies! I managed to get some subQ fluids in but she's still really dumpy even after the fluids and dextrose. I do have Corid 9.6% but it's labeled for calves. Any ideas about mixing this for poultry? Is 4.7ml/gallon sound right?

The Corid 9.6% liquid solution dosage is 9.5cc's per gallon of water for 5-7 days. Make a fresh batch daily.

 

[winky]

Found a 9.6 ml/gallon dose on this forum so I used that and syringe fed the chick several mls and put some down for all the others. Keeping my fingers crossed. Thanks!

 

[dawg53]

Found a 9.6 ml/gallon dose on this forum so I used that and syringe fed the chick several mls and put some down for all the others. Keeping my fingers crossed. Thanks!

FYI...ml and cc are the same. One half ml wont make a difference, some people use 10ml's/cc's per gallon of water.

 

[winky]

Well. this little chick is still alive but she's still sick. She's had corid for two days now, she's eating and drinking if I put food and water right in front of her but not walking around. She sits with her legs stretched out in front of her and she won't flap her wings when I mock drop her. It's looking neurological. She can move all extremities and has good sensations in them but won't use them appropriately. She's holding her head up better and looking more alert but is still very sick. I have her isolated with one buddy, she has a heat lamp and food and water within her reach. Unfortunately I have her on shavings and straw so I haven't been able to get a look at her poop yet. What are some other diseases I should consider?