Sick chick won't open eyes, diarrhoea, lethargy

[Mortiskya]

Hi all, I was hoping my next post as a newbie chicken owner wouldn't be here but unfortunately here we are.

We have a chick (2-3 weeks old I believe) that I noticed yesterday was fairly lethargic, sleeping a lot, and even when walking around would keep both eyes closed. If handled it would open one eye only and the other eye would have to be teased open but could still open. Today that eye was sealed shut and the bird was even more lethargic. No loud chirping unless handled.

We isolated, and used a damp cotton swab to gently unstick the eye but it still doesn't like to keep either eye open. The eye had no puss and wasn't really even that crusty, just a little stuck. It's only a little swollen but I think that's more from us wiping it and touching it so much. We checked for pasty butt and found nothing, breathing is fine, head is a little wobbly and stance can be a little wobbly too but nothing too extreme. No mucus in the nostrils either.

While isolated it did a poo, the bird shook quite a bit (constipation?), and the poo was a dark yellow, kinda foamy very wet diarrhoea and honestly one of the worst things I have smelled in my life. Inspected and found no blood, worms, or undigested food, it did have some small bits of proper poo within the diarrhoea.

Our treatment so far has been to treat all birds for coccidiosis starting as of 20 minutes ago. With a very small dose of electrolyte mixed in. I also made a paste out of feed and medicated water that the sick bird happily ate (tried to make it drink the water but that wasn't happening). I also plan to treat the stuck eye with some dilute iodine solution incase of some bacteria causing the eye issue.

Please let me know if you have any idea of what we could be doing to help the bird in any way. We decided treating all the chicks for cocci was the safe way to go for now and the electrolytes will hopefully boost the birds energy and help it fight whatever it may have but we have no idea what other diseases they could have that we might not have considered.

All the other chicks seem completely fine, very playful, curious and flighty though I suspect one other may also be sick as since removing the sick bird another diarrhoea has shown up in the main brooder.

Sorry for the long read, I tried to be as informative as possible.

Thanks in advance.

 

[Eggcessive]

Do not add electrolytes to the Corid. Thiamine in the vitamins is not to be given while on Corid. Corid dosage is 2 tsp of the liquid or 1.5 tsp of the powder per gallon of water. I would treat all chicks at the same time. Iodine should not be used in the eye. Instead make or buy some normal saline or saline. 2 tsp of salt can be dissolved in a quart/liter of water in a saucepan. Bring to a boil, turn to low and cover. Simmer for 15 minutes, and cool it to rom temperature. Terramycin or plain Neosporin ointment can be put into the eye twice a day.
The chick may have been pecked in the eye, or be showing signs of a respiratory disease such as MG. If symptoms worsen when Corid 5 day dosage is complete, you can give some Tylosin in the water. Jedds.com sells it online.

 

[Lillith37]

Foamy yellow poop makes me think worms. If you have wet soil it will favour worms as well as coccidia. Usually you can treat for both without issue.

 

[Mortiskya]

Do not add electrolytes to the Corid. Thiamine in the vitamins is not to be given while on Corid. Corid dosage is 2 tsp of the liquid or 1.5 tsp of the powder per gallon of water. I would treat all chicks at the same time. Iodine should not be used in the eye. Instead make or buy some normal saline or saline. 2 tsp of salt can be dissolved in a quart/liter of water in a saucepan. Bring to a boil, turn to low and cover. Simmer for 15 minutes, and cool it to rom temperature. Terramycin or plain Neosporin ointment can be put into the eye twice a day.
The chick may have been pecked in the eye, or be showing signs of a respiratory disease such as MG. If symptomsq worsen when Corid 5 day dosage is complete, you can give some Tylosin in the water. Jedds.com sells it online.

Hi, thanks for the reply. Regarding the electrolytes with the Corid I did read that added thiamine would be a problem. The electrolytes ingredients contain zero vitamins. It is a few different salts and some glucose. We have a seperate vitamin probiotic supplement that I did not give them for that reason. Unless I am mistaken and certain salts can contain thiamine? I will post ingredients below.

