sick chick--help, quick! (with pics)

[cameroneil]

hello again chicken folks,

i posted about this chick earlier, but i have now collected more observations and a couple of pictures. your wisdom is deeply appreciated!

tumblr is an ameraucana chick, about 3.5 weeks old. she and her sister (twitter, french marans) have been growing fast and strong. we put them in the coop yesterday, boxed-off with a sheet of pegboard so that they can see and smell our 2 adult silkies but have no physical interaction with them, and keep the food/water separate. here they are yesterday, when all was well:

this morning, when i went to let the big girls out and check on the little ones, i found tumblr (left in the picture) unable to walk or stand. twitter was just fine. but tumblr was dragging herself along by her wings and flopping around really pitifully. i immediately took her inside and set her up with easily accessible food and water in a cardboard box.

for most of the day she's been lethargic, sitting with her wings kind of drooping and her head down. it seems like her breathing is a bit labored. every now and then she perks up for a period, though, and will try to get around, eat, drink, peep, attempt standing up, etc. her poop has looked solid but recently i thought i saw a little blood in it.

she really rallied a little bit ago, trying to stand and this time obviously favoring her left foot, which hadn't been clear before. i can see no obvious trauma or injury on any part of her. here are some pictures of her general aspect...

she is back to the lethargic, fluffed up droopy wing mode now. any insight would be really helpful. i sure would hate to lose her....

--cameroneil

 

[leadwolf1]

Blood in poop sounds like coccidia...Corid is the drug of choice and can be purchased at your local tractor supply. Search coccidia on this forum and the threads will be full of helpful information. I'm not sure what is happening with the foot though...hopefully someone else will jump on and give some more helpful advice.

Hope your little one gets better, soon.

 

[tiki244]

awe man poor tumblr. It looks like she must have hurt herself by the way she is favoring her foot. I once kept a hurt chick in a little shoe box for about a week, making sure she ate and drank and she got better. Shedid peep a lot and carry on for being lonely though. Scrambled eggs and water with electrolytes is always good food.


like leadwolf1 said, Corid is great to give them for cocci. If there was any blood in the poop I would treat for cocci. It is best to get on that quickly as cocci can kill quickly.

http://www.firststatevetsupply.com/content/view/16/43

 

[cameroneil]

hey folks! thank you for your insight. tiki244, i am doing exactly that (keeping her in a sierra nevada 12pk box, rather than a shoebox

) and i am encouraged by her progress this morning. she's got a lot of fight! she is not standing yet, but is sitting more evenly on both legs and isn't as floppy/labored seeming. i think she did hurt her little leg, and i'm pretty sure it's not broken, so we'll just keep nursing her along. it's great to hear your little one got better. keep sending good vibes, and thanks so much!! --cameroneil

p.s. i will keep a eye out for blood in poop, but i haven't seen any more. i may have been paranoid hallucinating. if i see it again though i will INSTANTLY treat for coccidia!

 

[tiki244]

O good news and good vibes sent your way! I will check in later so please update us!

 

[cameroneil]

thank you for support and vibes! she continues to do well. she isn't quite standing yet but is trying to, and is starting to put weight on both legs. she is also frustrated by being alone in her box and wants me to mess with her at all times. she loves yogurt and golden cherry tomatoes. i hope, and am starting to think, that she will make a full recovery....and she will be the SPOILEDEST CHICKEN EVER!!

--cameroneil
p.s. i will put some pictures/video of her, and other happenings, on my blog if anyone is bored/interested: http://totallyurbanfarmer.blogspot.com