Urgent! 4week old chick not responsive, puffed up.

[Newtochickens1988]

Lost one chick already who was panting and droopy/ unresponsive. Need help with other sick chick - same age! No longer panting but still puffed up and not alert/responsive. Also sounds like she’s wheezing a little bit now. Spoon feeding her water and have her separated. Pic attached.

 

[junebuggena]

I've had 5 week old chicks outside when a freak cold spell hit. Got down to 17 degrees. The chicks were fine. They really are a lot tougher than most people think.

 

[casportpony]

Do you have a kitchen scale you can weigh her on? If so, the oral drench dose is 0.02 ml per 100 grams. Corid is very safe, so don't worry about giving too much if you can't weigh her. At 4 weeks I'm gonna guess that she could weigh as much as 250 grams, so try giving her a couple of drops every 4-6 hours. It would also be good if you could get some regular water into her.

 

[Eggcessive]

A common cause of illness in a 4 week old chick is coccidiosis, which can cause runny or bloody poops, lethargy, fluffing up or hunched posture, and no appetite. Corid is best to treat that in the water. Have you been using heat until she feathers out completely?
Did she come from a hatchery or feed store?

 

[junebuggena]

Panting and holding the wings out to the sides like that indicate overheating. A full strength heat lamp bulb inside a home is way too much heat. You only need one small warm zone. The brooder needs to be large enough for the heat to dissipate, allowing for a large portion of the brooder to be unheated.

 

[Eggcessive]

I would stop electrolytes and vitamins when you start Corid.

 

[ronott1]

I have the liquid corid. And I only have a quart sized drinker for them at the moment.

1\2 tsp per quart. A quart is a quarter of a gallon. 2\4= 0.5 or half a teaspoon.

 

[ronott1]

Now she won’t drink on her own... So How often should I give her water with my medicine dropper? And how much should I do each time?

Start with a couple of drops or so and then try again in an hour.

@casportpony has instructions for going full strength with the liquid. I would look that up(or wait for Kathy to respond) if the chick does not start drinking in a couple of hours of treatment

 

[Eggcessive]

Corid is safe even if it is not coccidiosis. Use a cheap thermometer under your heat lamp to make sure that it isn’t too hot. Sick chicks may need more heat, but at her age 75 defrees F is normal. 80 degrees F for sick chicks is good.

Corid dosage is 2 tsp of the liquid Corid, or 1.5 tsp of the powder Corid per gallon of water for 5-7 days. Look for it in the cattle medicines in a feed store.

 

[Eggcessive]

Many people are using alternate heat sources for chicks nowadays, since heat lamps may be too hot, and incandescent light bulbs are hard to find. Here is a thread about using heating pads to make a brooder, instead of using heat lamps:
https://www.backyardchickens.com/th...d-in-the-brooder-picture-heavy-update.956958/