I made a saline solution last night and flushed the poor birds eye with a dropper. Was only planning to use the iodine externally as a wipe to ensure the outside of the eye in clean. I see no evidence of a peck but can't be confident yet. I live in Australia so some medications may be under a different name or vet prescribed. I will look into the medications you suggested and see what I can get, the tylosin seems especially handy.

Thank you.

Ingredients:

Contains – Potassium ions 21.76g – Sodium ions 0.6715 – Chloride ions 22.77g – Magnesium ions 0.0223g – Glucose 30g

 

[Mortiskya]

Foamy yellow poop makes me think worms. If you have wet soil it will favour worms as well as coccidia. Usually you can treat for both without issue.

Hi thanks for the reply. Sorry I should have been even more specific. I have looked up the foamy poos that worms cause and they are not like that. They are more slimy, thick, and wet. Yesterday was like a dark yellow brown mustard colour. Today they are more dark orange in colour. Still no signs of blood or even coral urates. Still very smelly though.

I have read that worming the chickens can be very taxing on their bodies is this a concern? I would rather not just throw everything at the chicken to blanket fix and instead only do what is necessary, especially if the medication is rough for them. My argument for the Corid is that it's safe even when they don't have cocci so either way we are covered without causing any harm or stress.

The worm medicine I can get uses levamisole and treats for large roundworm, caecal worm, and hairworm. Is this sufficient?

I should also mention they are in the brooder full time atm, it's winter for us in Aus and the 6 chicks are 2-3 weeks old. This was advised by the breeder since night temps are 8 Celcius and the chicks are not feathered much. I keep them on hemp for the low dust and clean it daily. The heat source is kept very high through the night as they seem to prefer some but not a lot of heat being inside. Our weather is very dry in winter and it hasn't rained in a month.

Thank you again.

 

[Lillith37]

Hi thanks for the reply. Sorry I should have been even more specific. I have looked up the foamy poos that worms cause and they are not like that. They are more slimy, thick, and wet. Yesterday was like a dark yellow brown mustard colour. Today they are more dark orange in colour. Still no signs of blood or even coral urates. Still very smelly though.

I have read that worming the chickens can be very taxing on their bodies is this a concern? I would rather not just throw everything at the chicken to blanket fix and instead only do what is necessary, especially if the medication is rough for them. My argument for the Corid is that it's safe even when they don't have cocci so either way we are covered without causing any harm or stress.

The worm medicine I can get uses levamisole and treats for large roundworm, caecal worm, and hairworm. Is this sufficient?

I should also mention they are in the brooder full time atm, it's winter for us in Aus and the 6 chicks are 2-3 weeks old. This was advised by the breeder since night temps are 8 Celcius and the chicks are not feathered much. I keep them on hemp for the low dust and clean it daily. The heat source is kept very high through the night as they seem to prefer some but not a lot of heat being inside. Our weather is very dry in winter and it hasn't rained in a month.

Thank you again.

If they haven’t been put out on soil yet worms and coccidia would be less likely… but treating with amprolium for coccidiosis is a good starting point.

There is a risk with the deficit of b vitamins during treatment especially for developing chicks as b vitamins are important for their legs. You can supplement after treatment.

Maybe someone else on here can comment about your brooder set-up. I’ve always had hens raise my chicks so have never used a brooder. But I know the chicks should be evenly spaced and move from warm to cool. If they are huddled under the heat lamp it’s too cold, if they are as far away as possible from it it’s too hot.

Could they be eating the hemp bedding? You could provide some small chick grit. They can only digest chick crumbles with saliva, anything else they consume it’s best to give them grit.

 

[Mortiskya]

If they haven’t been put out on soil yet worms and coccidia would be less likely… but treating with amprolium for coccidiosis is a good starting point.

There is a risk with the deficit of b vitamins during treatment especially for developing chicks as b vitamins are important for their legs. You can supplement after treatment.

Maybe someone else on here can comment about your brooder set-up. I’ve always had hens raise my chicks so have never used a brooder. But I know the chicks should be evenly spaced and move from warm to cool. If they are huddled under the heat lamp it’s too cold, if they are as far away as possible from it it’s too hot.

