Perhaps Aspirated Chick? Help!

[ebchickies]

I have a tiny five day old silkie chick that has the following symptoms: lethargic, gasping (especially after eating/drinking), and poor appetite. I was wondering if perhaps she aspirated some water earlier this week when we were encouraging her to drink. If she has developed aspiration pneumonia, is there an antibiotic I can give to her to try and save her?

 

[EggSighted4Life]

Hi, welcome to BYC!

Sorry to hear one of your chicks isn't thriving.

I have aspirated a chick before.. you can generally hear a crackling sound when they breath.. and even before pneumonia develops the chicks usually fail... I believe due to lack of oxygen. No amount of antibiotics will clear the liquid that's in there from water that was aspirated as far as I know.

If anyone administers antibiotics, and I'm not suggesting it for this situation.. it is often Tylan 50 inject-able for respiratory issues.

Very often in young chicks who are failing to thrive... you will see gasping, lethargy and such. Sometimes they aren't actually connecting with food even though they peck at it. Or may have internal digestion issues... have you seen this chicks droppings or checked it for pasty butt?

Did you hatch this Silkie or where did it come from?

For bantams I usually have to crush my feed a little extra, which made a big difference in my survival rate. Do you have any vitamin or supplements in the water or on hand? A little poultry Nutri drench might help perk it up. What are you feeding? As a last ditch effort to help chicks I may offer a little egg yolk.

 

[ebchickies]

I hatched this baby out, and unfortunately she was the only one to survive from the clutch, so I had to go to the feed store to buy her two buddies so she wasn't lonely. For the past few days I've been giving her a mix of sugar water with electrolytes, medicated feed and egg yolk. After feeding she always seemed a bit perkier, until this morning - she seemed to take a turn for the worse. The odd thing is, I almost feel like whatever she has is starting to affect her neurological system, because she will turn in tight little circles every now and then, like she's dizzy.

I actually did give her 1/10cc of Tylan 50, as I've been reading that sometimes (a long stretch, but stranger things have happened) that can help treat aspiration pneumonia. After giving it to her via dipping the tip of her beak in a teaspoon with the medication, she seemed to stumble about a bit, and still gasping I should note that she is still peeping quite often, and I can't hear crackling when I listen to her breath, but I do hear a 'click' sound every time she breaths.

I've dealt with and treated cocci many times, and Corid has always been a reliable medication for our chickies, but I've never dealt with a chick like this. It breaks my heart to see her like this, and I just wish I could find a solution to save her, but I fear it is too late.

 

[Animals45]

Maybe @HuffleClaw knows or @Alexandra33.