Narcolepsy and other odd "new chick" behavior - normal?!

[riqui1]

Okay, I got the yogurt and the Poly Vi Sol this morning, but I am not able to get him to eat or drink. He has gotten worse since last night, as now he is not fighting. You can hold his head up and he doesn't jerk it away and he won't stand at all. He is pretty lifeless.

I really don't want to ask this, but is it possible to force his little mouth open, so I can get some of this stuff in there? I really am not sure what else to do, as it is a complete change from last night. Maybe I made a mistake in trying to separate him from the others!

 

[riqui1]

NOW I HAVE A SECOND ONE STARTING TO DO IT! He is not as bad as the first was, when we found the first one. He is still eating and drinking and I got him to take some of the yogurt/vitamin mix, but he is still doing it. Should I just give the yogurt to all of them or are they too young, as some are less than a week old. Could this be some sort of a disease? Could it possibly be the starter, as it is different than what the woman that I got them from was giving them? I am mixing it in slowly, but I am trying to think of anything that has changed for them.

Is there a WebMD for chicks?

I am going to contact the woman that sold them to me, just to see if she has ever seen anything like this before in any of her other chicks...

 

[twzlrwho]

I have had a chick do this. I was told it was wry neck and to give vitamin e with the poly-vi-sol. It worked. My chick was bad. He would somersault everywhere and back up like yours. So try the vitamins and I would put extra in with their water since more are showing symptoms. Do a search on wry neck and see if you can find anything else. Good luck!

 

[riqui1]

I am sorry to report it, but the first little chick found this way has died. I am trying to look through listings and symptoms of thinks that can effect chicks, but am having no luck. I am now going to try calling Cornell, but they will, most likely, tell me that I need to bring them over. That isn't possible right now.

I am going to separate the second chick from the rest and see if that helps. I haven' really had a chance to look into the wryneck thing, as at the same time that I am dealing with all of this, we have had an issue with a duck - my 9 year-old son's pets! I am hoping that he comes out okay!!

This just isn't going well for me today!!

 

[riqui1]

Okay, does anyone think that this could be an issue with the starter? The reason that I ask this is because yesterday I gave my ducks some of the starter that I bought for the chicks, as it says that it is safe for them. I now have a vomiting duck who almost choked to death; we actually cleaned the "stuff" out of his throat. Maybe I am reaching here and it is just a coincidence, but I thought that I would see what you guys thought.

The second chick seems to be fading quickly. He isn't walking around hardly at all now, choosing to just lie there instead. I am going to try feeding him again.

I am also going to pull that food, give the other chicks the yogurt/vitamin combo that I made and then only feed them the stuff that the woman that I bought them from sent me home with. I think it will just help me to feel better to eliminate that one thing.

 

[riqui1]

So, I just found another forum where a woman was talking about her silkie having wryneck. I watched the You Tube video she posted and it is the exact same thing that my chicks are doing. She said that she took care of it with high doses of vitamin e. Hopefully I have caught the second one before it is too late.

 

[vfem]

Go ahead and give the worst of the chicks the vitamin drops directly! Just drop onto the beak and try to get him to open a little.

Offer the vitamins and yogurt to the rest of the group!

I really think with chicks raised inside with limited access to all the extra vitamins, bugs and sun they need it causes lots of difficencies in vitamins and such! Those vitamins in their water should really do a lot of help I think in the long run!

Oh, and take them out for some fun the in the sun and grass time... I really think that makes a difference.

I really have my fingers crossed for the best for you and all your little fluffy butts.....

 

[vfem]

Quote:
With ducks, chick feed is fine (non-medicated) they can choke if they don't have access to water whenever they eat! Make sure you have water available, deep enough for them to get their nose down in it too.

 

[twzlrwho]

Yea that's what I said to do. It really helped mine. It took about 3 days for him to come back around but it worked.

 

[riqui1]

Okay, so my day is NOT getting better. My son's duck has now died and I think that it might have been my fault. This morning, for their breakfast, I made them a fruit/lettuce plate. It's not the first time and they love it, but I think that, in my hurry, I left some of the pieces of lettuce too big. I remember thinking it, but "poo pooing" it, as they had gotten so much bigger. I don't find it to be a coincidence that he was perfectly healthy before breakfast and now he has died. Add this to the fact that the stuff that he seemingly choked on was green...

I have decided to quit panicking about the chicks and just do the best that I can. I have put the Poly Vi Sol in their water and the second chick (boy I wish I could tell what sex they were so I could name them!) has had a "dose" himself. Another thread said to give him 1/4 of a dropper 2x per day for the first week and then to use less and less over the days after that. That is what I am going to try. Another thread said something about using liquid vitamin E, but I don't have any here and won't be able to get some for days. If things aren't improving by then, I will. Hopefully the Poly Vi Sol will be enough.

Thank you, everyone, for your help/guidance and for dealing with my panic attacks.