Chickoree, my new chick, started panting tonight. To start, I got her and another from the feed store about a week ago and put her in the coop with my other chickens. I didn't know they would peck her, and they pecked the other one to death. So I put her in a dog coop on the porch in the house. I fed her cracked corn, as this is what all our hens/chicks eat. She started to have diarrhea, a small amount of green, normal looking stuff and a bunch of clear liquid. I started her on a sulfa antibiotic in her water. No improvement. Guy at the feed store gave me some tetra-vet for the water. No improvement and now her feet feel hot to me. I gave her some horse feed, as I was really grasping for what might be wrong. The poop firmed up some. So tonight I started her on starter feed. Her poop looks normal, white in the middle surrounded by green. But she still feels hot to me and now she has started panting. She was panting while she was cuddling with me so I put her down to see if it was just too hot, we live in a tropical climate, and she continued to pant even after she got on the roost. I don't know if it matters, but I do walk her around the property and let her pick grass and have a dust bath every night. Any ideas?? Do chickens get fevers??? Can she take aspirin? Can I mix aspirin in with her antibiotic?? If so how much aspirin?? Thanks for helping, I am starting to panic and there is no vet to help.
If she weren't showing any symptoms, I'd suggest getting her a companion. Chickens tend to get depressed when by themselves. It's a frustrating part of isolating a chicken to cure/heal her/him, that often they get depressed and take longer to heal. Cracked corn by itself is not enough nutrition for a chicken, especially a chick. Young chicks need high protein content 18-22% and corn alone is not high enough...if you look at the minimum protein levels on scratch formulas, which are corn and grain in various proportions, it's usually only 9-10%. I'm guessing your adults supplement their own diet with foraging for extra protein like bugs. It's good that you changed her over to chick starter. Unless you'r einto organic, I recommend using the medicated kind to help fight coccidiosis if she gets it. Her green and watery poop was most likely an indication that she was not getting enough to eat/nutrition. Chickens that don't eat enough get green and watery poop. I just went through that with a chicken of mine that stopped eating and drinking. Poop should not be too green, more brown. There's a link to a poop chart on the forum, I'm not sure where, but do a search and you'll find it. It shows what normal poop looks like. The fact that it is firming up is good. She may be having trouble regulating her temperature if she hasn't been getting enough nutrients. Keep her in a place with the right, and consistent, temperature for her age. Chicks need heat, but chickens do not do well with too much heat - they're forest birds adapted to shadier environments. You might also take her off the antibiotics - if they're not helping, they could be making it worse. Good luck!
