Sick Isa Brown

[Crazy Chava n chickens]

I got 10 Leghorns and 5 Isa Browns from Hoover Hatchery on Friday. 2 Isa Browns were doa, dead on arrival. 1 was struggling, it past away later that day, Saturday another one started to struggle, it past way too. Now my last Isa Brown "Autumn" is struggling. She had a pasty bottom, so I cleaned her up and gave her cracked oat groat with water and a little kelp. That was about 3 hours ago. I checked on her just a short while ago and she is very lethargic and salivating,( drooling) and has diarrhea .What does this sound like? Please help.

 

[The chicken wizard]

A few things:
1:define struggling. If the chicks were having seizures I conclude that they have neurological issues
2: are you providing them water?
3: how hot is their brooder?
4: how old are they?
We need more details about their setup, vaccinations, and general info to help, bit it sounds like autumn may not make it from what your telling us. You should take her to the vet as soon as possible.

 

[A_Fowl_Guy]

Sounds like shipping stress. Happens sometimes.

 

[Crazy Chava n chickens]

A few things:
1:define struggling. If the chicks were having seizures I conclude that they have neurological issues
2: are you providing them water?
3: how hot is their brooder?
4: how old are they?
We need more details about their setup, vaccinations, and general info to help, bit it sounds like autumn may not make it from what your telling us. You should take her to the vet as soon as possible.

1.Struggling, not moving, falling over, eventual not able to move on their own.
2 Yes there is water.
3 The brooder is now at 95, it was too hot (100+) earlier. I got it cooled down by turning the lamp off.
4 They hatched on Tuesday, I just got them on Friday (I did said that in the beginning, please re-read.)

 

[Crazy Chava n chickens]

Sounds like shipping stress. Happens sometimes.

That was what I thought too with the first 2 dead in the box, and the one that was not moving well, but the one that died yesterday, and Autumn being sick today. She is now in a 7 egg incubator with the egg tray removed and the temperature adjusted just right. I have a little bit of alfalfa hay in the brooder. I am on my way outside to remove it. That maybe the problem. (Last year I used just pine shavings, this year I put a little hay in with the pine shavings.)

 

[Crazy Chava n chickens]

Autumn is gone, no vet is necessary. I would like to know what the problem was. I have never seen a chick drool. But Isa Browns are a Rhode Island Red cross, and my experience with them is no good.

 

[paneubert]

Hello from another WA person. Sometimes it is just a mystery when it comes to chick death within the first 2 weeks of life. I had a very similar timeline as you. 27 chicks hatched last Tuesday, delivered last Thursday. One passed away on Saturday, and another on Sunday. The Saturday death was a surprise, but the Sunday chick was seen getting weaker and weaker over about 24 hours. Even with some liquid vitamins given right into the beak, died about 8 hours later.

If you still have the body, you could send it for a necropsy if you like. They may be able to give you an idea of why it died. But common reasons include the inability to digest food, and yolk sac infection from when they absorbed it in the days after hatch. There are so many reasons that a chick doesn't make it that there is even a semi-official catch all term, "failure to thrive" that a lot of people use. Apparently it is a real medical thing related to human kids as well. Learned that one today when I wanted to confirm that "failure to thrive" was a real term in use.

 

[aart]

I would like to know what the problem was.

Pics of your brooder setup would be helpful.

gave her cracked oat groat with water and a little kelp.

Did she eat this on her own?
Oat groats were fully soaked and you provided digestive grit?

 

[Crazy Chava n chickens]

No she did not eat on her own. The oat groat was cracked with a hand grinder and yes it was saturated with water. Yes there was grit. I think I know what happened. She was already stressed from shipping, (hence the pasty butt) then she got too hot. I have the brooder light and also a space heater. She got overheated, then I turned off the light and turned the heat almost completely off. So she got too cold. In her already stressed condition she developed pneumonia. (That is what caused the drooling, her lungs were stressed.)

 

[Crazy Chava n chickens]

Hello from another WA person. Sometimes it is just a mystery when it comes to chick death within the first 2 weeks of life. I had a very similar timeline as you. 27 chicks hatched last Tuesday, delivered last Thursday. One passed away on Saturday, and another on Sunday. The Saturday death was a surprise, but the Sunday chick was seen getting weaker and weaker over about 24 hours. Even with some liquid vitamins given right into the beak, died about 8 hours later.

If you still have the body, you could send it for a necropsy if you like. They may be able to give you an idea of why it died. But common reasons include the inability to digest food, and yolk sac infection from when they absorbed it in the days after hatch. There are so many reasons that a chick doesn't make it that there is even a semi-official catch all term, "failure to thrive" that a lot of people use. Apparently it is a real medical thing related to human kids as well. Learned that one today when I wanted to confirm that "failure to thrive" was a real term in use.

One or two death I totally understand, but all 5 and of just one breed. That is weird. (But they are related to Rhode Island Reds, and me and Rhode Islands is not a good match. When I had chickens in high school I had Rhode Islands and Barred Rocks that mysteriously died. (In was not secured well enough to keep mice, rats and skunks out. The coop that I finally finished is secure, or at least it will be as soon as the snow is gone and I can get hardware cloth on the outside of the coop. I hope your 25 chicks are doing well. By the way what kind did you get?