Sudden Chick Death =( *Some more questions

[Bleenie]

This morning I went to the brooding coop to let the babies out to range and found 2 of my WyanX chicks dead on the floor under the heat light.

They were probably around 5weeks old, a little pullet & roo. The only sign of feeling ill they had shown was looking a little bit cold. I had to move the pullet indoors a while ago and she had been just fine since i moved her back outside. I moved the little roo under their light yesterday and he settled in but still seemed lethargic maybe?

This is the ONLY sign they had showed. I havent seen and bloody poo in their coop or any other symptoms of anything. There are also about 5 other chicks outside with them that are perfectly healthy. they run the yard, eat til they're stuffed and them come cuddle in with their duckling buddies at night for bed. they even cuddle in the duckling piles around the yard during the day. I also checked for mites/lice and there's none.

Any ideas what happened to my babies?

 

[bawkbawkbawk]

So, so sorry. Wish I had a clue but I don't. At five weeks, I kind of thought chicks were out of the woods, but apparently not.

 

[HorseFeatherz NV]

Aww, I am sorry Bleenie

I would wonder about cocci - but you are keeping an eye on it. Could they have been huddled/snuggled to death?

 

[ReikiStar]

It could very well be Cocci. The problem with cocci is everyone is always looking for bloody stools and it doesn't always present that way. Unfortunately, 5 weeks is not out of the woods. Even 8 weekers can contract a form of Cocci.

You say the chicks looked "cold". Were their feathers puffed up and their heads tucked into their bodies like they just weren't comfortable? That's all a chick needs to show and it most likely is a cocci protozoa attacking their intestines.

I'm very sorry about your two chicks, but you should have a cocci medication on hand and at any signs of a chick not acting like itself, you should consider treating them for cocci. The meds work fast so in 24 hours, if they don't show an improvement, it might be something else.

With birds, when they don't look like themselves, they are already really sick, so time is of the essence.

We learn best through experience, please see it for the lesson it is and don't be too hard on yourself.

 

[sheila3935]

If you are in an area that has had a wet spring and early summer I would say Cocci. We had it this year in our babies and hadnt before but its been very wet. They didnt have bloody poops just fluffed and not acting right, so I treated with Corid and they are all fine. Didnt lose any.

 

[Bleenie]

I do have the Sulmet on hand. I will go ahead and seperate and treat the whole flock today. I will be cleaning pens too. The compost pile is near their area though and they frequently get into it to hunt for worms and bugs. it's where i dump their bedding, is there anything i can put on it to kill the cocci?

I was thinking of worming everyong too, would the chicks be too young for that?

 

[Bleenie]

It has been damp lately and i noticed that their bedding is damp too and it normally isnt.

 

[bawkbawkbawk]

I hope you'll keep us posted on how they do!

 

[Bleenie]

Does anyone know about the other questions?