Need advice for lethargic chick with no sign of illness

[chuckun]

Thank you all so much. I am still concerned and don't know what to do next. Here's an update.

So after I completed the full run of Sulmet, they had a meds-free day because the Corid had not yet arrived. So I sprinkled Bragg's nutritional yeast on their starter and they all loved it. The Buff O looked as well as the rest but was still sitting most of the time, often cuddling with the Brahma. Next day, both the Buff O and the Brahma seemed to be sitting a lot - while my other two (an EE and Barred Rock) were doing jumping jacks. They are very active compared with the other two! I stopped the nutritional yeast as soon as the Corid arrived on Monday.

Now they have all been on Corid almost 3 days and all the behavior is the same, except the Buff O is weaker on her feet today. She can stand and walk but most of the time sits. She also resisted less when I picked her up. I am dosing their quart of water with a half teaspoon of Corid, keeping it fresh at all times, and plan to do a 5 day course.

Should I be? I don't know whether Buff O and Brahma are just sedentary by nature, but then both seemed more so after they ate the yeast (Vitamin B), so maybe they did have cocci that the Sulmet didn't treat and the B made it worse? Is the Buff O (Blondie) now showing signs of Vitamin B deficiency made worse by Corid? I thought of separating her but she loves to cuddle with all of the others, even the active ones when they settle down.

Advice???? Here is what they look like today, 3 1/2 weeks old:

 

[MeepBeep]

Could be a temp issue contributing to their behavior... Have you put a thermometer on the bedding in multiple locations of the brooder to see what the temps are? Thus making sure they have a range of temps so they can find their happy temp?

 

[chuckun]

I have, and I adjusted the temp so it's a bit cooler. They seem to occupy the whole space comfortably. I am seriously considering stopping the Corid. There were never any loose of bloody stools - just lethargy. I am quite sure the weak legs mean B deficiency, though only one has the symptom.

How do they look in the pics to you, especially Blondie?

Thank you!

 

[seminolewind]

Coccidiosis does not have to be bloody. Maybe you should try some B vitamins. If Corrid hasn't made a difference, guess it's something else.

With chicks with a heat lamp, I put the lamp at one end, and see if the chicks huddle under the light or nap away from it. If they huddle under the light, then it needs to be lowered. What you should see is when they are somewhat spread out in the middle. I always let them tell me and rarely use a thermometer. Is Blondie sitting under the heat or away from it?

 

[MeepBeep]

I am seriously considering stopping the Corid.

I would finish the amprolium dosing cycle, it's better to give it to them a few extra days vs cutting it a day or two short thus invalidating the treatment...

 

[chuckun]

Thank you for the responses! I lack the experience to judge what's normal. I gave them Corid for three days and stopped this afternoon because Blondie was just not staying up on her feet. The prescribed course was 3-5 days so I feel it's long enough, especially with signs of Vitamin B deficiency. Blondie gets up, runs, flutters, eats and poops normally, but she sits every chance she gets.

The temp is 80 under the heat lamp which is clamped at one corner. They nap both near and far from it, usually all together, sometimes in paired off in different spots. The Brahma snuggles most often with Blondie, and at times they are all 4 snuggling together.

I gave them Nutri Drench in their water source after I stopped the Corid. I hope they are drinking it! They all look good to me; I just wonder if the range of behavior and activity I'm seeing - from very mellow to jumpy is normal. Someone who's raised chicks before would know how to judge. I am just guessing!p

 

[drumstick diva]

Have you checked her over for mites/lice, they can bring a chick down fast? Do you ever have her away from the flock? Like bring her in the house and see how she acts. Sometimes chicks do better in a home environment!
Have you ever seen others picking at her or bullying her? She certainly is a mystery. Is she growing well? Does she seem thin under all her feathers? It's so aggravating when they can't tell you what is wrong.

 

[seminolewind]

I have had a chick or two in the past that liked to settle and nap more. I just made sure they were eating and drinking. Casportpony would probably tell you to buy a food scale and weigh her daily. Does she look sick to you? Or just mellow?

 

[chuckun]

She does not look like a creature on her way out by any means. She has an intelligent look in her eye and runs over to the feeder when she wants to. Then she plops down until she has had her fill and goes back to her solitude at different spots in the coop until she is joined by the others.

She is not being bullied. The Brahma is often with her. The EE is always flapping around and sometimes crashes into her (and everyone else) and Blondie just gives an annoying chirp but does not seem hurt or victimized. Right now they are all huddled around her, napping.

She just won't get up unless she wants to. I have checked her for mites, and I check her feet and all seems fine. I will try to weigh her later today; I don't want to handle her anymore just yet. I took her out of the brooder this morning and tried different spaces, but she didn't seem happy and I worried I was stressing her and put her back in the brooder.

But I think her size is good. She is big as the Easter Egger (the Barred Rock is bigger, and the Brahma is smaller). They all look normal for their breed and everyone is eating and drinking. They were vaccinated for Mareck's at the hatchery.

Maybe it's just that she can't stand her very active roommates (except for Holly, the Brahma.).

Bottom line, what seemed like comparative lethargy a week and a half ago hasn't changed despite all these measures, and now she seems even less steady on her feet (since yesterday). But even now, when she stands, she looks just like the others.

I'm encouraged that others have healthy chickens who started out in a somewhat similar way. I wonder if it's a buff orpington thing.

Thanks, all, for your help and your thoughts.