- Apr 20, 2012
- 4
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I do not have a lot of experience raising chickens yet, and despite reading night and day for the past two weeks, I have recently lost three of the four bantam chicks that I brought home from our local feed store two weeks ago when they were said to be two days old without having any idea why. The chicks that passed each exhibited different symptoms from each other, which confused me to no end as I have read and re-read all of the possible illnesses and diseases that are all over the internet in Chicken-land. I am hoping that someone can help me save the Silkie chick that I have left, as she seems very much to want to live and she is such a sweet little creature. I have three 2 month old standard pullets that are too old for her, of course, but I am working on getting her another chick companion, although I am conflicted as to how kind this would be to the new chick, to expose it to whatever has killed the other three and so I am not sure what to do- allow this one to be lonely or risk the health of yet another chick? I have been in touch with the feed store and they believe that there was either a "glitch with the brooder at the hatchery," or that the chicks experienced cold or being bounced around during shipping, as the feed store has lost a quarter of the chicks in this, "batch," also. They said to try giving them a bit of sugar in their water. I am sorry to write so much, I am just trying to give info as directed in the Please Read First Instructions on leaving a post re: emergency or sick chicken. I asked the feed store if they thought the chicks had Cocci, they said no. After a few days, I began to believe they might, due to the symptoms of hunching, ruffled feathers, weakness, etc. that my Lavender Silkie exhibited prior to dying, so they told me to give 1/4 tsp. Durvet High Performance Poultry Pak electrolytes per qt. of water as well as Sulmet. After two days and no change in the babies' poop, which was just as orangey/yellow, or white and brown as before, sometimes watery, sometimes solid, the feed store told me to stop the Sulmet. I had read during this time that Corid is much better, anyhow. I lost my next chick, the largest and strongest of the four, after she kept her eyes closed, became too weak to stand, would not eat and barely drank a drop of water when I used a dropper to try to get her to, and had what looked like trouble breathing, as she was gasping for air and shuddering a little. This is the saddest experience ever, I feel so helpless and awful. My next chick, my little Blue Bantam Cochin died a few days later, after getting weak, with ruffed feathers, head down, eyes closed, very red skin under wings, and making a constant clicking sound with very labored breathing. Another symptom that this poor chick had was what looked exactly like an air bubble in the top of her crop. Due to the very dark red skin I observed under two of the now dead chicks' wings, I kept checking for mites of some kind, but see none with my naked eye. I have been feeding all of these chicks when they become too weak to eat the medicated chick starter and water on their own by hand. I am using a little dropper to give them sometimes plain electrolyte water and sometimes the same water with a bit of ACV with the Mother mixed in. I will also mix the crumbles with a bit of kefir, hard boiled egg yolk that has been mashed, and water as needed to make a smooth consistency. I then use a straw that I cut the end off of at an angle like a lipstick and then carefully rounded out any sharp edges to make a tiny "spoon" that I use to hand feed the weak babies. I feed them just until I see their crops are partially full, or they lose interest, and I feed them and give them water in this manner many, many times per day and night. When the cochin baby developed the air bubble, I became concerned that I had caused it by hand feeding her, yet I had done it with the other chicks that died without any air appearing in their crops. Now, I only have a black silkie chick remaining. She refuses to eat on her own. I do not know if this is due to being alone now and not seeing other chicks peck. She was hanging her wings and head down last night and seeming a bit weak, so I tried putting 1/8 tsp. of Corid 9.6% Oral in her water with the electrolytes and ACV and she did perk up a bit today. Except now, SHE has the dreaded air feeling in her crop! It does not look as dramatic as it did on the Cochin, but it feels like her crop is a little air balloon every time I feed her. I feed her frequent small meals, but I wonder if she is gulping air? Her crop seems to mostly go down between feedings, but may be just a bit puffy, like every so slightly with air when it is empty. Did I mention that this Silkie chick has cheeped VERY LOUDLY nonstop since the day I got her? Even when she was drinking and pecking chick starter on her own just fine and was not alone. Nothing seems to help except wrapping her in a small cloth where she sleeps in the brooder. I read that some chicks that are loud like this are just colder than the rest, so I tried lowering the heat lamp and that DID help ( finally- at 93 degrees which seems high for 2 weeks???) but only for a few hours, and she started the incessant cheeping again. There is no draft, as I am keeping her in a deep plastic tub inside of a glass shower that I am not using with her heat lamp hanging above. It is always dry and warm in there. Raising the heat lamp and even taking her out from under it for a bit do not help with the peeping, either. She is pooping, so I know she is getting some nutrients, and she has grown in the past two weeks. I am really worried about this baby. I was keeping her on pine shavings but became concerned after reading about impacted crops and ingesting shavings causing it. So, I covered the shavings thoroughly with paper towels. I have tried lightly massaging her crop to see if anything seemed out of place, like a hard shaving, but felt none and she seemed to spit up some milky bile so I do not think that was very intelligent of me to have done. I feel like the most ignorant chicken caretaker in the world, because I would do anything for her and yet it seems I am failing. I know some chicks just get sick and die and we never know the reason, but she has a very strong will to live. She is the cutest little black Silkie and I am hoping that some kind soul on this forum can offer me some suggestions. I greatly appreciate anyone taking the time to read this novel! Thank you.
