Silkie chick with labored breathing

[TundraFang]

I have five Silkie chicks in a brooder. The bedding is pine shavings and they have a heat plate with easy access to food and water. I was outside doing chicken chores and came inside to one of the chicks lying down beside the heat plate panting. The other chicks are fine and moving around. I separated the panting chick into a Tupperware container so I can keep an eye on it. I have no idea what to do. Can anyone help me?

 

[TundraFang]

The chick is two weeks old and hasn't shown any symptoms until today

 

[TundraFang]

Someone please help

 

[TundraFang]

I gave it benadryl and I currently have it in my bathroom with the shower running for steam... I have asthma so I'm trying everything I do for myself to open up my airways. It's been getting worse and I have no idea what to do especially for a chick this small... I'm considering giving it some albuterol but I cant find anything that says if it's safe for chickens

 

[Swbertrand1]

Take the chick out of the shower and don't give it Benadryl or albuterol. If the chick has labored breathing, it could simply be dying, but my guess is that it was likely just hot in the brooder, but other issues like FTT (failure to thrive) could be the culprit.

If you have (or can get) some electrolytes to add to the chicks' water, do so and offer the water to the affected chick. If you must give it manually, use a dropper and gently squeeze a drop onto the chick's beak.

At two weeks of age, the temperature in the brooder should be about 80-85 degrees, but the chicks will show you what's too hot and what's not hot enough. If too hot, they'll move away from the heat source; if they're cold, they'll get as close to the heat as possible and huddle together. Do you have a reliable thermometer that can help you determine the temperature at the chick's level?

Tell us about what the chick's are getting for feed too. Do they get any treats? If so, what?

Some vitamin therapy via Poultry Nutri-Drench or Rooster Booster products (both pictured below) can only help the chicks. We raise Silkies, and they tend to need a bit more vitamins than other breeds from time to time.

 

[TundraFang]

Take the chick out of the shower and don't give it Benadryl or albuterol. If the chick has labored breathing, it could simply be dying, but my guess is that it was likely just hot in the brooder, but other issues like FTT (failure to thrive) could be the culprit.

If you have (or can get) some electrolytes to add to the chicks' water, do so and offer the water to the affected chick. If you must give it manually, use a dropper and gently squeeze a drop onto the chick's beak.

At two weeks of age, the temperature in the brooder should be about 80-85 degrees, but the chicks will show you what's too hot and what's not hot enough. If too hot, they'll move away from the heat source; if they're cold, they'll get as close to the heat as possible and huddle together. Do you have a reliable thermometer that can help you determine the temperature at the chick's level?

Tell us about what the chick's are getting for feed too. Do they get any treats? If so, what?

Some vitamin therapy via Poultry Nutri-Drench or Rooster Booster products (both pictured below) can only help the chicks. We raise Silkies, and they tend to need a bit more vitamins than other breeds from time to time.

The heat plate sits at exactly 83° and they have plenty of space to get away from it if it's too hot. The other chicks are fine and active. They get an organic non-gmo chick starter with 21% protein. I occasionally put apple cider vinegar in their water. The only treats they get are fruits, berries, and wet mash. Their brooder is cleaned and scrubbed daily. When it's hot out they get trips outside. I gave it some baby bird formula through a syringe and it's been readily eating it. It's starting to perk up and is currently asleep.

 

[Swbertrand1]

The heat plate sits at exactly 83° and they have plenty of space to get away from it if it's too hot. The other chicks are fine and active. They get an organic non-gmo chick starter with 21% protein. I occasionally put apple cider vinegar in their water. The only treats they get are fruits, berries, and wet mash. Their brooder is cleaned and scrubbed daily. When it's hot out they get trips outside. I gave it some baby bird formula through a syringe and it's been readily eating it. It's starting to perk up and is currently asleep.

Glad to hear she's doing better! Good stuff on all counts with brooder, temps, and cleaning. If heat is not the issue, then nutrition is the second likely culprit.

With any chick, their Starter Feed gives them the best balance of nutrition for healthy development. If they're eating more of fruits or berries, they're likely missing out on some of the nutrition they need from the feed, and again, Silkies are more prone to needing extra boosts of vitamins to begin with. So, I'd very much limit the treats for 2 week olds, especially if there's one that's showing signs of vitamin deficiency - I think yours is showing such signs since you've ruled out the heat being an issue.

Try some Poulty Nutri-Drench or the Vitamins and Electrolytes mixed in their water; I believe you'll see signs of improvement pretty quickly. Let us know how the chick does over the next couple of days...

 

[TundraFang]

Glad to hear she's doing better! Good stuff on all counts with brooder, temps, and cleaning. If heat is not the issue, then nutrition is the second likely culprit.

With any chick, their Starter Feed gives them the best balance of nutrition for healthy development. If they're eating more of fruits or berries, they're likely missing out on some of the nutrition they need from the feed, and again, Silkies are more prone to needing extra boosts of vitamins to begin with. So, I'd very much limit the treats for 2 week olds, especially if there's one that's showing signs of vitamin deficiency - I think yours is showing such signs since you've ruled out the heat being an issue.

Try some Poulty Nutri-Drench or the Vitamins and Electrolytes mixed in their water; I believe you'll see signs of improvement pretty quickly. Let us know how the chick does over the next couple of days...

Thanks for your help! I just ordered some nutri-drench for them and I'll wait until they're older to give more treats. I've raised lots of chicks and I've never had a nutrition issue but this is only my second batch of silkies so I'm new to them. I'll update in a couple days to let you know if there's improvement. Is it safe to put it back in the brooder or should I set up a second one until it gets better?

 

[TundraFang]

Welp I checked on the chicks in the brooder and one was dead in the water dish. I'm not sure if it drowned or if it happened to die near the dish. I'm keeping the chick with labored breathing in a separate brooder and it's been eating and drinking. I've never lost a chick before this batch of silkies so I'm definitely not buying from that breeder again. All the chicks were non-standard coloring and most are Satins. Two don't have extra toes. I'm not sure if it's me that's the problem or just bad quality chicks... Maybe a bit of both.

 

[TundraFang]

So this morning I went to check on it and it was lying on the ground gasping for air. I gave it some benadryl and it perked up and started eating and drinking again. A few hours later it was on the ground gasping again. I picked it up and it went limp in my hands. It's heart was still beating but it wasn't breathing so I started giving it mouth to mouth (yes I'm slightly insane). It started breathing on its own so I let it sit there while I went to let the big chickens out of the coop. When I came back it was gasping for air again and it collapsed. I tried the mouth to mouth again but it's heart stopped beating so I began doing tiny chest pumps with my finger but it still didn't make it. I moved all my Silkie chicks to a different room in my house away from my other chicks. This is the third one to die this week and I still have no idea what's wrong with them. I've heard horror stories of new chickens killing entire flocks because of diseases. Is there anything I can to to make sure the rest of my chickens don't get sick?