Odd behaviour in chick

[5GodsDown]

Hi all

I'm slightly worried about one of my chicks. They are 8 weeks old now and permanently outside. They eat and drink well and are generally very active. Now, one of the chicks lies down more often that the others. Mostly they stay together but sometimes I find this chick just chilling somewhere. The strangest was today when the two others were near my house and the third one was just lying down at the entrance of the coop, but that's quite a distance between them...

Other strange things: this is the only chick that coughs hard like she choked on some food every time they "attack" the food. They are on chick crumble still, so I'll see what happens when I mix in some bigger grains.
She's also always the first one to start panting when it's hot or even when they all run from one side to the other side of the garden. She's panting more often than the others.

Being paranoid here or something to watch out for?

 

[Chicka_deee]

@Wyorp Rock and @Eggcessive might be able to see what this is...?

 

[cluckmecoop7]

I'm sorry, I don't know. But maybe @aart could help?

 

[Eggcessive]

Can you try putting some of the chick crumbles in a little water to make it like oatmeal? That might cause less choking. What do the chick’s droppings look like? If they are runny or have mucus or blood, that might be coccidiosis. At the chick’s age coccidiosis might be a problem, and it can cause sleepiness, diarrhea, puffing up, and not eating well. Corid in the water can treat that.

 

[Wyorp Rock]

Hi all

I'm slightly worried about one of my chicks. They are 8 weeks old now and permanently outside. They eat and drink well and are generally very active. Now, one of the chicks lies down more often that the others. Mostly they stay together but sometimes I find this chick just chilling somewhere. The strangest was today when the two others were near my house and the third one was just lying down at the entrance of the coop, but that's quite a distance between them...

Other strange things: this is the only chick that coughs hard like she choked on some food every time they "attack" the food. They are on chick crumble still, so I'll see what happens when I mix in some bigger grains.
She's also always the first one to start panting when it's hot or even when they all run from one side to the other side of the garden. She's panting more often than the others.

Being paranoid here or something to watch out for?

Same chick that was having respiratory issues in April?https://www.backyardchickens.com/threads/very-worried-about-constantly-sneezing-chick.1305211/
Did they vet ever do any testing?

I do agree getting a fecal float to rule out Coccidiosis overload is a good idea. Coccidia are opportunistic for sure and if she has a weakened immune system from something else she could get overloaded easily.

If she is the one that had respiratory symptoms/illness, she could also be have a relapse of sorts. Most respiratory diseases make birds carriers for life and during certain times of stress they can become symptomatic. Something as simple as the weather turning hot could be enough of a stressor for a young bird.
I hope that's not it and she starts to improve. If it continues, consider getting some testing.

 

[5GodsDown]

Same chick that was having respiratory issues in April?https://www.backyardchickens.com/threads/very-worried-about-constantly-sneezing-chick.1305211/
Did they vet ever do any testing?

I do agree getting a fecal float to rule out Coccidiosis overload is a good idea. Coccidia are opportunistic for sure and if she has a weakened immune system from something else she could get overloaded easily.

If she is the one that had respiratory symptoms/illness, she could also be have a relapse of sorts. Most respiratory diseases make birds carriers for life and during certain times of stress they can become symptomatic. Something as simple as the weather turning hot could be enough of a stressor for a young bird.
I hope that's not it and she starts to improve. If it continues, consider getting some testing.

I cannot exclude it's the same chick. We think it isn't, but they changed a lot growing up and we couldn't really keep two of them apart. I forgot to answer on that topic that I got antibiotics at the vet and they were all cured after the 7 day treatment.

The droppings vary. Sometimes watery sometimes normal, sometimes I see a milky dropping. She has a normal appetite and eats with the others, but seems less interested in treats the last days.

She doesn't sneeze or have a runny nose, she was shaking her head two nights ago, but just temporarily.

 

[5GodsDown]

Can you try putting some of the chick crumbles in a little water to make it like oatmeal? That might cause less choking. What do the chick’s droppings look like? If they are runny or have mucus or blood, that might be coccidiosis. At the chick’s age coccidiosis might be a problem, and it can cause sleepiness, diarrhea, puffing up, and not eating well. Corid in the water can treat that.

I will try that.

Droppings vary. Mostly normal sometimes watery and sometimes even milky, no blood.

 

[5GodsDown]

As I said droppings vary, but are mostly normal. These would be the only ones I'm worried about, but it's not always alarming?

No odd behaviour today, but then again they're only free roaming during the week after work and the whole day during the weekend.

 

[Wyorp Rock]

As I said droppings vary, but are mostly normal. These would be the only ones I'm worried about, but it's not always alarming?

No odd behaviour today, but then again they're only free roaming during the week after work and the whole day during the weekend.

That's a lot of urates. Is she drinking enough?

In your first post, you mention that she seems to choke when the chicks attack food. Do you feed at certain times or free choice (feed available at all times during waking hours)?
I would try wet feed to see if the choking stops.

Getting a fecal float is a good idea.

 

[5GodsDown]

That's a lot of urates. Is she drinking enough?

In your first post, you mention that she seems to choke when the chicks attack food. Do you feed at certain times or free choice (feed available at all times during waking hours)?
I would try wet feed to see if the choking stops.

Getting a fecal float is a good idea.

I think so, they all seem to drink regularly. I used to feed them only in the morning and after work but now I keep food available for them and she's eating a lot less violently now. The problem now is that I didn't see who this poop came from... I rarely see these droppings luckily, only every two days, maybe less, but to be sure I'll already ask my vet if she also does this for chickens.