Sick Silver Laced Polish

[Clare_CA]

My four-week-old Silver Laced Polish isn't feeling well. She is hardly moving and doesn't appear to be eating. I thought maybe she was blind because she had her head facing down, but my husband went to pick her up, and she ran away from his grasp. It does appear that she can see. She's been vaccinated before she left McMurray Hatchery for Coccidiosis and Marek's Disease. Any idea what could be wrong with her, and how long do I wait before I give her a liquid vitamin or water from a dropper? We just changed the food from starter food to 8 week quick gro kracketts today because the guy at the feed store said it was time to change, but I think she was acting this way before I went to the feed store. I noticed her by herself while everyone else was running around. The area that she is in is just a temporary set up until the chicken run and coop are finished. The chicks have been going outside during the day in a confined area to play.


Thanks for your help.

 

[Bullwinkle]

Hi Clare_CA:

I usually keep my chicks on starter until they are old enough to start laying. I figure they need the extra protein. What starter feed were you using? Is her poop ok?

I got x3 Polish from McMurrays this year (one of which is a Silver Laced Polish). A couple of observations: of the x3 polish I received (x1 buff, x1 silver laced, and x1 golden) the silver laced is the slowest growing. They are now 8 weeks old and she is probably 30% smaller than the other two varieties.

Two of my polish (the girls) have the same problem: both of them see so poorly that two nights in a row they couldn't see well enough to find their way back to the room where their heat light is at night. I'm just wondering if yours may be having a problem seeing well enough to find her food? If worse comes to worse, maybe a slight 'trim' to help her see just a little better?

On a side note, are those buff cochins? I got 5 different colors of cochins this year... they are such sweet and gentle birds (just the opposite of my hyperactive, noisy and spastic white leghorns which are the same age).

EDIT: Is this the feed you are feeding: http://www.starmilling.com/pdf-poultry/AH-QuickGro8WeekKrackett.pdf
If it is, that feed is for meat chickens. It probably would not hurt them but it is 22.5% protein.

 

[Clare_CA]

Hi Bullwinkle, thanks so much for your reply. Yes, that is the exact feed that I have. I think the chick starter was the same brand name. I haven't seen her poop today, but I'll watch her more closely. I haven't seen blood or anything in any of the poop that is around. I've been giving them broccoli every day as a treat, put through the blender first, and they love banana too. All the chicks made a mad dashf for the broccoli today except her. She didn't hardly move at all.

Thanks so much for the advice about the Polish. I have a white crested black polish and a white polish also with her. You are so right that their head feathers have just about reached their eyes but not quite. She still has an unobstructed view at this point. I have heard that also that these top hats have a hard time seeing due to their fancy heads. Is it really all right to trim the feathers? Someone told me that you can't trim feathers because it is living tissue or something like that. She seems to be wandering around but moving very slowly. We put some broccoli in front of her, but she didn't go for it. I am worried that she is really sick. I'll see if I can see her poop. She's in a temporary shelter at night with about 24 other chicks.

I got the ornamental layer collection at McMurray Hatchery, and it came with the a white Polish, a white crested black Polish, a Mottled Houdan, some Buff Cochins, Black or Blue Cochins, a Patridge Cochin (not sure of this one), Phoenix, and possible a Barred Rock. I'm still not sure about some of the identifications. I agree that the Cochins are very sweet and gentle. I think one of my Blue or Black Cochins is a male even though they were all supposed to be female. He is pretty sweet though too.

You know, I mentioned to the guy at the feed store -- he is the owner actually -- that these were pets and egg layers and were not being kept for meat, and he still said that it was time for them to be on this feed until about 5 months old when they start laying. I'm not seeing anyone eating it. They are just pecking at all the spilled starter stuff on the ground. I'm wondering if I should go back and get the starter anyway, but I don't want the owner to be offended. It does seem like a lot of the chick starter gets wasted since they are always kicking it out of the feeder.

Here are some pictures of them:

 

[Bullwinkle]

Hi Clare

In the pics they don't looked 'puffed up' so I assume the temperature is ok. If I were you I'd try a different brand feed (maybe a small bag 5 or 20 lbs like at TSC) just to see if they will eat it better. Sometimes it is possible to get a 'bad batch' of feed. Last spring I bought 5 x 50 lb bags of feed and it was full of mold! Have you tried placing her next to the waterer/feeder and dipping her bill?

Trimming their feathers won't hurt them. When they get longer just a little around their eyes will help them to see better. Mine have never shown any pain reflex or bleeding.

I have a White crested polish that is now 14 months old. I hate to admit it, but she is almost completely bald. The other hens/roosters were always very facinated by her. They picked out the feathers in the middle of her head... which made it even worse for her since the white feathers surrounding the circle in the middle (her scalp) attacted their attention even more.
I tried putting blue-kote on her head.. not good. I tried dabbing blue kote on her feathers around the bald spot on her head... it helped some but not enough. I finally just cut all the feathers off her head down to about 1 inch long.

I have a separate smaller coup that I am going to convert to a coop for my 'fancy' chickens (all the Polish) and hurt chickens. Then I can keep a better eye on them and hopefully they will be picked on less.

 

[Clare_CA]

Oh, thank you so much, Bullwinkle, for that information about the feather trimming and for the advice. I really appreciate your taking the time to help me. The little girl seems better today. She seemed to sleep well with the others, and she was pecking at the food that was kicked on the ground, which was the starter feed. She's outside now with the rest of the gang. We'll keep watching her for signs of illness, but I am encouraged today.

That is so sad about your little bald polish! Now that I know that it is okay to trim the feathers, I might do that too if I see that they are blocking their vision or if they get picked on by the rest. The others are mostly Cochins, and they seem pretty sweet. There are a few Phoenix that are bullies, but I haven't seen them go for the head pecking yet. That's a good idea about the separate coop. Again, thanks for your help

Edited to add: I'm going back to the feed store today for another bag of starter feed because it does look like the new food hasn't been eaten much.