New chicks, dying one by one :(

[twopeaedpod]

We got 9 chicks in the mail Thursday morning.
Immediately put them under the heat lamp (95 degrees) and got them eating and drinking. We put a little sugar in the water. The food is non-medicated start & grow. The bedding is pine shavings. There is cardboard under their waterer and we spread some food out on the clean cardboard and also offer it in a little feeder.
We lost one Friday morning, got lethargic and stopped eating and then stopped drinking. Tried to help it drink but it died anyway.
Noticed another one looking lethargic almost immediately, so I went to the forums here to read up. Cooked an egg yolk and mixed it with some sugar water and starter. Mushy solution, eye droppered it into the chick very carefully (to not aspirate) and helped her drink often. She perked up and is fine now, but in the mean-time another one went downhill and back to the forums. Got poultry vitamins (the molasses stuff) and mixed it with the egg/feed solution. Fed it to the newly sick chick. It died last night.
Now I just noticed another with the same symptoms. She is lethargic and not eating, when she defecates it's all watery and white, no solids.
I don't want to lose another and I'm doing everything I know to do...advice please?!
Thanks in advance!

 

[Lesa]

Sounds like you are doing all the right stuff... Do they have poop stuck to their back ends? What is the temp like where you are? Do the birds seem too hot?

 

[twopeaedpod]

Oh, sorry, forgot a few details....
Yeah, they're not pasted up - I've checked and cleared anything. The one chick that was is the one recovering just fine now.
They are at 90 now b/c that's where they seem happiest (not huddling or avoiding) and we adjust it as it gets hotter and colder in the house. It stays pretty steady around 77-80 in here. Also, they have a side to go to where they can escape the heat, so if I see them all over there I adjust accordingly. It's been pretty steady after initial adjustments.
Thanks!

 

[momof2monkeys]

Good luck, I hope you can help the remaining babies. Sending love and health vibes to you.
(((((((((

)))))))))

 

[True Grit]

I'm so sorry. All I can suggest is to get some medicated feed for them unless they have been vaccinated for coccidiosis. Good luck.

 

[Oven Ready]

It's worth trying to force feed them all - when they go off their food it doesn't take long for them to check out. Best not to wait to see who is looking poorly, assume they are all malnourished. It won't do them any harm.

Even if it is a disease, they'll die of malnutrition caused by the disease, long before the actual disease gets them. No need for water if your feeding a mushy solution.
Get their little crops nice and lumpy and hope for the best.

Once full, they should last a whole night without food, during the day keep them topped up to about half full, reducing the sugar in your mush (or replacing it with honey) every time you feed.

Offer tiny bits of chick crumb on a contrasting plate; if your crumb is dark, put it on a white plate, if it's light put it on a dark plate - they peck better with contrast rather than a big deep bowl of all the same color.

Best of Luck - Fingers crossed for you

 

[twopeaedpod]

They've not been vaccinated for coccidiosis, only for Merek's.
I don't see any blood in the stools....what are the other symptoms?
Also, a friend told me that the medicated feed didn't really have enough medicine in it to TREAT a disease, only to help prevent one. If they already have it...

I filled up the sick one and they are now all sleeping. I'll keep a close eye on the other 6 and see if any are not eating. Don't want to stress them out by force feeding them (very inefficiently since I don't have an oral syringe) unless they are showing signs of not eating.

Thanks for the advice so far!

 

[elmo]

Quote:
Yes, that's my understanding also. And coccidiosis is very unlikely in chicks this young.

 

[twopeaedpod]

Okay, so status update....
The now-ailing chick is still alive. I've been giving her about 2.5ml of "mush" (cooked egg yolk, powdered start & grow, poultry vitamins, and electrolytes) through an oral syringe (found one in the junk drawer) every few hours.
She's taken to standing in the corner just kinda closing her eyes and swaying a bit. Last night she was pecking at the others. Today she's just being solitary. *shrug....kinda don't know what to do at this point. Any ideas?
Thanks all for all the support so far!

 

[Oven Ready]

Solitary and swaying is still better than dead I would say. It's hard work for little chicks just to digest food - they sleep a lot after a big meal.
Keep doing what you're doing, it's not killing them so that's a good thing.

Keep making sure the others are eating enough to get lumpy crops - if they are not you will need to feed them.
In my experience baby chicks don't mind a bit of stress, especially if they get to sleep in your lap after getting stuffed with food.

Fingers still crossed.