Lost Baby Cochin yesterday - 2 1/2 weeks old what the HECK is this?

[Fields1421]

We have raised a total of 24 poultry and 12 were chickens. We were lucky that we have not lost any so far. We knew it was bound to happen......

Yesterday she was fine in the morning, we found her around 1:00 pm barely breathing and the other chicks were trampling on her. She passed away within 10 minutes. I am unsure on what the cause was. We ended up moving the brooder boxes outside last night of the house now that they are getting there big feathers and I did a complete sanitize of the pens and water and feed dishes. I am not sure what it is, when I did a inspection before we buried her. It looks like tiny rice but not pine shavings and not food crumbs. I though a worm but they aren't moving and were kind of hard....I know chicks can just die but I find this odd and am wondering if I should do anything further to help prevent the others from dying. She did seem

skinnier after.

 

[EggSighted4Life]

Coccidiosis is suspect.

Sorry for your loss.

It's super easy to not notice someone slowing down in large broods.

 

[Fields1421]

Coccidiosis is suspect.

Sorry for your loss.

It's super easy to not notice someone slowing down in large broods.

Thank you!!

 

[EggSighted4Life]

Oh sorry... forgot the really important part!

What are you feeding including treats and supplements please. Any grit? How many birds of what species inside what size brooder/pen? What type of waterer? Did you check her bum when you checked her yesterday? What type of heat source? All questions looking for clues.

I would start others on Corid right away. Found at your local feed store. Even if they are eating medicated feed it may not be enough to fight an outbreak and things can easily get wetter under neath than they look on top. Plus I've seen chicks sample others droppings. Dropping in water is one of the fastest ways for coccidiosis to spread. All may not be equally effected as some will have stronger immune systems. But all should be treated and it will not hurt them, even they don't need it. Aprolium, the active ingredient mimics thiamine and essentially starves out the coccidia. Don't supplement vitamins during this time. Act ASAP, and if you see anyone standing around puffed up, eyes closed, not actively eating and drinking (or you see them pass blood in droppings) then you may want to give them a drench dose straight to the beak. For all others, mix the treatment dose level and make sure it is their only source of water.

Cocci should not effect ducks as much as it will chickens. What are your other poultry? I'm not sure if all are treated equally...

@Eggcessive, I always appreciate your knowledgeable input in these matters.



ETA: @Fields1421

 

[Fields1421]

They are receiving no supplements other than medicated feed and they receive electrolytes in their water. Yes, checked bum no issues. We use heat lamps. We have 10 chicks cochin in brooder. In a different brooder we have 5 americauna and 5 dominiques. Our brooder is large it has had 10 chicks easily before. typical waterer puchased from tractor supply. No grit. Thank you for responding.

 

[KikiLeigh02]

I've only had experience with it in human babies not chicks, but that looks like it could be thrush to me? Maybe @EggSighted4Life has some experience with it in chickens and can say for sure. I can't find any good information on BYC so I may not be phrasing the search right, or searching for the right term. I did find these though:
http://www.thepoultrysite.com/diseaseinfo/27/candidiasis-moniliasis-thrush/
https://www.chickenheavenonearth.co...-chicken-sicknesschicken-heaven-on-earth.html

 

[Eggcessive]

I assume you are asking about the yellow material in her mouth? It looks like plaque which can be from infection. Sometimes it is seen in canker, a disease common in pigeons who spread it to poultry via drinking water. Also in wet fowl pox, it can be found inside the beak, throat, trachea, and in respiratory diseases suchas ILT, coryza, and mycoplasma gallisepticum. It is basically similar to pus and called caseous material. I would refrigerate the body in a plastic bag, and send it to the state vet for a necropsy and testing. Hopefully, the material in your chick’s mouth has a better explanation, but I would be interested in finding an answer. Here is a link to contacting your state vet:
http://www.metzerfarms.com/PoultryLabs.cfm


Here are some pictures of yellow plaques:

Canker

Wet fowl pox photo by Casportpony of BYC

ILT plaques in the trachea or airway

 

[Eggcessive]

Just in case you want to read about canker and the treatment, and I am not saying that is what was happening here, here is a good link:
http://www.poultrydvm.com/condition/canker

 

[EggSighted4Life]

I've only had experience with it in human babies not chicks, but that looks like it could be thrush to me?

My experience with thrush is that it seems whiter and kinda fur covering stuff. It is a yeast infection... and in chickens I might expect to see it in one that was experiencing vent gleet.

For some reason I thought that was food inside the beak.

But if it was some sort of infection it could have been painful to eat and ultimately caused starvation.

Why are you still supplementing electrolytes? Nothing should be supplemented longer than 10 days. If it is the electrolyte packets, those often have vitamins in them and would counteract the effect of the medicated part of the feed rendering it ineffective.

Typical waterers can get droppings in them a lot easier than nipple waterers do... so make sure if you see ANY droppings in it that it gets dumped right away.

I forgot to ask where these chicks came from?

Since you already buried her, we can only guess as to what is MOST typical as this age and with the clues we are given.

I would stop the electrolytes. Consider starting Corid. And refrigerate the body ton send for necropsy if I experience another loss.

Sounds like you got a bunch of fun birds! Loss is never fun, but it's a part of poultry keeping sooner or later. Hope the rest of your flock thrives!