My bantam is pale and sick

[bantamgal]

I have a 4 month bantam chicken and it is very pale(almost white) in the head area and sleeps a lot. It has been this way for about a week. I treated 10 of them for cocci about 2 months ago and they got better but later 6 got real pale and after 4 weeks they died. This one does not have bloody poop at this time. It has leg mites but I am trying to get rid of them. I just wormed it with ivermectin.

Right now it is panting a lot. I hope I didnt give it too much wormer. I fed it oatmeal and tomatoes because it hasnt been eating very much. Normally the food is chick starter and scratch. All the chickens are on pine shavings. All the adults are healthy but the chicks got sick, and never really got that much better afterwards.

I dont have too much money to go to the vet so I would have to treat at home. It doesnt have any body lice. It was sneezing a little bit a couple of weeks ago. In fact a lot of them were. It still has some energy and sparkle in its eyes. But I just cant see another one gradually fade away to nothing and die. I just dont know what is wrong. I have been reading and researching and just cannot figure it out.

Any help would be greatly appreciated. I hope I put everything in here that you need to know.


editted to change the number of chicks

 

[unionwirewoman]

Sounds like my BR that died not too long ago...nobody could figure it out . Hopefully someone will come along with some advice for you...so sorry...I do know how it feels though .:aww

 

[dlhunicorn]

stop feeding scratch and treats (this dilutes the nutritional profile of the feed and can even upset the balance of nutrients)... get a good general supplement and three drops of polyvisol for a week. You also need to put electrolytes in the water for the sick chick as long as it is panting (forego the general supplement while doing this as there should be vitamins in wiht the electrolytes however do not give the electrolytes once it has stopped panting and drinking sufficiently again) Offer all of them free choice live culture yogurt.

 

[bantamgal]

Quote:
Oh so sorry to hear that!


Kay is still alive today but still very very pale. I put Blue Ribbon electrolytes and Vitamins in her water. And giving her just chick feed. She is still sleepy too.

 

[PeeperKeeper]

Yes we all agree, vets are expensive. So you need to become the Chicken Doctor! Follow what dlunicorn said ( she's very wise). and start getting you a little chick first aid kit together. They are just like children....always get sick at night or on weekends!

 

[bantamgal]

Thanks for the help. She is not any better yet. Could she have gotten an overdose of Sulmet? Or a secondary infection?


Out of the original flock of chicks there is 2 very healthy males, 1 healthy(?) female, 1 sick female. And the dead ones total is 4 females and 2 males.


So, anyway I had 10 to begin with and have 4 left. Why couldn't it have been a different one? Not Kay!


She is still very pale. And breathing kinda funny. She is eating, but she seems really thin.

The last one that died just panted and panted and stayed in one spot and then died. She was sick for 4 weeks before she passed.

 

[bantamgal]

Should I give her antibiotics?

 

[bantamgal]

She is still with us. And she is still very pale. She seems to be ok but not too vital. I had her outside yesterday in a cage so she could get some sun, until the other chickens gathered around and started picking on her through the cage.

Is there anything else we can do? Thanks

 

[speckledhen]

It's possible that the cocci did more damage internally to that chick than the others. The paleness is indicative of the blood loss and damaged intestines, IMO. I had one that had a very rough time recovering from cocci this year. He's fine now. I fed them buttermilk, yogurt or nonfat dry milk powder sprinkled over oatmeal every day and added scrambled eggs for a protein punch. Check out this article for more info on using milk products for cocci.
http://www.cornerstone-farm.com/dealing_with_coccidiosis.htm

 

[bantamgal]

Thanks SpeckledHen I will look that up. eta I did look that up a couple weeks ago and read it when you recomended it to someone else. But I dont see the mention of milk products. Am I missing something? I will give milk products though and see if it helps. Thanks