Sick chicks?

[KathyR]

Hi, I am new here and new to posting. I have 12 chicks that I purchased from a hatchery, hatched on 3/06. They did not do well during shipping, we lost one within a day of recieving them. The rest seemed to perk up after a couple of days. About a week ago I heard a few sneezes. I wasn't sure if anything was brewing and didn't want to waste any time. I called my vet and got tylan powder. They got it in their water, 1 heaping tsp per 2 gallons for five days. A couple days after completing the treatment, I still heard sneezing and now noticed yesterday that some of the poop is dark colored and mushy. Should I put them back on the tylan? Is it possible the poop problem is from the tylan? I am afraid that keeping them on the meds for to long may be harmful but I don't want to lose any of my babies. Any thoughts? Your help and advice will be appreciated.
Thanks
Kathy

 

[Renee]

I don't think putting them back on the Tylan will help, since you just got through with a full treatment. It is possible that they have a disease that has developed resistance to Tylan, or it could be that they are just sneezing. If you have pine shavings in with them as litter remove it (they eat it too) and replace with paper towels. Keep it really clean (yeah, right, they're babies!) so the ammonia does not make them sneezy.

Good luck.

 

[thebritt]

Good point - what kind of substrate do they sit on? I've always used newspaper and clean old clothes scraps (they can just go in the compost). I've found that none of our thrift stores will accept used clothing, so I have tons. If you need some, let me know (humor).

 

[tiki244]

You could also give them a vitamin electrolyte solution in their water which is recommended after treatment with any antibiotic.

 

[KathyR]

Hi,
Thanks for the replies guys. The sneezing has continued, so has the loose dark brown poops. Maybe they are just sneezing but the poop does not seem right. Would the medicated starter feed, which they have been on since day one, protect them from cocci? Maybe I should take a sample to the vet just in case. As far as the bedding, I have just been using old towels. The cage has a wire bottom. They seem to be acting okay, for the most part alert and eating very well. I do put vitamins and electrolites in the water. I guess I will have to keep an eye on them for now and get a stool check done. Thanks for the help.
Kathy

 

[farmgirlie1031]

Did they come from Murray McMurray? I got some from them in the fall and the chicks had CRD

I lost all but 9 of the 35 I ordered. I finally just got rid of the remaining 9 as I was totally unhappy with them. The Cornish in the order had horrible swollen legs and became totally paralized at 3 weeks old. I had to euthanize them

My vet said MM is a bad hatchery and knowingly sends out sick birds. In fact they had a really bad outbreak last year and lost a whole bunch of chicks. Had I known about that before I ordered I never would have given them my business.

 

[KathyR]

Hi,
Yes they did come from there. What is the disease you mentioned,CRD? As I said we lost one right off the bat. They were supposed to be shipped the week of the ninth. We got a phone call on the eighth (a sunday), from a post office that is apparently open 24 / 7. She had the chicks there and said they weren't looking to good. They were cold and hungry. They had been hatched on the 6th. Thank god for the women who thought to call. We had to drive twenty+miles each way to get them. I would not order from MM again.
Kathy

 

[farmgirlie1031]

It is a chronic respiratory disease.

Chronic respiratory disease (CRD), air sac syndrome and infectious sinusitis of turkeys have a common cause. CRD was first recognized as a chronic but mild respiratory disease of adult chickens. It reduced egg production but caused little or no mortality. Afterward, a condition known as "air sac disease" became a problem in young birds. It caused high mortality in some flocks. Many birds became stunted, feed efficiency was reduced, and many fowl were rejected as unfit for human consumption when processed.


Many antibiotics have been used with varying success. Whether to give treatment is a decision that must be made on each flock based on economic factors. If treatment is attempted, give high levels of one of the broad spectrum antibiotics (Tylosin, aureomycin, terramycin, gallimycin) either in feed, drinking water or by injections. The "upper"; form of infectious sinusitis can be treated with success by injecting antibiotics into the swollen sinus cavity.

http://www.msstate.edu/dept/poultry/disbact.htm

We ended up using injections in the leg muscle of Tylan 50 per the vet. Ours had the "upper" form. My main flock was no where near the chicks and never sick so I know it came from MM. They were showing signs of it the very next day after I got them. 13 of them were dead in the box upon arrivial