Is my chick sick?

[Jessimash]

I have a couple of chicks that are almost 2 weeks old. Last week, I introduced sod to them. Since then, the oldest one (by 1 day) started sneezing. I thought nothing of it until yesterday. When I checked in on them, they were resting, but the one that has been sneezing appears to have a faster breathing rate, and it seems to be more labored. There is no sound when he breathes, but his entire body does the breathing. Is this normal? Other than this, he seems to be eating and drinking fine - he drinks more and eats less than the other one, but it appears that he's getting plenty to eat. Are there other symptoms I should be looking for?

In addition, I have not introduced grit until now. Could this be causing a problem?

 

[ChickensAreSweet]

I am not sure about the sneezing and breathing fast.

However, yes they do need some chick grit when ingesting grass, unless they are free ranging for grit.

At their age they won't be finding much grit on their own so I'd get them some chick grit and sprinkle over their food. If you can't get that, I'd give them a bit of sand. Chick grit is smaller than the #3 size cherrystone grit for adult hens. It is size #1. My feed store sells a small bag and a big bag of chick grit.

Sneezing can be environmental. Of course the thing to worry about is brooder pneumonia- aspergillosis from mold. Or of course a respiratory disease. But really I would watch and wait unless you know of an exposure to disease.

Keep an eye out for diarrhea (coccidiosis) when they are little and going on soil for the first time. By 8 weeks of life they are generally immune but I usually end up giving Corid when I raise chicks because of our damp soil.

I hope this helps and I hope your little chick gets better!

 

[Jessimash]

I am not sure about the sneezing and breathing fast.

However, yes they do need some chick grit when ingesting grass, unless they are free ranging for grit.

At their age they won't be finding much grit on their own so I'd get them some chick grit and sprinkle over their food. If you can't get that, I'd give them a bit of sand. Chick grit is smaller than the #3 size cherrystone grit for adult hens. It is size #1. My feed store sells a small bag and a big bag of chick grit.

Sneezing can be environmental. Of course the thing to worry about is brooder pneumonia- aspergillosis from mold. Or of course a respiratory disease. But really I would watch and wait unless you know of an exposure to disease.

Keep an eye out for diarrhea (coccidiosis) when they are little and going on soil for the first time. By 8 weeks of life they are generally immune but I usually end up giving Corid when I raise chicks because of our damp soil.

I hope this helps and I hope your little chick gets better!

I'm going to see what I can get as far as grit tomorrow. I'm hoping this is just an immunity thing that he's working on... When we first put the plod in, there were 2 grubs in it. I'm pretty sure they ate them (I didn't witness it), because when I went in later, they were nowhere to be found.

Right now, I have them in a very large dog crate with the top off and hay as the bedding. I'm hoping the hay hasn't gotten moldy somehow.

 

[Jessimash]

I think my little guy is getting better.

The sneezing has slowed down. He went through a time where he seemed lethargic, but today he has been very busy.

I gave him a tiny bit of coconut oil a few days ago, and then remembered last night that yogurt is good for them. They didn't like the yogurt at first, but as time went along, they decided they love it. haha. They also have grit to pick at if they want. I'm trying not to get too excited, and will continue to watch, but I am hopeful.

 

[Jessimash]

Next question. Today, I made a kind of mash out of the chick starter, yogurt, and a little acv. The sick chick loves this, and ate more than I've seen in a while. A few hours later, and he's suddenly pecking at and acting aggressively towards hge healthy chick. Could this be because he's feeling better?