Not-quite-lethargic but almost?

[jrossetti]

I have three chicks, they're just about 3-and-a-half weeks old. The 2 sussex are doing great, they're active and doing well (Today I watched one of them chase a bit of down around the brooder around and around). The welsummer, however, is worrying me. I came home from work today and she was just sitting there quiet, head close to her body. I picked her up to examine her and she did not try to run away, just let me pick her up, which is unusual. She seemed fine, felt warm, does not have pasty butt, but is quiet and seems a bit slow. I put her back in the brooder and she climbed up on the perch and put her head on her wing and went to sleep. She slept for a while, then walked around quiet, not doing much. Brooder temp is 79-80F, plenty of clean water and feed, and like I said, the other two are just fine.

The welsummer is usually the most active of my 3, which is why it stands out. She's not exactly lethargic, but not exactly active. I just watched her peck at some feed just like the others, then she went back to sleep. Is this something I should be worried about or is this ok? Will she return to her 'normal' self? These are my first chickens, so I truly don't know what to expect.

Any ideas?

 

[PunkinPeep]

Where did you get the chicks?

What do you use for bedding?

Have they ever had access to the outdoors?

 

[chickenannie]

What you are noticing -- the lethargy and head pulled into feathers -- is a sign that a chicken or chick is sick. You'll have to try to figure out what kind of sickness and try to treat, if you have the ability to. typically at that stage, they have coccidiosis.
Others are better at suggesting treatments than I.

 

[jrossetti]

Quote:
I bought them from a guy who bought them from a hatchery (he didn't tell me which hatchery). They've never had access to the outdoors yet, I've kept them inside the brooder since I bought them. I was using paper towels when they were tiny so they wouldn't get spraddle legs, but I stopped yesterday when I noticed they were tearing bits off and eating them, and I am trying to see how well they do without any bedding; I clean out the brooder as often as it needs it, usually once a day. A week ago I put a perch in the brooder, and after the first night they won't sleep anywhere but on that.

Quote:
I had thought about that. I was given a big bag of starter with the chicks, and have been feeding them only this starter. I do not believe it is medicated. What can I do about it? Is there a medicine I can give her?

Thanks

 

[chickenannie]

You could search this forum for "cocci AND chick" . I do not know how to treat, but someone else on here will know and has probably written it down here many times.

Good luck.

 

[PunkinPeep]

Sometimes they will be exposed to the cocci microbes at the hatchery or somewhere between there and you. If you suspect coccidiosis is your culprit, and you want to medicate, you may as well medicate the whole crew. If one is getting sick, the others have been exposed also.

You can buy Corid - or any other brand of liquid Amprolium 9.6% and dose them for five days in their water (1-2 teaspoons per gallon).

The only other thought i have is because you mentioned that they were eating the paper towels. It might be remotely possible that the paper towels caused some kind of a blockage in the crop. You can determine this easily by feeling of the chicken's crop tomorrow morning after she hasn't eaten all night. If the crop is still swollen and full, then that is your culprit. If you discover that is the case (which i honestly, very much doubt) then check here, https://www.backyardchickens.com/forum/viewtopic.php?pid=3097930#p3097930, i just assembled these links for someone else.

eta: If i were you, i think i would assume that it's coccidiosis, and i would treat immediately.

 

[jrossetti]

Thanks for all the advice - even for searching the forums, which I did prior to posting.

I'm not 100% convinced it's cocci, in fact I'm leaning more towards the impacted crop theory, since she's acting for the most part normal, and her poop is normal. I felt all around her front side but didn't feel any bumps or hard spots, but then again, I'm not exactly sure what I'm looking for other than that, or what to expect, or even where exactly her crop is! I'm a total novice!

I did run to the store (the only one that was open this late at night) and they had Corid for $100 a gallon, nothing smaller, ouch!

So I will remove all the food tonight when I go to bed and check her in the morning, if she's not acting better, I'll go find some Corid at IFA or someplace... I did find some online but it's not cheap and earliest I could get it is by thursday, and by then it might be too late.

We'll see. Thanks for the great advice, folks.

 

[jrossetti]

Here's an update.

This morning, I woke up and she had dropped some bloody poop, but she seemed totally fine, not slow or quiet or half-lethargic or anything. I went to work, but my wife reported she was acting normal all day. Once I got home, I watched the chicks for a while, and yes, she seemed perfectly fine - there was not even any bloody poop, just some diarrhea from earlier.

I am giving the chicks the amprol anyways, just in case, since I'm not feeding them any medicated starter or anything - if it really was cocci, this will take care of it, and help them in the future. Because we all hate coccidiosis.