Mysterious Disease Affecting My Easter Egg Chicks

[PaulTDay]

I just recently bought several Easter egg and Dominique chicks. I have had them for a week, and now most of my easter eggers are gone due to a strange illness. That just stand or sit out in the brooder and eventually fall asleep and die. I have been giving them general antibiotics, but nothing is working; they keep dying off one or 2 at a time; very few of my Dominiques have been affected. Does any one have any suggestions so I won't loose all my Easter Eggers??

 

[horsejody]

Have you been checking for pasty butt? Were they shipped and possibly stressed form that? What is the brooder temp? How many days old are they? What are you feeding them? Have you seen them eat or drink?

 

[silkiechicken]

If it is only the easter egg chicks having an issue, it is likely that they had an issue from the start specific to those chicks such as genetic, parent stock, incubation, or exposure to something specific for that batch of chicks, because deaths are within the first 10 days or so. They could be more sensitive to something in their enviornment, so more info on what is being fed, type of bedding, temps and brooder set up may help, as horsejody mentioned.

Since not all are affected, and likely not bacterial, antibiotics are probably not doing anything useful. Just creating resistant ones and killing the good ones, which you don't really want, because a healthy bacteria load will help their digestion and prevention of bad ones from taking over. In the future, unless you know there is a bacterial infection or high risk such as a bite or open wound, antibiotics probably aren't the best choice.

For now, I would isolate the sick ones to make sure they are not being pushed away from food and heat. Vitamins or boiled egg yolk may give them a boost in the mean time too.


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[PaulTDay]

My chicks are about 10 days old. My brooder temps haven't really been a problem. I have been feeding them the starter chick feed. They have been eating and drinking very well until they get sick; when they do, they have to be made to drink. These chicks were shipped from Welp, Inc. in Iowa, and I started giving them the vitamin solution when they first came, and they started to die a day after which lead me to believe to be infection.
Should I discontinue anitbiotics still?

 

[horsejody]

Check for pasty butt and call the hatchery. Ask them if others have had trouble. I would stop the meds too.

 

[PaulTDay]

I contacted the hatchery yesterday, and they said that all chicks leave the factory with no illnessess so something probably happened in shipping. They sent me an official slip saying so. I'm going to stop meds and isolate the sick. Hopefully, things will change soon. Do you have a better suggestion of the best place to get replacements?

 

[silkiechicken]

Since they were shipped, probably nothing you or the hatchery can really do a week later. Likely the stress of shipping was harder on the EE's so they are now showing the effects. Extra vits, their own brooder, and time will tell.

As for replacements, I'd go with which ever hatchery is closest to you.