Hi all,
I wanted to share this with you guys in case it can help someone and to know if what I did was correct, and the reasons why my actions were correct or incorrect. I have an assistant veterinarian formation, but I only had a very short formation on poultry and forgot all about since I never worked with poultry. I tried to apply some of the principals of cats/dogs emergency care, but I am not sure if that applies to chicks.
Anyhow, friday night, 7:30PM I went to feed the chicks in the coop. They have been in the coop for about a week and my previous chicks had an episode of coccidiosis about 6 weeks ago. I tried to clean the coop and disinfect as much as possible, but being wood, it is impossible to clean 100%. I knew it was very probable that the new chicks would catch it, so I started Amprol a few days before moving the chicks in the coop (they are still on it).
On friday PM, one chick was laying down, nearly breathing.. I initially thought it was dead. The breathing was very shallow and very slow, just a few breaths per minute. When I picked it up, he couldn't hold his head and I saw no signs of life whatsover. Didn't move, chirp, nothing except the shallow breaths.
I took him in the house and immediately gave him water + honey to get the glucose levels up. He didn't really swallow, I had to move the head a few times and extend his neck and eventually he would have the reflex to swallow. His eyes didn't open at all.
Once I gave him the emergency glucose, I took the time to create a food mix. I mixed up some electrolytes, honey and the water from my fermented feed. I added Amprol, odorless garlic and probiotic powder in the mix.
I "force fed" him that mixture every 15 minutes with a seringe. I put just a few drops in his beak, waited to see him swallow and started again. At some point he was breathing like if he breathed in a bit of water but at least he was breathing, I didn't drown him...
Between feedings, I would tuck a blanket around him so he would remain straight and not fall on his sides. I tried to elevate the head a little to help him breath. I watched TV with him sleeping on my lap so I could monitor his health and also to keep him warn (I dont have any warming mat or anything).
At 9:20PM he opened his eyes for the first time (almost 2 hours after I took him in)! He still couldn't hold his head up. He was breathing faster and a lot better than before.
He remained in that state until the mid-morning the next day. I fed him every hour during the night.
Around 10 AM next morning he was trying to move, but he always fell on his side, like a drunk.
I kept putting blankets around him so he would fall on his sides or back and kept his head a little bit elevated.
Sunday PM he ate by himself for the first time!! He can now hold his head up for a few seconds, but he cannot stand up. He falls.
When he started to be more awake and able to swallow, around saturday midday, I started to put some powdered meal (you know, like Slim fast meal substitute) in his food mixture to give him some proteins and carbs to help him gain some strength.
Currently I am at work, he is at home. I hope he will live through the day, but there was definite improvement during the weekend, and I was pretty happy about that!! I am eager to see him stand up, I hope his brain wasn't affected in some way.. I will post pictures tomorrow
I wanted to share this with you guys in case it can help someone and to know if what I did was correct, and the reasons why my actions were correct or incorrect. I have an assistant veterinarian formation, but I only had a very short formation on poultry and forgot all about since I never worked with poultry. I tried to apply some of the principals of cats/dogs emergency care, but I am not sure if that applies to chicks.
Anyhow, friday night, 7:30PM I went to feed the chicks in the coop. They have been in the coop for about a week and my previous chicks had an episode of coccidiosis about 6 weeks ago. I tried to clean the coop and disinfect as much as possible, but being wood, it is impossible to clean 100%. I knew it was very probable that the new chicks would catch it, so I started Amprol a few days before moving the chicks in the coop (they are still on it).
On friday PM, one chick was laying down, nearly breathing.. I initially thought it was dead. The breathing was very shallow and very slow, just a few breaths per minute. When I picked it up, he couldn't hold his head and I saw no signs of life whatsover. Didn't move, chirp, nothing except the shallow breaths.
I took him in the house and immediately gave him water + honey to get the glucose levels up. He didn't really swallow, I had to move the head a few times and extend his neck and eventually he would have the reflex to swallow. His eyes didn't open at all.
Once I gave him the emergency glucose, I took the time to create a food mix. I mixed up some electrolytes, honey and the water from my fermented feed. I added Amprol, odorless garlic and probiotic powder in the mix.
I "force fed" him that mixture every 15 minutes with a seringe. I put just a few drops in his beak, waited to see him swallow and started again. At some point he was breathing like if he breathed in a bit of water but at least he was breathing, I didn't drown him...
Between feedings, I would tuck a blanket around him so he would remain straight and not fall on his sides. I tried to elevate the head a little to help him breath. I watched TV with him sleeping on my lap so I could monitor his health and also to keep him warn (I dont have any warming mat or anything).
At 9:20PM he opened his eyes for the first time (almost 2 hours after I took him in)! He still couldn't hold his head up. He was breathing faster and a lot better than before.
He remained in that state until the mid-morning the next day. I fed him every hour during the night.
Around 10 AM next morning he was trying to move, but he always fell on his side, like a drunk.
I kept putting blankets around him so he would fall on his sides or back and kept his head a little bit elevated.
Sunday PM he ate by himself for the first time!! He can now hold his head up for a few seconds, but he cannot stand up. He falls.
When he started to be more awake and able to swallow, around saturday midday, I started to put some powdered meal (you know, like Slim fast meal substitute) in his food mixture to give him some proteins and carbs to help him gain some strength.
Currently I am at work, he is at home. I hope he will live through the day, but there was definite improvement during the weekend, and I was pretty happy about that!! I am eager to see him stand up, I hope his brain wasn't affected in some way.. I will post pictures tomorrow
