New to chickens :) sick chicks :(

[NSawyer]

Hello, byc! I have been reading off this website for several weeks now in order to prepare for my first set of chicks. I have 3 little (~3 weeks old) Australorps, and unfortunately one of them appears extremely inflicted with some disease. Since I have no experience at all with chickens, I came here for your help!

The chick in question is presenting with an abnormally swollen abdomen, where the feathers are thinned and the skin appears purple. I'm pretty sure there have been some bloody stools, but they are mixed in with the sand litter and dried up, so it's hard to tell. When I cleaned out their bathtub, someone left a little bloody smear on the tile floor. I suspect coccidiosis is the most likely culprit, but I wanted to share the pictures and description to get an experienced person's opinion. She doesn't seem lethargic, in fact since I quarantined her she's quite vocal about her unhappiness and has been sitting on top of the waterer. I can't see that she's eating or drinking anything, except there are some normal looking poops in the water. I put a teaspoon of apple cider vinegar in both waterers.

I wouldn't like to lose her, nor the other two either. Opinions? Suggestions?

 

[realsis]

If you have bloody stool I too would suspect and treat for coccidosis with corid
Corid kills all 9 strains of coccidosis. As for her little swollen abdomen I'm not exactly sure what that is? Perhaps someone else can chime in and answer that one
But I'd treat all the chicks for coccidosis with corid right away. Hope this helps or at least answers 1/2 of your questions. Good luck and best wishes.

 

[NSawyer]

Thanks for your help! Should I worry about her dying from dehydration? I'm going to try and find some Corid as soon as possible, but it is proving difficult to find in the south suburbs of Chicago. I did find a farm and fleet with corid for bovine coccidiosis, so I was going to try and find someone to ask if I can use that for chickens. It might come down to ordering it off the internet.

 

[seminolewind]

Corrid labeled for any animal is fine. Maybe her belly is related to the coccidiosis. I hope she makes it. They're so fragile sometimes. If you can, get a teaspoon and hold her and dip her beak in it a few times. She should start smacking her "lips".

 

[NSawyer]

I'm so unsure now. There have been no signs of bloody or irregular poop, she's eating and drinking fine, and is vocal and energetic. However, she appears to be trying to relieve pressure or pain in the swollen area by laying down on it and squirming around in the sand. I'm wondering if this is ascites.

 

[Eggcessive]

The Corid dose is 1/2 teaspoonsful of powder to a gallon. There is also a liquid form--2 tsp. per gallon. You need to treat all 3 chicks because it is contagious and they have all been exposed. Bloody stools is a later sign of cocci. When any animal has a GI upset, there can be abdominal distention. Edited for correct Corid dose.

 

[sdm111]

Dosage depends on what % the corid is

 

[NSawyer]

Just thought I'd share an update. The chicks have been on corid since Monday, and not much has changed. The chick with the swollen belly still has some diarrhea, but otherwise is not noticeably ill. I took her to a 4H farm that was full if beautiful roos of all breeds, and of course no one could identify what was wrong. Everyone agreed that they had never seen anything like it before. One woman did tell me that sometimes their sides can grow unevenly, and that the mass felt like muscle. So basically, as long as she appears healthy and happy minus the mass, I'm going to leave her alone!

 

[seminolewind]

Thanks for the update. I'm glad to hear that she is getting along the way she is.

 

[NSawyer]

Well, this chick is about 18 weeks old now and her status is the same. She still has the large growth which now feels somewhat hard. Today for a moment I worried there was an egg in there. Her middle toes are bent sideways and her feet feel somewhat cold. She also always has dirty vent feathers.

However, she is the nicest chicken I have, always the first to run up to me. I'm assuming whatever is wrong will eventually kill her but for now she still shows no sign of discomfort.