Sleepy Buff Orpington

[NewishChickenMama]

My little buff is about 8 weeks old and awfully sleepy. Is this normal for the breed? I often see her sleeping when I come out; she does get up and seems fine while I’m there, I haven’t noticed any changes to her eating or drinking habits. She was being bullied by our dominant chickens, but no blood, and she has since been removed to grow up in a different area with another chick until they’re full grown. I did notice a little clear nasal discharge, but it’s been windy and the temperature has been fluctuating. Located in north Texas. She’s been like this since we got her at 4 weeks old. None of my other birds are acting different. I added raw apple cider vinegar to their water About 4 days ago, just in case, but there’s been no change.
Thanks for any help!

 

[SourRoses]

Is she on medicated food?
In the top picture she's fluffed up her feathers, indicating she feels chilly.
Tired + Cold = (usually) Cocci.
I'd do a treatment dose of Corid (Amprolium) for 5 days and maybe drench dosing depending on how well she's drinking. It's hard to overdose Amprolium as it's the most mild kind of medication, so a "Better safe than sorry" approach is a good idea.

There are different strains of Cocci and some show no signs in the poop.
We have one of those strains here and recently went through a Cocci episode with a batch of older chicks. This breed has been such robust chicks, grew and feathered in so fast, that I got overconfident and wasn't medicating them against Cocci.
There was no concerning poo but they went downhill in one day. Lost one but saved the rest with Corid drench dosing and water treatment.

They are feeling much better now and I'm weaning them back off the heat lamp.
That's because of one thing I learned this go-round that I wish I knew before. I read in the depths of the articles section that they get hypothermic when ill and don't show the same signs of being cold that they show when they're healthy.
They don't have the energy for cheeping and carrying on like healthy chicks do.
Also, when they're already feathered they don't always want to cuddle with other chicks because the proximity interferes with fluffing up their feathers.
I think some chicks we've lost in the past were casualties of being too cold when ill because I assumed they would just snuggle or that they would complain.

As soon as I gave these two-month-olds back their heat lamp they perked up enough to go back to eating and drinking. That made all the difference in their recovery. I wish such information was on the front page of the Emergencies forum.

 

[NewishChickenMama]

Thank you so much for the detailed reply!
They are not on medicated food, just an “all flock” blend, since we had all the chickens together prior.
She was fluffing up her feathers a lot, but I assumed it was due to the sudden drop in temperature and we brought her into the barn with a young chick and a triple secured heating lamp.
She’s definitely a snuggler and is always seeking out her companion to be next to.
I’ll give that medication a try! Their poop seems normal to me, no watery poop, that I can tell.

 

[NewishChickenMama]

My little buff is about 8 weeks old and awfully sleepy. Is this normal for the breed? I often see her sleeping when I come out; she does get up and seems fine while I’m there, I haven’t noticed any changes to her eating or drinking habits. She was being bullied by our dominant chickens, but no blood, and she has since been removed to grow up in a different area with another chick until they’re full grown. I did notice a little clear nasal discharge, but it’s been windy and the temperature has been fluctuating. Located in north Texas. She’s been like this since we got her at 4 weeks old. None of my other birds are acting different. I added raw apple cider vinegar to their water About 4 days ago, just in case, but there’s been no change.
Thanks for any help!View attachment 3315481

Update: on medicated starter feed
Still sleeping during the day. Deep sleeping, often doesn’t wake up until I handle her, both eyes closed, head tucked under wing, in, or sometimes her little head will keep slowly falling to the side. Yesterday she did not wake to me petting her until I gave her a little scratching. Which worries me.
Poops still look normal.
She is active when awake. Can’t find anything online that seems to match what’s happening.
Too young to lay or molt.

 

[SourRoses]

View attachment 3318496View attachment 3318497


Update: on medicated starter feed
Still sleeping during the day. Deep sleeping, often doesn’t wake up until I handle her, both eyes closed, head tucked under wing, in, or sometimes her little head will keep slowly falling to the side. Yesterday she did not wake to me petting her until I gave her a little scratching. Which worries me.
Poops still look normal.
She is active when awake. Can’t find anything online that seems to match what’s happening.
Too young to lay or molt.

