Sick 6 week old chick... many symptoms

[Docdetective]

Hello, I'm taking care of a chick that is about 6-7 weeks old. He or she cannot walk, which indicates Merek's, yet he was hatched into an established flock with no new chickens introduced since he hatched. I have been hand feeding and watering him since he cant stand up, and yesterday I woke up to small worms all over his behind. I gave him a bath and removed the worms, and started including diatomaceous earth in his food. Other then pooping out a few, there hasn't been anymore worms. Ever since the worm blowout he has been very tired, but has a good appetite. I have been giving him electrolyte water as well as plain water. He also has a cross beak, so has been on mash, so he is getting lots of fluids. He has so many symptoms for different diseases, I have no idea what to do. His mash is a mixture of Cream of Wheat, ground vegetables, chick starter, DE, and water. He has runny to soft poop, however it is light brown/tan and has no urates that I can see. A lot of poop is stuck to his behind, but he cheeps loudly when I try to clean him, but his vent looks irritated. I have trimmed his feathers so the poop doesn't build up. Any ideas what is wrong with him?

 

[oldhenlikesdogs]

Sounds more like maggots on it's bottom. Chicks aren't meant to eat a wet feed. That's why the droppings are loose, or at least that's my guess. How are it's legs? Under it or splayed?

 

[Docdetective]

Sounds more like maggots on it's bottom. Chicks aren't meant to eat a wet feed. That's why the droppings are loose, or at least that's my guess. How are it's legs? Under it or splayed?

Laying down his legs are out. Standing his left leg is usually held behind him and his right supports his weight.

 

[Docdetective]

Sounds more like maggots on it's bottom. Chicks aren't meant to eat a wet feed. That's why the droppings are loose, or at least that's my guess. How are it's legs? Under it or splayed?

Also, he was pooping worms... and got skinny immediately after the worms came out. which is why i thought it might be parasites.

 

[oldhenlikesdogs]

He sounds like he has a lot of problems going on. Mareks can show up that early but it isn't normal. Since he's able to stand it may be his leg got injured. Have you felt for breaks or a pain reaction when you move it?

He's also pretty young to have worms. I'll tag some people. Hopefully they have a better idea.

@Wyorp Rock , @Eggcessive

 

[Wyorp Rock]

Hello, I'm taking care of a chick that is about 6-7 weeks old. He or she cannot walk..he cant stand up, and yesterday I woke up to small worms all over his behind. Ever since the worm blowout he has been very tired..also has a cross beak, His mash is a mixture of Cream of Wheat, ground vegetables, chick starter, DE, and water. A lot of poop is stuck to his behind, but he cheeps loudly when I try to clean him, but his vent looks irritated.

Also, he was pooping worms... and got skinny immediately after the worms came out. which is why i thought it might be parasites.

Welcome To BYC

Can you please post some photos of the chick and his poop and of the worms?
Some chicks that have a cross beak can become very weak since they are not able to get enough nutrition. I would only feed chick starter, cut out the cream of wheat, veggies, etc.

If his bum was mess, that may have been the cause of the worms - it sounds like he has FlyStrike. Carefully inspect all of him to see if there are more worms and remove them. If the vent is irritated and he's pooping worms, then the maggots may have worked their way inside. Without seeing the vent, hard to know what to tell you to put on it - Vetericyn or triple antibiotic ointment would be a good start.

Look forward to the photos.

 

[Docdetective]

@Wyorp Rock
Here are the photos. I unfortunately don’t have a picture of the worms, but they were white with a dark head and stripe down their back. The largest ones were about 1/2” long, the smallest about 1/8”.



How he stands when eating. He can’t balance but can support his weight

His comb is withered looking.

His vent area. I trimmed feathers to better remove worms. He also has triple antibiotic cream applied.

Below are three types of poop I have observed him having.

He is now on chick starter only mash, with DE mixed in. If you could also know if it was a hen or roo that would be wonderful to know!
Other weird things I have observed are: He "air pecks" about once inch above things he is trying to peck. His legs also shake badly when laying down and when trying to walk. Thank you so much!

 

[Wyorp Rock]

@Wyorp Rock
Here are the photos. I unfortunately don’t have a picture of the worms, but they were white with a dark head and stripe down their back. The largest ones were about 1/2” long, the smallest about 1/8”.
How he stands when eating. He can’t balance but can support his weight
His comb is withered looking.
His vent area. I trimmed feathers to better remove worms. He also has triple antibiotic cream applied.
Below are three types of poop I have observed him having.
He is now on chick starter only mash, with DE mixed in. If you could also know if it was a hen or roo that would be wonderful to know!
Other weird things I have observed are: He "air pecks" about once inch above things he is trying to peck. His legs also shake badly when laying down and when trying to walk. Thank you so much!

I'm not very good with telling sex, but I do think it's a cockerel.
Was he ever able to walk very well?

The worms you describe do sound like maggots. If he's unable to stand, then flies are going to be attracted to the soiled vent. They lay eggs and maggots can hatch within 24hrs depending on temperature. Maggots can cause a lot of tissue damage in a short period of time.

To be honest, I feel like he has a lot going against him. Some birds with a scissor beak can learn to adapt and do well, but since he's also not able to stand, is pecking at the air (some possibilities would be neurological/Marek's, genetic/developmental and/or nutritional) along with the leg tremors - it may be kinder to put him down. I'm not trying to be mean.

