Sick chick Needs help! I am out of ideas, Please help!

denahli

Songster
11 Years
Jul 16, 2008
146
3
121
i have an almost 2 week old barnevelder chick. She was sick a few days ago, slept a lot but then got real perky. Shes been fine and right in with the flock feeding and drinking until today.

They got into a mess of grit 3 days ago but all are fine. I did switch foods thoug (from manna pro to nutrena) I didn't want to make the switch but I couldn't find a local dealer. The other 15 babys are perky and lively.

here are her symptoms:

*extrememly lethargic, falls asleep if i pick her up and maybe takes a few steps then falls asleep again when set down.
*not eating or drinking by herself
*when she is not sleeping she just stands
*droopy wings when sleeping
*not chirruping

I have isolated her in a small broooder at a temp of about 93 degrees (by the bulb). She did not poop all day until this evening. She had two big brown bowel movements and one mucousy orangey scat. But still no change in appearance.

Maybe I have a narcoleptic chick....lol...sorry im sad and making jokes to cope.



Here is whar I have tried:

*wet mash - wont eat it
*grow gel-wont eat it
*some of the old food- wont eat it
*fresh water, sugar water and electrolyte pack water-wont touch it
*I gave her some electrolyte water with a drop of olive oil in a needless syringe. If I make a drop pop out the end of the syringe and touch her beak she will drink it....eyes still closed all the while.
*I did the same above with sugar water, nothing.
*I gave her some duramycin in the dropper about 30 min ago.

all day she has probably had 30 droplets of various water mixtures. Her crop is soft and not abnormally huge.

I have not forced her to eat, i figured hydration is half the battle.

any more ideas out there or causes. I really have grown attached already since I nursed her back to health already once.
 
Last edited:
Is the feed that you're giving her medicated?
Bloody or orange poops can mean cocci and the medicated food has a coccidistat in it.

Have you tried baby bird handfeeding formula? You can get it at any of the Petco's or PetSmart's. Make it very loose and use the syringe and dribble a little at the side of her beak...
 
the food is medicated chick starter.

I have not tried the baby bird food, though they go gaga over the electrolyte gel and even if a dab is on her beak she wont eat it.


yeah the orage poop was beside a BIG brown one. (one of the benefits to having a chicken 'hospital' brooder you can see the individuals poo..joy! lol) After i cleaned it out she did another dark brown poo.

can hey still get coccidiosis (i know im butching the spelling) even with medicated food and if so will the duramycin help or is there something else on the market specific to that disease?

how long can a chick survive at this age on water only?
 
i tried yolk and scrambled. no response. is there any danger in using raw yolk? the reason i ask is because i could use a dropper for it
 
they can still get cocci when on medicated feed..
go ahead and treat using Sulmet..
to my knowledge..duramycin isn't a coccidiostat..
and that's what you need.
Sulmet is usually available at most feed/farm/livestock suppliers..
Corid (amprolium) is safer for chicks, but usually medicated feed has amprolium in it..so many people use Sulmet instead of more amprolium.

don't give any vitamins till treatment is complete..
and extra protein might not be a good idea either..since cocci feeds on protein.
others might have different opinion.

cocci should be treated asap.

hope the chick does ok..
 
Have you listened to her lungs? She may have caught a cold/infection. If you listen right under the wing an hear crackeling, she has an infection and needs meds like baytril/Tylan. If it is clear, then in may be the coccidia making her ill. I would use the Amprolium, you can find a small bottle in Jeffers Equine for round $13. It is less toxic to them then Sulmet and is more concentrated than what is in feed.
big_smile.png
 
Thank you everyone!

Last night I gave her puffed out crop a message and this morning it was empty and she was famished. I started her on electrolyte gel and she has had a steady supply of duramycin laced water. She is perky, though not 100% right now. She does want to get back in with the others and is peeping and moving around. She is a giant poop machine now too, all brown and whiteish.

I gave her a mash of boiled yolk, crumbled mixed with water and some powdered food sprinkled to bait her. She did eat some of this. i put her in the other pen for a visit but the first thing she did was attack the grain. i wold like to see her a bit stronger before she goes 'balls to the walls' sort to speak on grain and friendies.

She is loving the dropper still and likes being held now. i think, if she will stay well, will be my buddy for life.

how long should i confine her in the 'hospital' brooder?
 

New posts New threads Active threads

Back
Top Bottom