One thing I've learned the hard way is that it's important to take action in a hurry. When they go downhill it happens fast.

Please understand, you are in the emergency phase now. You still have the chance to save them, but you have to act fast.

Medicated feed is a preventative, with a very low dose. What you need is the cure.

If you can, run right out to the feed store and buy a bottle of Corid. It also comes in a powder. You can ask an associate to help you find it because often they put it in the cow medicine section.

Then right away you need to give them both a drench dose. That's where you don't dilute the medicine and put it straight in their beaks. I'll try to find the dosing article for you but you'd be best served by starting a new thread in the emergencies-diseases-injuries-and-cures subforum so the experts can help you out.

P.S. Try to make sure everything they need is by the heat lamp. They need to stay warm (80-85f ambient temp) and they need to stay hydrated (warm water) and fed if they will still eat.

 

[NewishChickenMama]

One thing I've learned the hard way is that it's important to take action in a hurry. When they go downhill it happens fast.

Please understand, you are in the emergency phase now. You still have the chance to save them, but you have to act fast.

Medicated feed is a preventative, with a very low dose. What you need is the cure.

If you can, run right out to the feed store and buy a bottle of Corid. It also comes in a powder. You can ask an associate to help you find it because often they put it in the cow medicine section.

Then right away you need to give them both a drench dose. That's where you don't dilute the medicine and put it straight in their beaks. I'll try to find the dosing article for you but you'd be best served by starting a new thread in the emergencies-diseases-injuries-and-cures subforum so the experts can help you out.

P.S. Try to make sure everything they need is by the heat lamp. They need to stay warm (80-85f ambient temp) and they need to stay hydrated (warm water) and fed if they will still eat.

Thank you so much for you’re advice and the helpful information! I have corid powder on hand and have posted to the forum you suggested! I will also move their food and water closer to their heating.
I will look up drench dosing a pullet and do that ASAP (today)when I have someone available to watch my newborn&toddler.
I really appreciate your help and guidance!!

 

[SourRoses]

Thank you so much for you’re advice and the helpful information! I have corid powder on hand and have posted to the forum you suggested! I will also move their food and water closer to their heating.
I will look up drench dosing a pullet and do that ASAP (today)when I have someone available to watch my newborn&toddler.
I really appreciate your help and guidance!!

Of course! I hope they get better soon.

corid-amprolium-oral-drench-instructions.

corid-and-amprol-amprolium-dosing

Ok so you need to reference both of these articles. You should put the full treatment amount in the water AND do the drench dose. It is very hard to overdose on this medicine, so you don't have to worry about that.

For the Drench dose, be really careful not to aspirate them (where it goes in the lungs). I'm not the best source for how to do it properly as I get nervous every time. I sit down comfortably with the bird in my lap and plan for it to take a while. Sometimes when they're sick, they hate to open their beaks.
Where a human's throat is, on chickens that's the airway. If fluid goes down there they will die. Their food opening is in the side towards the jaw. Experienced people stick the end of the syringe in there and deploy the medicine.
But I'm too scared, so instead I do it the hard way by not really opening their mouths (so the airway stays covered and protected) and tease the syringe at their beak so it opens just enough to squeeze a few drops in. Then I rub their back or chest or toes until they swallow (it depends on each chick what will work, back is most common). A little bit at a time and repeat until they've had their dose. But the other, proper, method is practical if you want to consult with the experts on it.

safely-administering-oral-medications-to-all-poultry-and-waterfowl

 

[NewishChickenMama]

Thank you for the links! That was very helpful, and incredibly difficult to do! I was way to nervous and we (peaches & I) were exhausted just with me trying to look in her beak to see what I was doing. I wasn’t brave enough to eventually put the syringe in her beak, but she took the droplets when I held it in front of her beak like you suggested! She drank her dose eagerly and so did our chick.