"Sad" chick...

[MrLeeHo]

One of our 3-4 week old chicks (Barred Rock) seems to be not as active as the others and has her eyes closed quite a bit. She doesn't have the same vigor her sisters do. My wife said she seems sad and we are getting a bit worried there is something wrong. We have seen her eating and drinking but when she isn't she spends most of her time under the heat pad while the other 3 spend most of their time scratching in the brooder and chasing each other. I have not seen poop to comment on that in the last 24 hrs. Below is a pic of her with her eyes closed while being held. Can someone help me know what could possibly be going on and what i could or should be doing (if anything)?

 

[Friendly_Lurker]

@Miss Lydia

 

[Aapomp831]

One of our 3-4 week old chicks (Barred Rock) seems to be not as active as the others and has her eyes closed quite a bit. She doesn't have the same vigor her sisters do. My wife said she seems sad and we are getting a bit worried there is something wrong. We have seen her eating and drinking but when she isn't she spends most of her time under the heat pad while the other 3 spend most of their time scratching in the brooder and chasing each other. I have not seen poop to comment on that in the last 24 hrs. Below is a pic of her with her eyes closed while being held. Can someone help me know what could possibly be going on and what i could or should be doing (if anything)?View attachment 2586267

Separate her so you can examine her pooo when she does go... if it’s bloody and / or mucus like then it’s probably cocciadosis.... but sometimes no symptoms except for lethargy present themselves. You could also try giving her a little sugar / molasses water, maybe she just needs an energy burst. While separated I would leave her chick food and water with some electrolytes (no probiotics - chick food has enough) so you can monitor if she’s eating or drinking at all.

 

[Miss Lydia]

Bless she doesn't feel real good. Did she have any problem with pasty butt when she was younger? Do you have nutri drench? You can drip some along her beak or just inside her beak let her swallow. Directions on the bottle. As for separating her if she is sick shes already been with everyone so unless the others are picking on her, separating may make her worse, since they love to be together. I'd get a good pic of her poop though that can speak volumes so maybe place her by herself at least till you get a poop.

 

[MrLeeHo]

Separate her so you can examine her pooo when she does go... if it’s bloody and / or mucus like then it’s probably cocciadosis.... but sometimes no symptoms except for lethargy present themselves. You could also try giving her a little sugar / molasses water, maybe she just needs an energy burst. While separated I would leave her chick food and water with some electrolytes (no probiotics - chick food has enough) so you can monitor if she’s eating or drinking at all.

I will isolate. I have witnessed her eat and drink atleast a some over the last couple of hours. Also just went out and watched her until she pooped, then took a picture. I am not exactly sure what i am looking for here but i do not see any blood but it is softer than i thought it would be with some whitish coloring... @Miss Lydia

 

[Ebony Rose]

The whitish coloring is her urates (urine), and the texture is probably due to drinking more than eating.
If this were my girl, I would treat with amprolium (Corid) for cocci overload, each individual bird has their own inherent resistance to this ever-present parasite; hers might just be a lower tolerance than the others due to genetics, underlying health issues, etc. Long story short, the medication is not an antibiotic; it functions by tricking the parasite into believing that it is Vitamin-B (the food of choice for cocci), and thereby starving the parasite to death. Do not offer B-vitamin supplements while treating for cocci but do offer them to your birds after treatment. In no way, shape or form, can treating for cocci be considered a bad idea; it will not harm your flock if they are not experiencing difficulties with cocci overload but can certainly save their lives if they are!

 

[MrLeeHo]

The whitish coloring is her urates (urine), and the texture is probably due to drinking more than eating.
If this were my girl, I would treat with amprolium (Corid) for cocci overload, each individual bird has their own inherent resistance to this ever-present parasite; hers might just be a lower tolerance than the others due to genetics, underlying health issues, etc. Long story short, the medication is not an antibiotic; it functions by tricking the parasite into believing that it is Vitamin-B (the food of choice for cocci), and thereby starving the parasite to death. Do not offer B-vitamin supplements while treating for cocci but do offer them to your birds after treatment. In no way, shape or form, can treating for cocci be considered a bad idea; it will not harm your flock if they are not experiencing difficulties with cocci overload but can certainly save their lives if they are!

Looking online at my local TSC and the only Corid i see is for Bovine.

 

[MrLeeHo]

Bless she doesn't feel real good. Did she have any problem with pasty butt when she was younger? Do you have nutri drench? You can drip some along her beak or just inside her beak let her swallow. Directions on the bottle. As for separating her if she is sick shes already been with everyone so unless the others are picking on her, separating may make her worse, since they love to be together. I'd get a good pic of her poop though that can speak volumes so maybe place her by herself at least till you get a poop.

I do not have nutri drench currently but could solve that issue today if that is what should be done. I posted a pic of her poop above (no blood). Thanks for the help!

 

[MrLeeHo]

Bless she doesn't feel real good. Did she have any problem with pasty butt when she was younger? Do you have nutri drench? You can drip some along her beak or just inside her beak let her swallow. Directions on the bottle. As for separating her if she is sick shes already been with everyone so unless the others are picking on her, separating may make her worse, since they love to be together. I'd get a good pic of her poop though that can speak volumes so maybe place her by herself at least till you get a poop.

I do have molasses. Is there a recipe to make a similar solution to nutri drench that i could do today and get a bottle this weekend?

 

[Miss Lydia]

Have you seen her poop? They poop alot so if she isn't pooping she may have something going on internally. I don't know of a recipe for Nutri Drench Maybe research on line but I know it has molasses in it but whether you'd have the other ingredients available?