Sickness spreading among chicks? Please help!

[FLChickens]

I'm at a loss. We have two batches of chicks under two broodies - there were ten that are now about a month old, and three that are about a week old. Mix of breeds (we bought hatchlings) - RIR, buff orp, blue-laced red wyandottes, barred rock, jersey giant, and the mamas are silky hens we bought, about two years old with the ten, and about a year old with the three.

About a week ago we noticed one chick with its wings drooping a bit, not moving around much when let out of the coop. Caught it and there was a growth that looked like a large reddish-pink wart by one eye, smooth shiny skin, nothing else noticed. Put it into a box under a light with food and water and it was very weak, lay down and died a few hours later. It's body is in the freezer, just in case.

Since then I've been watching them closely, but I hoped that one was an injury or accident or just that one. Everything fine for about a week. One of the hens had leg mites which we treated and was doing fine. Then two days ago one month-old chick was lethargic and picking at its legs. We treated it, but it didn't improve too much, and died last night. Yesterday several were drooping wings a bit and looking lethargic (month-olds). Last night they were all (entire coop) dipped legs in veg oil. Today a few more are closing their eyes too often and drooping wings, slightly to very lethargic. I have 4 of the month-olds and one of the week-olds in a large box with warming lamp on one end, water, starter crumbles, some mashed boiled egg (whites and yolks). I'm not sure if any feed store is open today, but I'm thinking at the very least I'll go to Wal Mart and get Polyvisol and dose them with that at least. I don't have any antibiotics on hand.

I've kept large free-range flocks before, and never had a sickness except one hen with foot problems. These guys are from two local farms (hens from one, chicks from another), kept in a newly built secure coop where afaik chickens have never been in the yard. I don't know if it's possible for leg mites to hit them that fast and knock them down (I'm doubtful in the case of the week-old especially) or if I have some disease. This is a small flock and we had such high hopes for them. Besides the ones I mentioned, there is one other young silky hen less than a year, and two frizzle chicks she has semi-adopted about 2-1/2 months old.

Other than lethargy, eyes closing too often, general wobbliness, and drooping wings there are no indications of what might be wrong.

Please please, any suggestions? Thank you!

 

[cmom]

It could be coccidiosis (cocci). I have lost young birds to this. This is also the age when it affects the chicks. Often the chicks wings will look droopy and the chicks look lethargic. I have gone out to their pen to find a dead chick and can see no signs of anything wrong then maybe a few days later find another dead chick. The drugs on the market specifically made to treat cocci are Corid and Sulmet among some others. If you want to treat coccidiosis you need amprolium (Corid, Amprol, AmproMed, etc) or a sulfa drug (Sulmet, SMZ-Med 454, Albon, Di-Methox, etc). I use Sulmet 12.5% (sulfamethazine) in the water 2 tablespoons per gallon of water for 3 to 5 days as their only source of drinking water. Sulmet is a good general purpose antibacterial. It may not be available as most every year it is taken off the market for awhile. Corid is specifically for treating cocci. 2 tsp of Corid to a gallon of water again for 3 to 5 days as their only source of drinking water. Good luck.

 

[FLChickens]

THANK YOU! Tractor supply is open, on my way. One or two are doing so poorly, going to rush and see if I can save them. Thanks again!

 

[rebrascora]

I would agree that coccidiosis is the likely cause and Corid is the best treatment (usually sold in the cattle section but can be used for chickens). Whilst broody hatched and reared chicks don't usually have a problem with coccidia because they are introduced to it gradually from day one, your chicks sound like they are hatchery raised a then grafted on to the broodies, which may be why this problem is occurring with them.... a sudden exposure after they were hatched in a "sterile" environment.
So sorry that you have lost some of them but hopefully you will be able to save the remainder.

 

[FLChickens]

Thanks again. OK, here's what I did. So if I'm thinking wrong, please lmk.

I got Corid, and mixed it at double strength for now. I have one that is barely standing, and I'm worried about maybe 5 others in varying degrees. They are in a box under a light. I dipped all their beaks in the water 3-4x, doing the really weak one first and again last.

If the weak one makes it, I'm planning to repeat in about 45 minutes. I put the water right next to them under the light and a few of them are drinking a little.

Maybe after that I'll dilute the water to regular strength.

I'm thinking to treat the coop as well, as preventive. I'm not big on antibiotics for no reason, but this seems like a reason. I'm guessing if anyone lays (not likely) I'll just boil and feed the eggs back to the chickens.

I wasn't sure if I could mix the vitamins at the same time (Rooster booster) so I didn't add it yet.


I got three silkies a few months ago. They came from coops with roosters, started laying immediately, and one hen quickly went broody. When I got past three weeks, found the eggs were clear, so I went and bought chicks for her. Yes, they were hatched in an incubator, indoors. As soon as the other silky saw the chicks, she went broody on dummy eggs, so I got her a few chicks too three weeks later, to break her broodiness and fill up our numbers. Same source.

So that explains a lot to me. I've had coccidiosis in a litter of puppies once - terrible disease. But for literally hundreds of chickens over the years, I've barely ever had sickness. Predators, yes, and accidents. Some pretty strange ones, including ricocheted bullets and a hen that sat so tight she went lame, and one that tried to brood in a cactus patch with disastrous results. But I know next to nothing about sickness.

Thank you SO MUCH! I surely do hope it saves some, most, or dare I hope all?

 

[FLChickens]

Well as an update, I don't know if it's possible to have any effect so quickly, but the really weak one is still droop-winged, but less wobbly. She was leaning on others or a wall to keep from falling and couldn't even keep her legs straight under her. She's standing straight now, takes a step now and then. I figured she'd fall dead at any second, but I'm daring to hope it might be possible to save even her.

Most of the others are eating a bit, moving around a little, one is sleeping, but otherwise they look almost normal at a quick glance (still not normal active chicks). The coop's water has the recommended amount of Corid + Rooster Booster in the water. The mamas are stressed - one had 9 chicks yesterday and only 3 now, the other has had 3 all along and only one now.

As SOON as they look able to fend for themselves a bit, I'm planning to return any recovering chicks to their mamas, making sure they take them back. I'm not really set up to brood chicks long-term, and I don't want to have to try.

Keeping a close eye, but thank you so much. I am not sure the little Wyandotte would still be alive by now, and she is one of my favorites.

 

[FLChickens]

Happy 4th of July, btw! Always an emergency on a holiday or Sunday afternoon or weekend, right?

I appreciate you both taking time out from your holiday to help. My chickens thank you too!

 

[Eggcessive]

I am glad that you have received advice on treating for coccidiosis. That would be my first guess. Corid is the best treatment, since Sulmet and other sulfa drugs are either off the market or only available with a vet prescription. Sulfa is an antibiotic, but Corid (amprollium) is not. Corid is very safe, and I would treat with the 2 tsp per gallon of water mix for 7 days. You can give something like NutriDrench or Poultry Cell which have vitamins, minerals, electrolytes, and amino acids orally, but don't mix anything into the Corid water.

 

[Eggcessive]

If you have liquid Corid, you can give a couple of drops of the undiluted to the very sick chick twice a day to boost it. Very ill chicks may not drink enough of the mixture.

 

[cmom]

You can also give the chicks some Poly-Vi-Sol infant WITHOUT IRON vitamins to them. You can take a dropper and put some drops in their beaks. There is also vitamin and electrolytes called Save-A-Chick you can mix in their water, but I wouldn't mix it in with the Corid. Do the Corid first for a few days but you can still do the dropper with the Poly-Vi-Sol infant WITHOUT IRON vitamins in their mouths.