Sick chicks, parasites, coughs, chick died, need help :(

[phoenixbantam]

I am really new to chickens so I wasn't expecting to have to research health problems quite so quickly

I bought a bunch of chicks a few weeks ago... I think the breeder sold me a bunch of sick chicks

one of them had symptoms of gapeworm, I didn't notice it until I got her home... she wasn't doing well, gasping for air and stretching out her neck with each breath, but then suddenly began acting normal for a week or two... yesterday she was acting sick again, acting listless and not eating, then when I checked on her again she was dying, and she died shortly after

When I picked her up while she was dying, a ton of tiny white and brown insects crawled onto my hands... ew... what are they? Lice? Mites? How do I treat this? Google hasn't been too helpful with this...

Now my favorite 8-week old gold laced polish chick is acting funny... I am getting really attached to her and will be really upset if she dies. When I got her she occasionally had an odd cough but acted normal otherwise. Then she started acting floppy when she sleeps- droopy wings, sometimes sleeps on her side with legs or head stretched out in a strange way. The odd way she sleeps, I thought she was dead several times. But when she sees me with food she perks right up and chirps and eats and acts normal.

Starting within the past few days, when she sleeps, she looks as though her breathing is labored and she stretches out her neck with each breath. But she acts completely normal while she is awake. When she is sleeping, she seems really unhealthy.

I am really worried about her and the others. . Does anyone have any suggestions? I have them all together, the youngest chicks are about a week or two I think. I was thinking about deworming them and treating them for external parasites... are the youngest ones old enough to deworm? I have fenbenzadole and pyrantel on hand, I also have Tylan if that may be necessary for the cough. What should I buy for the lice?

Thank you so much in advance for any advice

I can't believe one of my chicks died, so now I am really worried about their health and especially my special little polish chick.

 

[phoenixbantam]

Also my special polish chick has an infection at the top of his beak... it's all crusty and red...

 

[dlhunicorn]

How old were these chicks when you got them? Were they from a brooder setup or did they have access to the ground outside?
Gapeworm in very young chicks is extremely rare and there are many other things which could cause the same symptoms... one most commonly associated with chicks :
Aspergillosis (fungal disease also called "brooder pnuemonia> often a problem with young chicks) see here:
http://msucares.com/poultry/diseases/disfungi.htm

and there is often a vit A deficiency present (poor quality feed or vit A deficient brooder hens) which can be confused with a respiratory illness:
http://www.merckvetmanual.com/mvm/index.jsp?cfile=htm/bc/206922.htm&hide=1

You might try misting with OXINE and giving Polyvisol enfamil frmulation > a liquid childrens A-B-D vitamin > . three drops in beak once a day for a week and taper off the next.
Offer a good quality live culture yogurt free choice and if you can possibly do so I would suggest you order AviaCharge 2000 (available online from McMurry) which is a complete/balanced in the correct ratio for poultry and organic certified approved nutritional/vitamin/micro-nutrient supplement .

Proper ventilation and fresh.good quality feed and keeping all scrupulously clean with fresh water is crucial.

 

[NotTheMomma]

I'd personally treat them all with a dusting of Sevin dust! Sounds like lice, and they will kill a chick.

Put some Sevin in a sock, or knee high panty hose, and tie the top in a knot. Powder puff under the wings, the vent area, and behind the head of every chicken. Clean out their brooder, or bedding. Put fresh down, and put some Sevin in it. I might skip putting it in the bedding of week or two old chicks. Just my preference, though I don't know if it would hurt or not.

Best of luck!

 

[dlhunicorn]

I'd personally treat them all with a dusting of Sevin dust! Sounds like lice, and they will kill a chick.

Actually in this case where the birds are presenting with breathing difficulties this is contra-indicated...sevin is extremely toxic (internal) and birds are extremely sensitive to dusts .​

 

[NotTheMomma]

Quote:
Actually in this case where the birds are presenting with breathing difficulties this is contra-indicated...sevin is extremely toxic (internal) and birds are extremely sensitive to dusts .

Could she use Ivomectin then? Are you saying to just ignore the lice and work on the respiratory problem first? I'm just worried the lice will weaken even more.

Why don't we have a poulty vet onboard? LOL! It would make things so much easier for US! Though the doc sure would be overworked.

 

[NotTheMomma]

For the crusty beak. Clean it up with saline water, and apply some neosporin, or antibiotic oint to it.

 

[dlhunicorn]

No I did not say to ignore the problem at all > just not to use a dust. There are other (non-dusts) to use for the parasites... for young chicks I would suggest using the (non-aerosol >pump) product sold for cage birds... you will need to treat the coop (a higher strength/stronger product should be used for this if wood) remove the birds while doing this .

 

[dlhunicorn]

Quote:
In addition to the above, Are you using a mash type feed? If so switch to a crumble and that should prevent the problem (and beak necrosis) from coming back.
http://www.thepoultrysite.com/diseaseinfo/14/beak-necrosis

 

[NotTheMomma]

Quote:
Ah, ok. I figured that much, but assuming.. ya know how that goes! So best to ask to clarify before assuming.

Thanks for explaining.