Sick babies :(

[JRobichaud]

i'm new at this and I have two chicks that have been sneezing and didn't grow. Their feathers are ruffled and missing in some places and they have a bad smell. I don't know what I should do. I am very worried that my whole flock will get ill.

 

[Wol1]

Poultry disease chart that lists bad smell:
http://www.dummies.com/how-to/content/common-chicken-illnesses-and-treatments.html
Omphalitis (Mushy Chick):
Symptoms: Newly hatched chicks — enlarged, bluish, inflamed naval area, bad smell, drowsy, weak chicks
How contracted: Bacterial infection of naval from unclean surfaces or chicks with weak immune systems. Can spread from chick to chick on contaminated surfaces.
Treatment: Antibiotics and clean housing sometimes help, but most chicks will die. Remove healthy chicks immediately to clean quarters.
Vaccine available: None. Use caution handling — staph and strep that cause this disease may infect humans.

Another which mentions bad smell: http://edis.ifas.ufl.edu/ps044
Infectious Coryza
Synonyms: roup, cold, coryza
Species affected: chickens, pheasants, and guinea fowl. Common in game chicken flocks.
Clinical signs: Swelling around the face, foul smelling, thick, sticky discharge from the nostrils and eyes, labored breathing, and rales (rattles -- an abnormal breathing sound) are common clinical signs. The eyelids are irritated and may stick together. The birds may have diarrhea and growing birds may become stunted (see Table 1).
Mortality from coryza is usually low, but infections can decrease egg production and increase the incidence and/or severity of other diseases. Mortality can be as high as 50 percent, but is usually no more than 20 percent. The clinical disease can last from a few days to 2-3 months, depending on the virulence of the pathogen and the existence of other infections such as mycoplasmosis.
Transmission: Coryza is primarily transmitted by direct bird-to-bird contact. This can be from infected birds brought into the flock as well as from birds which recover from the disease which remain carriers of the organism and may shed intermittently throughout their lives.. Birds risk exposure at poultry shows, bird swaps, and live-bird sales. Inapparent infected adult birds added into a flock are a common source for outbreaks. Within a flock, inhalation of airborne respiratory droplets, and contamination of feed and/or water are common modes of spread.
Treatment: Water soluble antibiotics or antibacterials can be used. Sulfadimethoxine (Albon

, Di-Methox

) is the preferred treatment. If it is not available, or not effective, sulfamethazine (Sulfa-Max

, SulfaSure

), erythromycin (gallimycin

), or tetracycline (Aureomycin

) can be used as alternative treatments. Sulfa drugs are not FDA approved for pullets older than 14 weeks of age or for commercial layer hens. While antibiotics can be effective in reducing clinical disease, they do not eliminate carrier birds.
Prevention: Good management and sanitation are the best ways to avoid infectious coryza. Most outbreaks occur as a result of mixing flocks. All replacement birds on "coryza-endemic" farms should be vaccinated. The vaccine (Coryza-Vac) is administered subcutaneously (under the skin) on the back of the neck. Each chicken should be vaccinated four times, starting at 5 weeks of age with at least 4 weeks between injections. Vaccinate again at 10 months of age and twice yearly thereafter.

Omphalitis
Synonyms: navel ill, mushy chick disease
Species affected: chickens
Clinical signs: Affected chicks may have external navel infection, large unabsorbed yolk sacs, peritonitis with fetid odor, exudates adhering to the navel, edema of the skin of ventral body area, septicemia and dehydration (see Table 3).
Transmission: Infection occurs at the time of hatching or shortly thereafter, before navels are healed. Chicks from dirty hatching eggs or eggs with poor quality shells, or newly hatched chicks placed in dirty holding boxes, are most susceptible. Chicks removed prior to complete healing of the navel due to improper temperature and/or humidity are also more susceptible. Eggs that explode in the hatching tray contaminate other eggs in the tray and increase the incidence.
Treatment: There is no specific treatment for omphalitis. Most affected birds die in the first few days of life. Unaffected birds need no medication.
Prevention: Control is by prevention through effective hatchery sanitation, hatchery procedures, breeder flock surveillance, and proper preincubation handling of eggs. Mushy chicks should be culled from the hatch and destroyed. If chick mortality exceeds 3 percent, the breeder flocks and egg handling and hatching procedures should be reviewed.

Necrotic Enteritis
Synonyms: enterotoxemia, rot gut
Species affected: Rapidly growing young birds, especially chickens and turkeys 2-12 weeks of age, are most susceptible. Necrotic enteritis is a disease associated with domestication and is unlikely to threaten wild bird populations. Necrotic enteritis is primarily a disease of broilers, roasters and turkeys. Ulcerative enteritis, on the other hand, commonly affects pullets and quail.
Clinical signs: Initially there is a reduction in feed consumption as well as dark, often blood-stained, feces. Infected chickens will have diarrhea. Chronically affected birds become emaciated. The bird, intestines, and feces emit a fetid odor (see Table 3).
Transmission: Necrotic enteritis does not spread directly from bird to bird. Bacteria are ingested along with infected soil, feces, or other infected materials. The bacteria then grow in the intestinal tract. Infection commonly occurs in crowded flocks, immuno-suppressed flocks, and flocks maintained in poor sanitary conditions.
Treatment: The clostridia bacteria involved in necrotic enteritis is sensitive to the antibiotics bacitracin, neomycin, and tetracycline. However, antibiotics such as penicillin, streptomycin, and novobiocin are also effective. Bacitracin is the most commonly used drug for control of necrotic enteritis. As with all drugs, legality and withdrawal time requirements must be observed.
Prevention: Prevention should be directed toward sanitation, husbandry, and management.

Another chart with nothing about bad smell:
http://cleancoops.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=29&Itemid=34

American Poultry Assoc: nothing about bad smell
http://www.apa-abayouthpoultryclub.... SYMPTOMS FOR DIAGNOSING POULTRY DISEASES.pdf

Here is a chicken medicine chart:
https://sites.google.com/a/poultrypedia.com/poultrypedia/medicine-chart