If you have time to commit to him and want to try to see if he can improve and gain some strength, then well and good. This is what I would try.
Provide him with chick starter. I would leave out the DE. Making a wet mash so he can eat it. You may need to learn to tube feed him as well. I would also give him 400IU Vitamin E and 1/4 tablet B-Complex daily. Mash up some scrambled egg and add a bit of his feed when you feed him, this will help with the uptake of E.
Placing him in a sling can help keep him upright and hopefully cleaner, but with the tremors, you'll have to monitor him so he doesn't fall or flip out of the sling. When he's not in the sling, you can roll up a thick towel to see if that helps keep him propped up.
Clean the vent as needed and the beak too. Feed can harden in the nostrils and block them up, some cross beak birds are not able to swallow all the feed well, so make sure feed is not accumulating inside the beak too. Check his crop every morning to make sure it's empty/flat before he eats/drinks.
It would be a good idea to weigh him now and get a baseline, then weigh him at least once a week.

 

[Docdetective]

I'm not very good with telling sex, but I do think it's a cockerel.
Was he ever able to walk very well?

The worms you describe do sound like maggots. If he's unable to stand, then flies are going to be attracted to the soiled vent. They lay eggs and maggots can hatch within 24hrs depending on temperature. Maggots can cause a lot of tissue damage in a short period of time.

To be honest, I feel like he has a lot going against him. Some birds with a scissor beak can learn to adapt and do well, but since he's also not able to stand, is pecking at the air (some possibilities would be neurological/Marek's, genetic/developmental and/or nutritional) along with the leg tremors - it may be kinder to put him down. I'm not trying to be mean.

If you have time to commit to him and want to try to see if he can improve and gain some strength, then well and good. This is what I would try.
Provide him with chick starter. I would leave out the DE. Making a wet mash so he can eat it. You may need to learn to tube feed him as well. I would also give him 400IU Vitamin E and 1/4 tablet B-Complex daily. Mash up some scrambled egg and add a bit of his feed when you feed him, this will help with the uptake of E.
Placing him in a sling can help keep him upright and hopefully cleaner, but with the tremors, you'll have to monitor him so he doesn't fall or flip out of the sling. When he's not in the sling, you can roll up a thick towel to see if that helps keep him propped up.
Clean the vent as needed and the beak too. Feed can harden in the nostrils and block them up, some cross beak birds are not able to swallow all the feed well, so make sure feed is not accumulating inside the beak too. Check his crop every morning to make sure it's empty/flat before he eats/drinks.
It would be a good idea to weigh him now and get a baseline, then weigh him at least once a week.

I'm not very good with telling sex, but I do think it's a cockerel.
Was he ever able to walk very well?

The worms you describe do sound like maggots. If he's unable to stand, then flies are going to be attracted to the soiled vent. They lay eggs and maggots can hatch within 24hrs depending on temperature. Maggots can cause a lot of tissue damage in a short period of time.

To be honest, I feel like he has a lot going against him. Some birds with a scissor beak can learn to adapt and do well, but since he's also not able to stand, is pecking at the air (some possibilities would be neurological/Marek's, genetic/developmental and/or nutritional) along with the leg tremors - it may be kinder to put him down. I'm not trying to be mean.

If you have time to commit to him and want to try to see if he can improve and gain some strength, then well and good. This is what I would try.
Provide him with chick starter. I would leave out the DE. Making a wet mash so he can eat it. You may need to learn to tube feed him as well. I would also give him 400IU Vitamin E and 1/4 tablet B-Complex daily. Mash up some scrambled egg and add a bit of his feed when you feed him, this will help with the uptake of E.
Placing him in a sling can help keep him upright and hopefully cleaner, but with the tremors, you'll have to monitor him so he doesn't fall or flip out of the sling. When he's not in the sling, you can roll up a thick towel to see if that helps keep him propped up.
Clean the vent as needed and the beak too. Feed can harden in the nostrils and block them up, some cross beak birds are not able to swallow all the feed well, so make sure feed is not accumulating inside the beak too. Check his crop every morning to make sure it's empty/flat before he eats/drinks.
It would be a good idea to weigh him now and get a baseline, then weigh him at least once a week.

Thank you! I don’t think I’ll put him down quite yet, he took a few steps today so I’ll wait a while to see if he continues to improve. RE the maggots, I have not seen anymore and I have kept his bedding clean and sprinkled with DE to deter flies. I also sprinkle a little on his behind(not his vent) to kill any that may hatch.
He does not have any trouble eating mash, and is not “air pecking“ as much, last night he grabbed a piece of grass repeatedly and was able to bite it, he did that today as well! I am feeding him every 1.5 to 2 hours, and also taking him out into the garden to explore and peck at things. He also grooms himself regularly and seems cheery, he has “happy cheeps”. I will get the vitamins and start giving him those.

 

[Wyorp Rock]

Thank you! I don’t think I’ll put him down quite yet, he took a few steps today so I’ll wait a while to see if he continues to improve. RE the maggots, I have not seen anymore and I have kept his bedding clean and sprinkled with DE to deter flies. I also sprinkle a little on his behind(not his vent) to kill any that may hatch.
He does not have any trouble eating mash, and is not “air pecking“ as much, last night he grabbed a piece of grass repeatedly and was able to bite it, he did that today as well! I am feeding him every 1.5 to 2 hours, and also taking him out into the garden to explore and peck at things. He also grooms himself regularly and seems cheery, he has “happy cheeps”. I will get the vitamins and start giving him those.

Glad to hear he's able to take a couple of steps!
Keep us posted on how he's doing.