Sick chicks

[belanger15]

I have 19 - 1 month old hens. I had 25. It seems like every week one dies. They are very well cared for, but this is my first time so maybe I'm doing something wrong. Most that have died get some kind of eye infection and are dead the next day. Nothing else seems to be wrong with them...no labored breathing, they are still energetic, etc. Any thoughts? At this rate, none will make it to the egg laying phase. What can I do? Nothing I read seems to be matching the problem...kind of overwhelming! It doesn't seem contagious because its been one chick every 5-7 days.

 

[Eggcessive]

Chicks that age can die of coccidiosis that quick, but if you have an eye infection, that sounds more like some respiratory disease. Can you be more descriptive of their symptoms? Is there eye or facial swelling, noisy or rattly breathing, eye drainage? Are they having any diarrhea? Are they sitting around puffed up and lethargic? How well are they eating?

 

[belanger15]

All the chicks had the coccidiosis vaccine except for 8 of them (which I have a feeling these eight were not healthy as we got them from a local farmer and 5 of the 8 did not make it). Each bird that has died has had one or both eyes close up, like a chick form of pink eye. There was crust between the eyelids. They all had really high pitch chirps, not like the normal kind of chick noise. I have never seen them with any breathing problems and they don't have diarrhea, or at least not that I can tell because they are going outside all day long now and I have a hard time seeing it on the grass. They all have plenty of energy. They seem to be eating plenty.

Right now, I actually am treating one that yesterday had a puffy, swollen shut eye. I have put saline and neosporine on it, and today she seemed better. The swelling went down, but the eye seems to be gone, there is just a red membrane covering the eye. I think it may have been pecked at or got something in it's eye.

I had no idea chicks could have so many illnesses. Maybe I let them outside and they were too young...or maybe we should not have put both sets of chickens together (the set I ordered online and the set we got from a local farmer...even if they were the same age). I sure am learning a lot. Thanks!

 

[ten chicks]

All the chicks had the coccidiosis vaccine except for 8 of them (which I have a feeling these eight were not healthy as we got them from a local farmer and 5 of the 8 did not make it). Each bird that has died has had one or both eyes close up, like a chick form of pink eye. There was crust between the eyelids. They all had really high pitch chirps, not like the normal kind of chick noise. I have never seen them with any breathing problems and they don't have diarrhea, or at least not that I can tell because they are going outside all day long now and I have a hard time seeing it on the grass. They all have plenty of energy. They seem to be eating plenty.

Right now, I actually am treating one that yesterday had a puffy, swollen shut eye. I have put saline and neosporine on it, and today she seemed better. The swelling went down, but the eye seems to be gone, there is just a red membrane covering the eye. I think it may have been pecked at or got something in it's eye.

I had no idea chicks could have so many illnesses. Maybe I let them outside and they were too young...or maybe we should not have put both sets of chickens together (the set I ordered online and the set we got from a local farmer...even if they were the same age). I sure am learning a lot. Thanks!

I see some of your chicks have been vaccinated for Cocci,but did you give them medicated starter feed? If yes,you have cancelled out the cocci vaccine.

Never mix chickens from two different breeders/hatcheries,always quarantine the birds,this prevents illness/diseases from contaminating your entire flock.

 

[belanger15]

I got non medicated feed because I had read that. Now I know not to mix.