Lethargic chick

[Duck_life]

I have a chick that seems sickly. She's all fluffed up and mostly sleepy. She's about 5 weeks old. They're already in a coop but they'res so many chicks I figured they would keep each other warm. Which has been going great. All survived 35 F a few days ago. I'm keeping her separate with another that WAS sick like, she's currently doing great but the other one still is very sleepy. She's eating and drinking fine. She's very thin though, 2 died this morning so I'm not sure what that's from, I figured the space was to crowded and they were trampling each other since they've been doing that lately.. I just put them into a bigger coop today. Not sure if she was just cold? I have a bunch of other poultry so I don't exactly want anything going around my flocks. Thanks for any help.

 

[azygous]

I'd guess with two suddenly dead, one sick, another evidently recovering, you have something going around in the chick population.

The cold could kill if the chicks went suddenly from a warm environment to a near freezing coop without acclimatizing. Sudden swings in temperature are hard on adult chickens, but it can easily kill chicks.

There's also the possibility of a bacterial infection if the chicks were placed into conditions where bacteria was overwhelming their defenses. Coccidia could also have been lurking in the coop to attack these new vulnerable hosts.

One way to get some answers is to have a vet run a simple fecal float test in some random chick poop samples. It will tell you if worms or coccidia are present. For an additional fee and it would take longer, you can ask for a gram stain test for bacteria.

 

[CluckerFamily]

Are you still using a heat lamp?
I normally use a heat lamp until they have all their feathers.

 

[azygous]

Another possibility is constipation or crop and gizzard issues. Have the chicks been getting grit?

Check the poop since you have the chick isolated. If it's very thin, dry, small and hard, you will need to treat her with coconut oil to lubricate things so her system moves stuff through again.

 

[Duck_life]

Another possibility is constipation or crop and gizzard issues. Have the chicks been getting grit?

Check the poop since you have the chick isolated. If it's very thin, dry, small and hard, you will need to treat her with coconut oil to lubricate things so her system moves stuff through again.

Now that you mention it, I used layer yesterday as feed to replace their chick feed which I used all of, I also used it today, probably not the smartest move but We'll be getting more feed for them tomorrow, the chick is getting better suddenly? She's moving around fine now, just fluffed up. Checked on the other chicks and they're fine. Not sure if this has anything to do with it but I has my 6 months old in their coop which they were in the past week, I had a 2 year old in their as well who is currently molting. Thank you for the reply

 

[Duck_life]

Another possibility is constipation or crop and gizzard issues. Have the chicks been getting grit?

Check the poop since you have the chick isolated. If it's very thin, dry, small and hard, you will need to treat her with coconut oil to lubricate things so her system moves stuff through again.

And This chick hasn't pooped all day until 8 minutes ago, though it was white and a bit watery with green in it.

 

[Duck_life]

Are you still using a heat lamp?
I normally use a heat lamp until they have all their feathers.

They have all their feathers, but no I haven't, I was thinking about putting them back under if I find anymore dead in the morning.

 

[azygous]

Give the chick a teaspoon of coconut oil, chilled slightly to make it solid. Stick tiny bits into its beak until all the oil is inside the chick. Gently massage its crop to distribute the oil. I'm guessing the chick is constipated.

The layer feed isn't going to be a problem in just the few days the chicks have been eating it. But you should probably start providing grit to them. Chick grit sprinkled over the floor of the coop should head off any more problems with constipation.

 

[Duck_life]

Give the chick a teaspoon of coconut oil, chilled slightly to make it solid. Stick tiny bits into its beak until all the oil is inside the chick. Gently massage its crop to distribute the oil. I'm guessing the chick is constipated.

The layer feed isn't going to be a problem in just the few days the chicks have been eating it. But you should probably start providing grit to them. Chick grit sprinkled over the floor of the coop should head off any more problems with constipation.

Thank you! I appreciate it.