Sick baby chick

[faithm130]

Hi, I have raised many baby chicks in the past few years and have never seen anything like this before. My friend got five baby chicks from tractor supply on Tuesday and they have been acting sleepy. also very lethargic and weak. So, she kept them nice and warm and comfortable. But when she went to the coop this morning, they were all dead except for one. Who was still weak and sleepy. She gave him to me to care for for the night. I have him in a small box under a heat lamp. He is slowly getting more energy... But I'm still worried. He wasn't able to even open his eyes or hold his head up. He just laid there motionless and fell over when he tried to stand up. I made some mush with his food and water and fed him with a syringe. Now he is walking around and chirping. My mother got pularium testing certified and learned about a disease called Marek's? Is this possibly the disease? Is it contagious to me?

 

[newmarch2014]

This sounds like what one of mine went through and I did the treatment for coccidosis that a poster suggested. I also did what you did which was make food and water immediately available to the little buggar within a step of her. It took her a couple days of me being sure she was going to die before she really bounced back significantly. Mine lost a few grams of weight but over a week later since she has been intergrated into the flock again and she has gone from being 1/2 the size of the others to just a bit behind. I take her out a couple times a day and give her uninterupted access to a chick stick and water to give her a bit of babying and help her get her weight up.
https://www.backyardchickens.com/a/coccidiosis-how-to-treat-it
this is a link to an article here on the site that helps. I got the corid from the feed store in a packet of powder.

 

[faithm130]

Thank you! I think it was coccidiosis. Unfortunately he died this morning

, but at least he spent his last few hours in comfort. I'm going to go to tractor supply and ask and see if most of the chicks from that batch died. Maybe we can save some other chicks!

 

[newmarch2014]

I am sorry to hear it died. Good on ya to try to save it. I find that our feed store is pretty harsh about the sick or dead chicks. They do not want to admit anything could have been wrong with any chick shipment in case someone wants to ask for a refund....heaven forbid someone buy a chick with the expectation of having a hen in the end...but good luck with trying to alert them.