Sick or Injured Sebright - Help!

[cyanne]

I have 5 little sebrights that are all about 4 wks old. They are on medicated chick feed (Purina Starter Grower).

These little guys are usually VERY active and quick, but today, after I let them out of the coop, I noticed that one was standing by itself in the run. She (I think it's a girl) seemed to just sort of be huddling there with her shoulders hunched and her feathers all poofed out. Her eyes look sort of droopy, too (like she's sleepy).

So I decided to catch her to see what was wrong, and I was able to walk right up and catch her really easily. This is another warning flag because it is normally pretty tough to catch any of the sebrights because they are very shy and move fast when they see you heading their way.

I did not find any obvious injuries, so I took her inside and put her in a box with food and water so I could observe. So far, I have given her free access to plenty of chick feed and water, plus I gave her a drop of Polyvisol and fed her a little of the Exact hand feeding formula.

Her crop seemed pretty empty when I caught her, and she seems fairly light in comparison with the other sebrights. I saw her poo after I had her in the box, and it was normal, fairly solid and brown with the white tip.

Her breathing is normal, no wheezing or gurgling or mucous build-up. The eyes look clear. So it does not look like respiratory illness so far.

For now, I am just trying to keep her quiet and get food and water into her. I also put a 3 wk old BR chick in with her to keep her company (tried to put another sebright in with her, but he screamed his head off so I switched the nursemate for something quieter!) I just need to know if there is anything else that I should/could be doing to help her out?

 

[cyanne]

Anybody?

 

[IloveTravis]

It looks like you've done all you can. Until you find out what's wrong with her, making her feel comfortable is the best soluttion
I would wait and see what happens. If she's only acting slow and there's no other signs of illness, it might be something totally harmless. Maybe she's just more mellow then your other birds.
Good luck, anyway I hope she feels better soon.

 

[cyanne]

Thanks!

I am hoping that she's just feeling a little under the weather and will spring back after a couple of days of coddling

Still pretty sure that she's either sick or injured though, since she's standing around all hunched up and just looks unhappy and weak. Plus she weighs less and is thinner than the other sebrights from the same group.

One fear I have is that it might be a head or back injury that is not visible from the outside. A day or so before I noticed her weird behavior, I was in the coop breaking down the temporary divider that I put up to help keep the little ones safe while I integrated them into the flock with my older birds...it was made with the plastic bird netting held up by wooden stakes...anyhow, while I was pulling it up, one of the stakes fell over and OF COURSE it landed right in the middle of the group of little guys!

At the time I checked everyone over and it none of them were acting like they'd been hurt, just scared. Now I am wondering if this one might have gotten bonked on the head or back. If that's the case, she may be acting this way because she's in pain.

For now I am just going to keep pampering her and see if she perks up.