Please Help: Should I just Cull? **Updated with Pics & Videos**

[Bleenie]

So a few days ago i got 4 pullets that were in BAD shape. I have had them in an empty brooder since i brought them home & had a heat light on them because they were/are SOOO skinny.. like skin & bone.

--I wormed them all, they passed some questionable looking poo and seemed less puffy after that.
--Next day I lost the thinnest girl.
--There was only 1 that looked really healthy & she was a different breed and guess what?? she had messed up legs! (she found a special home yesterday with a crippled gosling i rehomed earlier this year)

--This morning the 2 remaining girls just look terrible & their appetites havent really improved either(they just poke at the food, not really eat), nor have they gained weight. they are very unbalanced when i have to move them around too. It just seems like they're getting worse rather than better. I am thinking that the worming meds may have just been too much for them, shocked their systems or something. Their eyes just look dull and sickly too, if that makes sense.

I am really considering culling them and ending their obvious suffering, i just do not know what else it could be. What do you guys think?

I really thought i could help these babies

 

[PunkinPeep]

Based on your description, i'm not sure i would give up yet.

I think i would put acv in their water and start feeding them a lot of scrambled eggs or boiled egg yolks and plain yogurt to see if they can get some strength.

I will say, however, that if ever i have a hen who simply will not eat anything, and is obviously starving, i will put her down if i can't find the reason.

It is very unusual that they won't try to eat. Is it possible that their crops are sour or impacted?

 

[Bleenie]

Their crops are just completely empty and no signs of anything weird with them(squishy/hard/looking funny). While I was just out trying to get a couple pictures of them i noticed that their poo has become just water nearly. Yesterday it was still normal looking but today it's water with a little bit of a white tint.. hard to get a closer examination on the straw.

Yesterday i tried some cottage cheese.. even sprinkled food on it to get them curious but they poked it a couple times and then ignored it.

My young babies go NUTS for cottage cheese.

Here a couple pictures of them and videos so you can see how theyre acting. You can see they they're just poking at the food and when they do get some they just drop it.. i am just clueless.

I was trying to show how skinny they are, but it wasn't a great picture. You can see how dull their eyes are though and they are Very pale.

Videos are here: The better-looking pullet is the one making all of the noise, the other is very silent all the time.

 

[GoldenCometLover]

Have you tried plain yogurt on your finger? How about some electrolytes?
I wouldn't give up yet...the video shows they are clearly trying to eat! That's a good sign....

 

[Bleenie]

I will try the yogurt on my finger right now, i am sure we have some. I might still have some avia charge but i will have to do a quick search to make sure. I may have used it up on the last batch of babies i had. I also tried to give them some grass the other day but they werent interested in that either which was just strange, all my birds love grass.

 

[justbugged]

Have you tried scrambled eggs yet? I think that I would also try antibiotic also. My first pick at this point would be tetracycline. It's cheap and you can find it in the feed store. You don't have a lot to loose at this point.

 

[Chick Charm]

From your description and from your pictures I would wait on the birds a while.
Personally I recommend
A) Force feed them yogurt with blended chick starter in the yogurt
B) Make sure that they get water with some sugar in it SOON
C) additionally give them another waterer with apple cider vinegar in it. Spend some time with them to make sure they get theses in them. In a day or two you should notice a change in their health. If not, then I would consider culling.

 

[GoldenCometLover]

Scrambled eggs - excellent idea....these are new to you, so they probably aren't used to anything yours are...from the sounds of it they were not treated properly...eggs and some duramycin (tetracycline)....sounds like a good way to go! I'll be pulling for you all!

 

[PunkinPeep]

I haven't gotten to watch your videos yet, but since they are pooping water, you know they are drinking, so i would definitely make sure to get vitamins in their water to help them get some strength and nutrients into them.

edited after watching the video:

I would definitely not cull them at this point. Maybe they're just not accustomed the food you're giving them. I would start feeding eggs for sure - or like someone said, make a wet mash with the crumble. Anything to get them excited about food. Just from the video, they don't look that bad to me. I don't see any obvious reason that you wouldn't be able to nurse these two back to health.

 

[Bleenie]

They ate a couple pecks of the yogurt off my finger so i left a small dish in there with a sprinkle of oatmeal on it to get them interested.. since chickens are more interested in small specks than globs, lol. I put a small chunk of Avia Charge in the bottom(pan part) of their waterer and stirred it around so they should get that into them pretty quicky and hopefulyl itll help bring their appetite up.

I have to go pick up some ACV, all I have is Distilled White Vinegar. I have some Durramycin so I will mix them some new water with all their things in it as soon as i get the ACV

I can just force feed them with a syringe, right? I assume i can mix up good the yogurt, crumbles & some water and that should come out of the syringe pretty easily.

Thank you all for the help & suggestions

!!