Could they be eating the hemp bedding? You could provide some small chick grit. They can only digest chick crumbles with saliva, anything else they consume it’s best to give them grit.

The chick seems to be responding well, it is eating and drinking on its own. Though it does have a reduced appetite still and the rest of the time it keeps its eyes closed and sleeps a lot kinda puffed up with its head down. All diarrhoea has stopped now and the smell of the poo has returned to normal. Ive seen no signs so far of a respiratory issue though I can't rule it out just yet.

Regarding the heat lamp, they seem fine with it as it is. The are happy under it and away from it. I catch them sleeping almost anywhere in the brooder, even the small ones will sometimes be off on their own sleeping away from the lamp while the bigger ones will be closer to/under it and the temperature stays pretty consistent in their room. They do currently have plenty of space to move away from the heat of they choose but will be upgraded to an even bigger brooder soon as they are growing fast.

They definitely love eating and kicking the bedding around. I have some grit on the way as well as some diatomaceous earth to use as a feed supplement as I have been advised by the breeder it is a safer way of helping worm them/help their guts. I will definitely be putting them on vitamins once the Corid has run it's course.

From the response I've seen, I think it could be coccidiosis but regardless the bird seems to be fighting whatever it has and hopefully is on the mend. If not I will have to get tylosin or similar prescribed from a vet to see if that helps.

 

[Wyorp Rock]

Do not add electrolytes to the Corid. Thiamine in the vitamins is not to be given while on Corid. Corid dosage is 2 tsp of the liquid or 1.5 tsp of the powder per gallon of water. I would treat all chicks at the same time. Iodine should not be used in the eye. Instead make or buy some normal saline or saline. 2 tsp of salt can be dissolved in a quart/liter of water in a saucepan. Bring to a boil, turn to low and cover. Simmer for 15 minutes, and cool it to rom temperature. Terramycin or plain Neosporin ointment can be put into the eye twice a day.
The chick may have been pecked in the eye, or be showing signs of a respiratory disease such as MG. If symptoms worsen when Corid 5 day dosage is complete, you can give some Tylosin in the water. Jedds.com sells it online.

Agreed. I'd treat for Coccidiosis.

 

[Lillith37]

The chick seems to be responding well, it is eating and drinking on its own. Though it does have a reduced appetite still and the rest of the time it keeps its eyes closed and sleeps a lot kinda puffed up with its head down. All diarrhoea has stopped now and the smell of the poo has returned to normal. Ive seen no signs so far of a respiratory issue though I can't rule it out just yet.

Regarding the heat lamp, they seem fine with it as it is. The are happy under it and away from it. I catch them sleeping almost anywhere in the brooder, even the small ones will sometimes be off on their own sleeping away from the lamp while the bigger ones will be closer to/under it and the temperature stays pretty consistent in their room. They do currently have plenty of space to move away from the heat of they choose but will be upgraded to an even bigger brooder soon as they are growing fast.

They definitely love eating and kicking the bedding around. I have some grit on the way as well as some diatomaceous earth to use as a feed supplement as I have been advised by the breeder it is a safer way of helping worm them/help their guts. I will definitely be putting them on vitamins once the Corid has run it's course.

From the response I've seen, I think it could be coccidiosis but regardless the bird seems to be fighting whatever it has and hopefully is on the mend. If not I will have to get tylosin or similar prescribed from a vet to see if that helps.

Sounds like the chick is on the mend! Can take several days for them to really bounce back after treatment begins. You’re doing all the right things.

 

[Eggcessive]

Glad to hear that the chick is improving. A balanced chick feed will provide vitamins and minerals, but supplementing B vitamins after amprollium/Corid/Coxoid treatment is good. Coccidiosis is the most common illness in chicks this age. If you can find Panacur 10% for goats or horses, that is a safe wormer in the future if worms become a problem. It is given orally 1/4 ml per pound of weight once and again in 10 days for roundworms. If given 5 days in a row, it will treat capillary/threadworms and gapeworms as well. Levamisole is the only wormer available in some countries, and if that has to be used, that is okay.