Lethargic Chick Needs Help!

[KrystalRose]

I have a 16 week old EE hen that I just noticed is being mopy and not moving around like her coop mates. She looks completely healthy, normal poop, clear eyes and comb, no mites, not laying yet and doesn't have a red comb yet so I don't think she is ready yet. What can I do to help her? She has a clean coop, food and water all the time, and plenty of space. Help!

 

[KrystalRose]

I would also like to add that all my chicks got vaccinated at the hatchery for both mereks and cocc. and have been kept in an enclosed run/coop their whole life with no other chickens coming in or out. They have DE in their food and probiotic/vitamin water. I am at a loss. Anyone have any ideas?

 

[KrystalRose]

I just put out some ACV and she drank a good bit of that. Still sluggish though.

 

[enola]

I would suspect worms or coccidia. Have you wormed her?

 

[KrystalRose]

I have not wormed them, I have kept diotomatious earth all over their coop and run and I mix it into their feed which is supposed to help. I also have been giving them a lot of whole garden fresh squash and pumpkin the last few weeks whish is supposed to be a natural de-wormer.

After I put in the Apple Cider Vinegar water she drank a ton of it and started coming out of the funk, then I gave all the chicks some cooked oatmeal / cornmeal / garlic since garlic is supposed to help the immune system and they love that combo and I wanted to see how she would eat and she at a good bit of it, not as fast as everyone else but she stood in the bowl and ate a decent amount, and has started coming even more out of her funk since then and is probably back to 60% normal activity.

I will keep my fingers crossed overnight and if she isn't doing well in the morning I will get some RX for her. I also checked around the coop for any weird stool and couldn't find anything weird. But I am glad she is eating and drinking and walking around more than earlier today. Fingers Crossed tonight!

Also, I double checked, they still have plenty of clean food and water as always. I also double checked her vent for mites and didn't find any, I also double checked for any weird drainage or coloration in her face and didn't see any, and she hasn't been picked on anywhere. I am stumped, hopefully she just had a little bug or dehydration for some reason and will keep feeling better? I did switch to water nipples a few weeks ago, so maybe she isn't using them like she should but I would have thought I would have had a problem by now, and she was one of the first to figure them out.

 

[KrystalRose]

Well today she seemed slightly better but still moving in slow motion, but she does move around all day, and isn't laying around much. I did check her this morning for sour crop, but her crop was empty like it should be first thing in the morning. She has been eating and drinking this whole time and still looks fairly normal. Not puffing up the feathers or weird behavior other than just being in slow motion. She isn't eating as much as normal, but then she isn't using the energy she used when she was running around either. I gave all the chicks, her included, AVC water as well as probiotic vitamin water in rotation for the past day and a half, plus last night and tonight I gave them cooked oatmeal / cornmeal / garlic / oregano / probiotic vitamins for a dinner treat. She stood in the middle of that plate and ate with all the rest, albeit in slow motion but still ate. Tomorrow if she isn't showing any more signs of improvement I am going to give her something, but I am not sure what to get? Does this sound like Cocci or something else? Can they just get a cold or something like us? I am confused, any suggestions? I did find one, and only one stool in the whole coop that had a little maroon color to it but nothing crazy or obvious blood and I didn't find anymore of it anywhere. Could she just be fighting a mild case of cocci since she was vaccinated?

 

[KrystalRose]

Oh and I also put some Diotomatious Earth in with the oatmeal both nights. I have been trying to go the natural way of cures and healing up to this point but if she isn't showing more improvement by tomorrow I will go get some sort of antibiotic or medication if there is anything someone can suggest for what she is experiencing. If nothing else I will go with some sort of cocci treatment. But if it sounds like some other problem let me know.

 

[enola]

Did you see my post? Have you thought about treating for worms or coccidia?

NONE of the measures you have taken will work on worms or coccidia............

 

[KrystalRose]

Ok, well I have started them on Corid just in case that is what is bugging her.

And as for the measures I have been doing, depending on who you ask, they do help eliminate the chance of having worms and illness. The raw pumpkin seeds I have been feeding them are coated with a substance called cucurbitacin that paralyzes the worms, allowing the chickens to flush them out. Also pumpkins contain antioxidants, as well as high levels of Vitamin A, both of which strengthen immune systems and help them better combat illness. The DE I put in their food as well as all over their coop also helps by causing microscopic cuts in the worms and other bugs. The garlic I give them boosts immune systems, increases respiratory health and it is also thought that mites, lice, ticks and other parasites are not as attracted to the blood of animals who eat a lot of garlic. Garlic is also a natural wormer and reduces the smell of chicken manure in flocks fed garlic regularly. Oregano is a natural antibiotic. The ACV in the water is great for their immune systems, guards against bad bacteria and maintains digestive health in the intestines by lowering the pH levels to a level that worms don't like.

I am not saying the natural methods are foolproof or that they are the best way to go all the time, I try to do them on a regular basis to keep up their immune systems. I am new to chickens so I can only go off of what other people have done or what I have read, I do know that not everything you read is credible but since I am trying to keep to the most natural way of raising animals that I can, I guess I figured I owed it to myself and my animals to give it a good try. Maybe I should have tried it longer but I cannot stand to see an animal suffer any more than necessary. I do hope the Corid helps my lethargic chick but I do partly credit her ability to fight whatever she has rather well as well as the good health of the other 20 chickens she is with to the methods I have been doing.

From what I read about Corid, I decided to give them 2 tsp. per gallon of water for the first day, then 1 tsp. per gallon for the next 4 days after that. None of them have started laying yet, but if I am right you are not supposed to eat any eggs layed for the 5 days of treatment, as well as the 4 days after treatment. If this is correct or not correct please let me know. I really hope they don't lay during the next 9 days since I wouldn't be able to eat and fully enjoy their first egg. Maybe blow it out and keep it or something? I chose this treatment since I read that it will treat all types of Cocci and is the least harsh to the chickens (also depending on who you ask). Decoding everyone's opinions on this site can be a little difficult at times! A BIG thanks to my local farm vet who poured me a small bottle out of his gallon jug and only charged me $3.00. I could have bought some from a store but I would have had to buy a ginormous amount since they sell it for cows.

Please let me know if my dosage of Corid as well as the not eating eggs 4 days after is correct. Also how soon should I expect my lethargic chick to start bouncing back? She has been eating and drinking fairly normally this whole time and has been hanging out with the other chickens and preening herself. The only thing I have noticed her doing is going in what looks like slow motion, and not caring as much as normal when we pick her up or pet on her.