Lethargic chick, growth not keeping up

[BarrelChicken]

One of our chicks has always stayed under the brooder more than the others but now we barely see her out the last few days. They are 3 weeks old and she is clearly behind the others. They all have most of their backs feathered and she barely has her tail and a little of the back. I’m afraid she might have coccidiosis? I gave her a few drops of milk tonight (warmed to skin temp as I read it will cushion her gut?) and will get Corid in the am.

Will Corid harm the rest of the chicks? They are on medicated feed.

 

[BarrelChicken]

Quick update- she’s still with us and I’m going out to get Corin this morning.

 

[coach723]

The Corid won't hurt anything, but may not help. If they are on medicated feed, that has some in it already, it's usually recommended to not give them both at the same time. So unmedicated feed while on Corid. I don't know if it would actually do any harm (I don't use medicated feed), but better safe than sorry. It may be a failure to thrive chick, it sometimes happens. Internal organs may not be quite right or aren't developing right, they can't absorb nutrients correctly, they don't grow right. Sometimes it's apparent shortly after hatch, sometimes it takes a little longer. In most cases there isn't anything you can do other than supportive care, vitamins, try to get them to eat and drink. I just lost a 1 week old that I suspect was failure to thrive. I've had some live longer, some may even survive, but always be stunted or runty, and can have many health issues later, their immune systems are often weaker. It's always sad, but some just aren't meant to be.

 

[BarrelChicken]

Update: chick is still with us but not any better. Still hides under the brooder all day, doesn’t like to move, always fluffed up, sizeably smaller than the other chicks. I haven’t tried the Corid as a drench but may try that starting tonight since I’m not certain she’s really getting a lot of water. She had a dirty vent this morning, so we cleaned her up and put her back.

 

[coach723]

I know it's hard, I always try to save them too. You are doing everything you can, I wish you luck. Sometimes they surprise you, and sometimes it's just out of your hands.