New Keeper, Suddenly Lethargic 5 wk olds and Spreading

[BrandyBrightheart]

So far 2 Swedish flower hens, 5 wks old, weight seemed avg

A 3rd chicken in question also 5 wks old not sure breed



Behavior:

A. 1st Swedish everything seemed normal until this Monday morning she was laying down while everyone else was near the feeder and she looked dead but she wasn’t. I separated her in an open box and she just continued to deteriorate. No attempts to eat or drink. No other symptoms noticed.



B. Also Monday morning after discovering 1st chicken I noticed a 2nd Swedish was slower than the rest, kept drooping her head and looked like she was trying to sleep standing up. Did not attempt to eat. I separated her and she continued to decline. Her poops looked normal on Mon. But no eating or drinking. Tues She wasn’t lifeless but she looked like it.



C. 3rd gray chicken, 5 weeks old, unknown breed. Tues morning giving same slow behavior as 2nd Swedish. Head drooping, eyes keep closing like she’s trying to sleep standing up. Not eating. Idk if she’s drinking but she’s not even venturing over to the feeding area.



This is my first time with chickens. They’ve been doing wonderfully until Monday 4/18 and now idk what to address.



I don’t see signs of trauma.



They’re on fermented starter feed and water with garlic and apple cider vinegar.



They’re indoors with heat, a heat lamp around 70 and pine shavings.



I’d prefer to treat them myself I just don’t know what direction to go as the symptoms just seem to be lethargy and no eating. Any guidance would be appreciated. Thank you.

 

[BrandyBrightheart]

This is what she looks like by 6 pm the same evening. after searching online I tried giving her an egg yolk mix with a dropper. A little bit was accepted. Shortly afterward she pooped. It‘s been at least from this morning that she stopped eating. I asked my husband to buy some corid since people are saying it can still be present without blood in the stool and the feed store’s ”chicken expert” said not to give it unless blood is present and the reason the chickens are failing is because they’re heat lamp isn’t low enough and they’re cold. Could that possibly be the reason even though they’re inside and the room is 70 degrees and they still have a heat lamp keeping the brooder between 70-75 degrees and I thought the lamp could be removed by 5 weeks old? I love learning online but all the contradictory info is making my head hurt. So the lady wouldn’t sell the corid and my husband didn’t contest so I next day ordered it on Amazon in case the chickens still need it. Any feedback is appreciated. Thank you

 

[BrandyBrightheart]

The third chickens health has improved somewhat. She started standing again during the night. For others that this info may help in the future, i syringe fed her raw egg yolk, with weak green tea, a little honey and some probiotics I had until we could find a stir that had an electrolyte, vitamin, probiotic mix. Today I’m hand feeding her scrambled eggs. She has food and water available but I haven’t seen her eat or drink so I’ll continue assisting her today and see how she does.

On a good note, I believe the store chicken expert was correct in saying we needed to lower the lamp to about 18 in and continue to offer them more heat. We also added the electrolyte mix to their water. They were all thriving this morning and not one looked lethargic. So my take away is do what’s right for your birds and take the online info with a grain of salt. We live in the PNW and the chicken expert said she keeps her birds with heat til 10 weeks old. My first set of chicks didn’t have this issue so I’m not sure what variable changed.

I also threw out the fermented feed just in case it was contaminated with mold. Even though it looked and smelled ok to me. They’re on dry feed now until I feel comfortable offering anything fermented again.

So those were the changes we made: lowering heat lamp, offering only dry feed and adding the electrolyte mix.

I hope the 3rd one pulls through. And I found the rescue recipe from the Chickenlandia YT page. She had a lot of helpful info and she also lives in the PNW.

I hope this is helpful to others struggling to find answers.

 

[Wyorp Rock]

How hot is it under that lamp? Can't see a thing with the red light glowing.

She's probably improving with you giving electrolytes and honey, i.e. getting hydrated.

A healthy 5 week old chick should be able to withstand temps lower than 70F.
A weak and poorly chick does need to be kept at around 70-75F but needs a choice to get to a cooler place if they need to.

The poop doesn't look good. See if she continues to improve with administration of fluids. If not, then I would absolutely start the Corid.
There are 9 strains of Coccidia that chickens can have and only a couple present with blood.

Hopefully they are on the mend. Maybe check to make sure they are drinking very well, that your fermented feed isn't getting moldy. At 5 weeks they should be getting ready to be outdoors or at least start to begin acclimation to going out.

 

[BrandyBrightheart]

How hot is it under that lamp? Can't see a thing with the red light glowing.

She's probably improving with you giving electrolytes and honey, i.e. getting hydrated.

A healthy 5 week old chick should be able to withstand temps lower than 70F.
A weak and poorly chick does need to be kept at around 70-75F but needs a choice to get to a cooler place if they need to.

The poop doesn't look good. See if she continues to improve with administration of fluids. If not, then I would absolutely start the Corid.
There are 9 strains of Coccidia that chickens can have and only a couple present with blood.

Hopefully they are on the mend. Maybe check to make sure they are drinking very well, that your fermented feed isn't getting moldy. At 5 weeks they should be getting ready to be outdoors or at least start to begin acclimation to going out.

Thank you for the confirmations. The heat was around 70-75 depending on time of day prior to this. Now it’s around 80 directly under the light. The Corid should be here tomorrow and we’ll see how she does until then. Thank you for your help and suggestions.

 

[Wyorp Rock]

Thank you for the confirmations. The heat was around 70-75 depending on time of day prior to this. Now it’s around 80 directly under the light. The Corid should be here tomorrow and we’ll see how she does until then. Thank you for your help and suggestions.

I would make sure she's got plenty of room to get away from the heat and there's a good bit of cool space. At 5wks, 80F is quite warm.
Keep food/water in the coolest area as well.

 

[BrandyBrightheart]

I would make sure she's got plenty of room to get away from the heat and there's a good bit of cool space. At 5wks, 80F is quite warm.
Keep food/water in the coolest area as well.

Thank you, I agree. She seems stronger today. Standing more and drinking water from the dropper on her own. As well as more feisty spirit when I’m holding her so we’ll see.

 

[BrandyBrightheart]

She started eating scrambled eggs on her own yesterday and looking like she had her strength returning. I put her back with the others but protected from them til she’s fully recovered.

This Morning she was eating feed on her own. I couldn’t be happier! I think we’re past the worst part. No other chickens have presented with concerns. I’m so glad the worst is behind us! What a stressful week! I’ve nursed cats and dogs from the brink but chickens are something else entirely!

Thanks again Wyorp Rock for offering your support!
Many Blessings

 

[Wyorp Rock]

She started eating scrambled eggs on her own yesterday and looking like she had her strength returning. I put her back with the others but protected from them til she’s fully recovered.

This Morning she was eating feed on her own. I couldn’t be happier! I think we’re past the worst part. No other chickens have presented with concerns. I’m so glad the worst is behind us! What a stressful week! I’ve nursed cats and dogs from the brink but chickens are something else entirely!

Thanks again Wyorp Rock for offering your support!
Many Blessings

I'm glad to hear she's improving!
Hope she continues to do well, thank you for the update.