Lethargic chick not lifting her head easily

[LaurenRitz]

I noticed one of the Marans chicks was lethargic yesterday, lying down when just about everyone else was running around. She didn't come out of their heated shelter this morning so I brought her in.

She seems to be walking just fine, eyes are clear, but her head drops to the ground like it's too heavy to hold up and she lies down.

She's eating now, but I haven't seen her drink yet. She doesn't open her beak when I dip her beak in. She hasn't stopped eating since I brought her in. I haven't seen her poop yet. She is 5 weeks old yesterday.

There are two feed and water stations in the coop. I have them on a meat-bird feed for the extra protein. She's actually the largest of this group.

I have vitamin e capsules. I'm hoping she was just not able to get through the free-for-all at the food bowl, but I suspect it's something more.

Edit: I made a neck pillow so she can keep her head up. She opened her beak to drink. Her vent looks good and no vermin I can see.

Edit 2: She was lying down with her head in her food. I moved her to her pillow and she walked back to eat again. Still not drinking on her own, but she'll open her beak when I dip it. She ate some wheat cereal with vit E mixed in.

Edit 3: Her poop was initially green and solid, looked normal except for the color. More recent poop is the same but the green is fading out. I assume the initial green was from the grass she's been eating.

 

[LaurenRitz]

I hope her crop clears out tonight. She's spent most of the day eating but I haven't seen her drink without assistance. She's still pretty weak but a few minutes ago she tried scratching, so that's some kind of improvement.

I put a hint of vit B in her water and fed her a little in a syringe, putting it in the front of her beak and letting her swallow.

 

[realsis]

Does she seem sleepy lethargic? Could be cocci. Do you have Corid to try with her. We all have cocci in our soil and sometimes they can get a bit of overload. If that's the case Corid will help. Hope she feels better soon.

 

[LaurenRitz]

I can try it. Poop looks normal.

 

[LaurenRitz]

She's drinking! Poop still looks normal. She started eating while I was outside this morning, so I don’t know whether her crop emptied.

 

[LaurenRitz]

I think she may be blind. Doesn't respond to movement on either side, although she does respond to sound and touch. Eyes look normal.

This would explain why she was unable to get to food and water through the mob of her siblings, why she ate so hungrilly when I brought her in, and why she panics when I touch her. She can't see me coming. It also explains why she prefers to sleep on top of the food bowl--she can find it later.

She is still very weak and I'm not sure she'll make it. I know I don't have the bandwidth to take care of a special needs chicken.

 

[LaurenRitz]

She found the water--her beak bumped it when she got up from eating. She drank a little and went back to sleep.

 

[SandyRiverChick]

Can you post a pic of her? Is she more "puffed up," looking than the others?

 

[LaurenRitz]

 

[SandyRiverChick]

You may be right that she's blind but if that is not the case I would not give her anymore Vit B, start corid with the whole flock, giving her a drench. https://www.backyardchickens.com/threads/corid-oral-drench-instructions.1211991/