Is my chick sick?

[IzzyEllie3]

So today I found one of my 4-5 week old silkies dead in the brooder. They weren't over heated. I've been keeping their water clean. It's vent wasn't clogged. I didn't see any wounds or anything on it..I just don't know. It had been being lethargic, not hanging with the rest of the chicks during our daily field trips outside and did have more spotty/wonky looking feathers. But I had just assumed it's feathers were coming in..

Is there anything I should be doing for the rest of them? I figure if there was some sort of illness they've all been exposed..

I did a lookover of the rest of the chicks and noticed one of them has feathers missing on it's face. Is this some sort of sickness that y'all know of?

here's the weird side:



and here's the normal:

 

[GitaBooks]

I'm sorry to hear about your chick.

It could have died from cocci (a parasite that is generally noted from blood in the droppings). It could have just been weak, such as had a deformity at birth. It even could have eaten something that killed it.

If the other chicks are lively, eating and drinking, then they should be doing okay. Keep a look out for messy droppings that are green or bloody, a lethargic chick that sleeps standing up with its head bunched against its shoulders and wings drooping. They tend to stand taller than healthy chicks do.

Make sure they are getting water, plenty of nutrition (vitamins especially), and try to keep them warm (not hot) to prevent their immune system from weakening.

As for the missing feathers, it could be that the chick is just growing in new feathers, common at this age.


I hope this helps. Best of luck!

 

[TRMFAM]

Sorry for your loss...we too lost a silkie on day 4 but we knew something was wrong and pretty much GitaBooks summed up the behavior exactly. I watched for hours and hours to be sure everyone was eating, drinking and exiting waste. The little girl that dies never used the bathroom from day 1.