Very sick baby chickens! need help fast!

[Tala]

Ok first off if the food smells bad --- DON'T feed it!!

Secondly, you say you are moistening the food in additon to it already being probably moldy or bad. Water will only make the mold spores grow!

It really sounds to me like they are getting moldy food!!!

 

[MotherJean]

What I find really curious are the black/purple spots on the feet...I know that Vitamin E/Selenium deficiency can cause an odd type of hemorrhaging under the skin, but it is typically seen around the hocks, on the legs, and skin without feathers on the head. Never heard tell of this showing up on the feet, but I suppose it's possible. Vitamin E deficiency would make sense, too, if that bag of starter feed has grown stale or become rancid. In addition to the hemorrhaging symptoms (it sometimes looks like bruising), a lack of Vit. E/Selenium also causes neurological symptoms including seizures and body contortions such as wry neck. You could go to the trouble of having that old feed tested, but I probably wouldn't bother. Why not get some Vitamin E capsules (with Selenium) and squirt one capsule into the mouth of the surviving chicks every day for a few days to see if there's any improvement? It's a cheap treatment, can't do any harm if that's not what is ailing them. You said you were going to get fresh feed - I would suggest you continue with the medicated chick starter at least until you figure out what the current problem is. The last thing you need is an outbreak of cocci to add to your troubles.

Just a thought...

 

[BeccaB00]

MotherJean- It looked like they were having seizures when that first and last one died..And the spots on their feet looks like tons of tiny little bruises.. So I need to give them vitamin E? where can I get that stuff at? Sorry I'm a little confused I have been reading as much as I can on this. Do I need to buy a special type of vitamin E? They are in a cage with a wire bottom, could that cause the spots on their feet? and lastly..what is cocci? we have had chickens for a few years and never heard of cocci.

 

[MotherJean]

I really don't know if the wire could be the cause of those spots. Heck, I'm not even sure that vitamin deficiency is the problem either. I'm just making a somewhat educated guess based upon the information you've provided. Your best best for the Vitamin E with Selenium would be a health food store. It will be in the form of oil in a gelatin capsule. You can poke the end of the capsule with a sharp knife or nip it with scissors and squeeze the oil directly into the beak of each bird. Just one capsule every day. Like I said, this treatment can't do your birds any harm, so I think it's worth a try for a few days to see if you see any improvement.

"Cocci" is short for "coccidiosis." It is a common ailment in chickens and youngsters under the age of 5 months seem to be the most vulnerable. Beyond that age, chickens seem to acquire a bit more tolerance. It's caused by a protozoa that infects the intestines and causes lethargy, diarrhea (sometimes bloody), decreased food and water consumption, weight loss, and in severe cases, death. It is spread through the droppings on the ground. Medicated feed contains the medicine, Amprolium, in a small amount that is usually effective in protecting chicks at least until they are older and better able to deal with a severe infection. A cocci infection in very young chicks can kill them in a matter of a few days. To the best of my knowledge, there are no neurological symptoms as you've described that are associated with cocci.

 

[spish]

you say you add water to their feed to soften it...how often do you remove the old feed and put out new?
if your adding water to their food and leaving it out for more than an hour, bacteria and mould will grow fast and if the chicks eat this..it could be making them very very sick. (the spores will grow even quicker if its warm where you are?)
if the food is already 'off smelling' to begin with, coupled with water being added and sitting out all day...im guessing this is a major factor in your chicks getting sick and dying....

 

[BeccaB00]

Spish & MotherJean- Hi, Noramlly I feed them once a day, but they have a problem with stuffing themselves, so normally I feed them

outside of their cage, and then give them no extra food inside of their cage. So no mold could grow from being left out to long. Yes the

bag of food has an off smell to it. When I described it earlier, I said that it smells rather bad. And it does. So I guess I'll be getting new

food as soon as possible. But the weird thing is. I have been feeding them from the same exact bag of food every since they were

chicks. No sicknesses when they were young and the food smelled bad when we first got it! So if the food IS moldy, and yucky. Then

why havent they gotten sick before? Sorry I didn't mention this earlier. but The other day (The day before the last chick died) I got

stung by a bee and had to go to the hospital so I couldnt get to the chicks. It seems like everytime I miss a day in feeding them..one

dies. Could they be stuffing them selves to full? maybe choking themselves on starter?

Thank you soo much everyone for all your ideas/answers it's really actually helping me think of what it could be, so keep the

ideas/answers coming!

 

[BarkerChickens]

Quote:
You may want to look into Poly-Vi-Sol WITHOUT Iron. It is a liquid multi-vitamin for infants. Most Walgreens, Rite Aid's, etc carry it. It comes with a dropper. I would suggest one drop a day or adding a few drops it to their daily water supply. It has Vitamin E and probably Selenium as well, but I'd check the label first.

I doubt the issue is "stuffing themselves" with starter. The symptoms don't match. There is something that is toxic to them...at least that is what the symptoms seem consistent with. Also, toxins can bioaccumulate and take time to affect the system. They don't necessarily have to have instantaneous reactions.

 

[BeccaB00]

hmmmmm.....trying to think of ANYTHING that we have used to be toxic to the little guys...but nothing

Omg this is so confusing..

I'm going to keep trying to get answers you guys are really helping alot, so keep the answers coming..

 

[Chickenmaven]

Same bag of food since they were chicks? AND it smells bad? I think bad got worse! It is likely that your "off" feed went toxic. Then, you are putting them in an area that has been treated for bugs? There's another hazard there. I would recommend that you dump that feed, right now. Not "pretty soon" or the next time you go to town... Now! They would be far better off with some oatmeal out of your pantry or some boiled eggs, if you cannot replace the feed at this moment.
Another thought I had is that you need to be less concerned about the chicks "stuffing themselves." Chickens feed all day. No harm in it.

 

[BeccaB00]

We treated for bugs a couple weeks ago. And didn't treat in the pens or anything

I'm not really THAT concerned about them stuffing themselves, but we have fed that starter to some of the older chickens aswell, no sicknesses there. Also when they come out to eat they eat all kinds of old food in the erea where we rake all the bad hay! Just think about how moldy that is! There is no way in stoping them from doing that! they go literally everywhere once they get out of that pen....

Yes I suppose I could keep them in the cage. but heck, thats darn near impossible! they are so tame they will fly onto you if you just barely open the door...
I am going to buy new starter, but if I take them off of it untill I get some fresh starter..isn't there a chance they could get cocci?