Sick 1 week old chicks

[Chicknlady16]

Last Thursday one of my hens hatched 6 chicks. She immediately started picking on them, so I am raising them in a box in my office with a heat lamp. Yesterday I noticed two of my chicks didnt seem to have much energy, they were sneezing and couldn't open one eye each. I tried feeding them a boiled egg yolk, but I'm not sure they ate much of it. Today they have matted feathers on their backs, do not seem to be eating or drinking, and seem to have less energy than yesterday. I have tried putting a vetrx solution around nostrils and eyes. They are now in a separate box from the four others with their own starter feed, own water, and some egg yolk, but neither have touched any of the food or drink. Does anyone have any suggestions. They seem so weak and I think they really need to eat and drink, but I'm not sure how to encourage that.

 

[Chickenlover8814]

One good idea would be to get some chick electrolytes to help hydrate them more, you could also soften some food with water and feed them with a kind of syringe without a needle. Best of luck!

 

[Eggcessive]

Get some poultry NutriDrench or Poultry Cell vitamins and give them a couple of drops each. Show them where their water is, and dunk their beaks for a second and let them swallow. Show them the feed and do the same. Sprinkle some on some paper towel around their feet and show them. They may be very weak already, so repeat this a few times every hour or so. Also check them for pasty butt once a day, and keep the vents clean. It sounds like they may have been exposed to a respiratory disease, but hopefully they will get better. Keep them warm, around 85-90 F with a cooler spot to get away from the heat.

 

[Kiki]

What is the exact temperature in your box?
How do their poops look?

 

[Chicknlady16]

The coop temperature is about 90 degrees under the lamp and 84 on the other side of the box. There are three very tiny poops in the box with them. Because they are barely eating and drinking, they are not pooping well.

I was able to feed one 3/4 of a syringe of raw egg yolk, sugar, and water. The other one just kept shaking her head. It now has both eyes closed and really seems to be struggling to breathe. I will try syringe feeding again in the morning, but I'm very nervous.

 

[SurferchickinSB]

The coop temperature is about 90 degrees under the lamp and 84 on the other side of the box. There are three very tiny poops in the box with them. Because they are barely eating and drinking, they are not pooping well.

I was able to feed one 3/4 of a syringe of raw egg yolk, sugar, and water. The other one just kept shaking her head. It now has both eyes closed and really seems to be struggling to breathe. I will try syringe feeding again in the morning, but I'm very nervous.

Be careful syringe feeding them, sometimes you can accidentally drown them if they get fluid or food in their lungs. I think it’s better to just dip their beak.

 

[Chicknlady16]

Thanks. I am not sticking the syringe down their throats, just using it to put drops of the liquid on their beak so they drink it, kind of similar to dipping third beak, but they seem to tolerate this better. Is their danger of drowning them feeding them this way?

They both made it through the night, and the one who ate the full ML syringe last night seems to be doing a tiny bit better today. This morning I got them each to drink another mL of egg yolk, sugar, water, vitamin mixture, put vetrx on their nostrils and vetrx with a dab of neosprin near their eyes. My plan is to keep trying to feed them liquids every 2 hours. Any other suggestions appreciated.

 

[Chicknlady16]

Both chicks passed away yesterday and now two of the others in the group are showing the same symptoms with one already to the point of not wanting to eat or drink with both eyes closed and one other having only one eye that looks bad but still eating and drinking. All four remaining chicks are getting doxycycline in their water.