I'm worried about my peachicks. ***Liver Pics on page 3***

[racuda]

They are seven weeks old now, and they are not eating and act very lethargic.

They were in the house in a cardboard box until they were five weeks old. Then I built an outside pen for them. It was an extension onto my Guinea coop. It is 4 X 8 feet.

I laid chicken wire on the ground, and then put a tarp down. I filled the inside with clean sand about 10 inches deep. Then I put down a layer of pine shavings, since that is what they were used to in their box in the house. I put their box in the new pen since they were freaked out without it.

Most times I look in on them they are either lying down or just standing there in one spot.

I suspected they weren't eating so I marked their feeder and the level didn't go down in the last 24 hours. The water level only went down a little in the same time. They have chick starter/grower in their feeder. It is 20% protien. I scrambled one egg and left it for them last night. Today about half of it is still there.

Two days ago I found one of them dead. I suspect it flew into something and broke it's neck. When I removed the dead chick the others started crying. They all had been eating fine until then. They were lethargic before the chick died, but the loss of appetite started then. Could they be grieving for the dead chick, or does it sound like some illness?

 

[Yoda]

I see food but no water? Are they on medicated chick starter? How is the poop?

 

[racuda]

The water is beside the door. I had just moved the food closer to them before I took the picture, trying to entice them. The starter is medicated and the poop is brown liquid, and has been like that since they hatched. It has never been solid with white, like my chicken chicks.

 

[Knix6468]

My peachicks poop is not consistently liquid. Mostly dark greenish, I would call it mushy to oatmeal and frequently has white spots in it. They are on medicated chick starter too.

We started some of them on the ground a couple weeks ago and we purchased a wormer that covers a broad spectrum of worms instead of what the starter only does. I think its currently in their water.

I am not as experienced with birds as much as others here so Please if anyone else has any ideas post.

 

[Yoda]

When mine are confined I give them other types of foods. I give strained can of mixed veggies (no salt), bread, peanuts, watermelon, grapes, etc. With the poop being a runny liquid I would treat for Coccida, I mix 1 teaspoon per gallon of water daily. I do worm them when they are old enough to go outside I use Safe Guard for goats liquid - 3cc (or 3 ml) to 1 gallon of water for 3 days changing water everyday.

 

[Frosty]

I just wanted to add that medicated feed doesn't have wormer in it. It usually has amprolium which is a coccidiostat. It blocks the thiamine transporter in cocci. It doesn't treat coccidiosis, but is used to prevent it to start with.

You say that you have chicken chicks, if you still have the dead peachick you might want to open it up and check the liver in case they have blackhead.

 

[Yoda]

I doubt that the chicken chicks gave blackhead as they were not outside together.

 

[Kedreeva]

They could have picked up worms from bugs outside, not just chickens... lots of different bugs are hosts to lots of worms, and if they get in the pen... well. But I think you both could be right. It would not hurt to worm the chicks, and it would not hurt to give them medicated starter as well- though if they aren't eating the latter may be difficult. At least with something like ivomec you can give it subq.

 

[chickenzoo]

I would not use Ivomec on birds that are ill, as it can stress their body so much that they die faster. With sick birds I use liquid Safeguard goat wormer. But first I'd try the Corid for coccidia. I have given both Corid with a small amount of Safeguard in the water depending on how ill they are.

 

[racuda]

I have Wazine and Sulmet on hand. Would these be okay for de-worming and Cocci?

Also, they haven't been together with the chickens, except for a trainer chick that was newly hatched in an incubator.