Salmon Faverolle chick sick. Update on post #13. NEED HELP

[BarkerChickens]

We started with 51 chicks of which 8 were salmon faverolles. Two apparently had failure to thrive and were culled on day four.

So... I need to add the disclaimer that we are no paranoid with the remaining 49!

With that being said...here is the problem (?). One of the remaining salmon faverolles is acting lethargic. She sleep a lot but will run with the others if we scare them (opening their brooder, for example). She walk fine until she lifts her wings, which I think are throwing her off balance. Her wings are feathering faster than her little body, so now her flight feathers are slightly beyond her rear-end. Her wings seems fine...no injuries, etc. But, if she is relaxing, she lets them drop a little. Are her wings feathering too quickly and getting a little heavy for her to keep held up or is something else wrong? I took her out to give her some sugar water and vitamins and she drank so fast she almost choked! I separated her just to be safe... she is in with two other chicks (one with an injured toe, the other with a mildly herniated vent). She'll chirp loud, walk around some, drink....haven't seen her eat much though, but I may just be missing it. She just wants to sleep a lot! Maybe she is just a really calm chick? (hoping)

ETA: She is 8 days old.

 

[KatyTheChickenLady]

I have heard that cocsidiosus (I know I spelled that wrong!) makes them lethargic and hold their feathers kinda out and droopy. Yours seems to be about the right age for that? I'm probably wrong, but that is what I would think if I had one acting that way.

 

[BarkerChickens]

We have had them on ACV water, which I thought would help and her poop is not bloody. We don't have them on medicated feed. However, that doesn't mean that she doesn't have it. I have Sulmet...that treats coccidiosis, right? Do I need to reduce the concentration since they are so little or is the listed dose fine for the chicks? (I am assuming if I treat one, they should ALL be treated, right?)

 

[Cetawin]

Bless her heart. SFs are very very fragile as chicks. She is probably not thriving well. Can you separate her and another one and give her sugar water...if need be force feed her with a syringe? You can give her some poly vi sol infant vitamins WITHOUT iron.

Do not give them antibiotics if they do not need them...especially at only 8 days old. work with her one on one first.

Good luck with her.

 

[Jenski]

You will also NOT want to combine a medicated feed containing Amprolium with an additional dosage of Sulmet. These are entirely different meds, and Sulmet is very hard on a chicken's system. Never treat without being fairly sure of your illness.

Cetawin is right about SFs being very fragile as chicks. You can find the poly-vi-sol without iron at your local drug store.

Good luck!

 

[BarkerChickens]

Quote:
I gave her Poly-Vi-Sol this morning and she was eager for it, she aggressively bit the tip of it (gave her a couple drops on her beak). I gave her sugar water as well, which she will drink if I hold her (too fast if I don't watch her), but as soon as I set her down, she isn't too eager to drink it. I am at work now (

), but I will tell DH to take all the SFs and put them in a wire cage together with sugar water since he will be home before me. I am finding out the hard way that SFs are more fragile than the others! The other breeds we have had a single problem (aside from injuries, a mild leg deformity and pasty butt-related issues).

ETA: Can I put Poly-Vi-Sol (without iron!!!) in sugar water or does it cause some sort of reaction?

 

[Cetawin]

I just had a 8 months old get something stuck in her throat and she could not eat so I took her food and ran it through the coffee grinder to a powder...mixed it with water and made it soupy. I used a syring and feed her that way along with vegetable oil until she got the blockage down.

You could try grinding her starter and feeding her that way...a little every hour and put some electrolytes in her water or give her pedialyte so she does not dehydrate.

 

[RendonRoo]

Just got my first sf chicks last wednesday. I didn't realize that they wern't as hearty at first. Makes me glad i drove the 125 miles to pick them up. They were in my brooder by 4 p.m. the day they hatched. Seem to be as active as the buff brahamas that i got with them. I'm wondering if the sf chicks stress more than others during shipping. Good Luck.

 

[BarkerChickens]

RendonRoo,
I think the Sfs do stress more than others as well. However, at this point, we have had them since last Wednesday morning, so I don't think this one is stress anymore. But, I have heard that pasty-butt can be stress related. My Delawares, Salmon Faverolles and mottled Javas are the only ones with the problem. Not a single one of my 8 Black Jersey Giants or 14 Buckeye's have a dirty bottom in anyway whatsoever! All of my chicks are VERY energetic. Their brooder is 4' x 8' and all the chicks run around it like it is a track field (except this little one of course). At only 8 days, I already have one black Jersey Giant that can fly up onto ledges a foot off the ground! I'd bet this little one could fly too if it had the energy. Her wing feathers are SO long!

 

[RendonRoo]

Do you have picks of her? Mine are just under a week old and they have pretty long feathers but not like what your talking about. Hope she perks up for you.