How to treat sick 3 week old chick?

[Eggcessive]

I' m not trying to convince you that she has coccidiosis, but they can have runny poops without blood with cocci. Some strains cause blood while some don't. I hope she gets along well and gets better.

 

[silarajc]

I understand. Without taking a sample to the vet (and with it being the weekend, it would be hard to do), you treat what is most likely to be the cause.

With her seeming to eat & drink so little, I would probably have to use a syringe and administer orally to make sure she gets enough, correct?

 

[Eggcessive]

I would dip the beak into the water for a second at a time, letting her swallow, and repeat. A lot of chickens get choked when fed by a syringe. You can also hold a small cup up to the beak, or use a spoon. Liquids are the most important with cocci, since they will have belly pain and not be hungry.

 

[silarajc]

oh, yes! I was giving the slurry to her by dipping her beak, which she wasn't drinking on her own but I could get her to swallow if I dipped her beak - I spent a couple of 30 minute sessions tonight doing that. And afterwards she ate a little.

I meant, how is the recommended way to administer the corid?

And I'm beginning to think she may have sour crop...while holding her I was feeling for her crop and I felt a mushy, almost like air-filled are where I think her crop should be. Yikes, I have so much to learn!

 

[Eggcessive]

It seems that crops sometimes will become slow to empty when sick with coccidiosis or some other illnesses. Now, this doesn't mean there is not a crop problem, only that it can slow down with cocci. She will eat when she gets hungry She needs to drink the Corid mixture in the water, but you can also give her a couple of drops of concentrated Corid twice a day. This would be the liquid concentrate before adding to the water, or you can make the same with 1 1/2 tsp of the powder added to 2 tsp of water. Hopefully, she will start drinking normally on her own.

 

[DwayneNLiz]

There are different strains of coccidosis which may or may not present blood in the fece, it depends which strain and where in the intestines it is located:

 

[silarajc]

That is an excellent chart - thank you!

 

[silarajc]

Update: She is still spending a bit more time standing with her eyes closed than the others, but she seems to be doing more running around and eating and drinking. I actually have two that I can't tell apart, but they are both acting like they feel better. Wondering if maybe this breed has more of a "hunched" posture? I don't know what I have - a layer assortment.

When we have outside play time they are exploring instead of standing. I adopted the "wait and see" method, as I didn't want to kill off the vaccine and she never seemed quite ill enough to warrant it. I have ordered some chick probiotic and will give it to this flock and the 8 new chicks I've added (I heard about "chicken math", and it seems to be a real danger!).

 

[DwayneNLiz]

glad to hear they seem to be feeling better