Possibly sick chick??? Need advice!

[ursus]

Hey, so I have one chick that is significantly smaller than the rest, and all are born within a day in either direction. They are about 11 or 12 days old now.

It is developing it's wing and tail feathers, and showing other signs of maturing along with the other chicks, but it is still only maybe 2/3 of the size of the others, and fast approaching 1/2 their size as they continue to grow rapidly. She also seems to sleep a lot more than the other chicks.

Additionally, and more worrisome, I have noticed that it's excrement is loose (being diplomatic here) and has a slight reddish tint to it! (possible blood??

??) I have noticed the loose/blood tinted droppings before, but only today realized that it was the small one who was making it.

Anyone have any ideas? Do I need to separate the small chick, it this a concern for it or the others?

I should mention that yes, I do have them on medicated chick crumbles for feed, and they are on pine shavings.

Thanks for any help you can offer....

 

[silkiechicken]

Is the reddish tint actually blood? If so, it could be cocci and the chick is just so weak that they got it and everybody else is fending it off. However, if you are raising them inside in a brooder, I highly doubt it can be cocci as cocci lives in the soil and they need to eat the dirt or get exposed to the cocci some how to get it.

It is possible that maybe the chick was born with a genetic malabsorption problem thus it's not growing as well? Can it be a banty mix? Not sure what else to say here. Good luck with the chick!

 

[ursus]

I do put them in a "holding box" while doing the daily brooder cleaning, and that box has dirt on the floor! I didn't know that they could get sick from it!

I also have given them earthworms from the garden because they REALLY like them. I thought it was a good treat for the chicks, as they would eat them outside anyway.

If it is cocci, what should I do?

I suppose it could be a banty, I picked them out of a large bin with several breeds running around, certainly looks like my other Rhode Island Red though....

 

[silkiechicken]

They do have bantam RIR's... is the chick running around still and just small? If it is cocci, by the time the chick shows blood in the stools, they should be lethargic and not wanting to eat. They will get bone thin and die within a few days. However, if it is eating and just slow, could be a banty. Just a bit of exposure to the dirt while changing their brooder is unlikly to get a "toxic" dose of the oocysts and with medicated feed, any oocysts ingested would be inhibited from growing.

It's kind of hard to say what is wrong without being able to watch the chick... and even then it is hard. If it was me, I would keep an eye on it, make sure it is indeed eating, and make sure it is alert. A poultry vitamin and some active culture yoghurt for the chick that is a runt may help out if the chick is really a runt and not a banty.

Maybe someone else will come by and offer some more suggestions.

Edit:
Oh, and if they do have cocci, you can treat with amprolum or sulmet in the water. However, all your other birds seem fine right? So I don't know how probable that would be.

 

[ursus]

Yes, the little chicklet is running around, chirping, eating drinking, even giving the others a run for their treats!

Perhaps I am being overly concerned as a newby....

I will try feeding her a little yogurt tomorrow, seems to be a regularly suggested remedy, certainly can't hurt.

And yes, the other 4 seem to be in great shape.

Thanks.

 

[dlhunicorn]

stop giving them earthworms (helminth carrier > means will give your bird intestinal parasites) see my post here:
https://www.backyardchickens.com/forum/viewtopic.php?id=35793

Cappillaria will damage the intestines and droppings may have orangish tinge (blood) or sloghed off material at times.

Get a faecal to determine if cocci or parasites so you will know which med to give. >are they on medicated starter?

 

[silkiechicken]

I missed that earthworm part... earthworms contain a lot of potential "bad things" for chicks, and eating them can give them cocci as earthworm gut flora is filled with literally all the stuff in the dirt that they live in.

 

[ursus]

Yikes!! I would never have thought that worms would be a bad idea!

Yeah, I'll stop that ASAP, but I'd imagine that they will find them once outside. I have a coop and run set up for them when they're ready, and had planned on letting them poke about in the garden when I can supervise. (some big raccoons live in nearby trees)

Are worms something I should try to keep them away from? Or is this more of a concern only when they are chicks? I certainly won't intentionally feed them anymore!

Thanks for the help dlhunicorn and silkiechicken!

 

[silkiechicken]

Well, I don't worry about it when mine eat worms. As an adult, for body size vs worm size/paracite load, it is not as bad. Plus, even if I dig things up in the garden, they don't really find that many worms to eat compared to specifically feeding them worms. They aren't quite as efficent as we are as their scratching usually isn't fast enough to uncover a worm unless it is in the compost bin. Good luck!

 

[SpottedCrow]

Chicks don't need treats quite yet...spoil em when they're older...
It sounds like Cocci to me also.