Very sick chick. Need help/advice

[WVduckchick]

So sorry for your loss.

Maybe tell us about your brooder setup, what you are feeding, heat source, etc. Breed, etc.

Pictures could be beneficial. Hopefully it's an isolated failure to thrive issue.

 

[Ash.M]

This is our Brooder set up. It has a hardware cloth lid and we used to have a roost made from a branch. We are using a mama hen brooder heat source that is angled to allow different heat for different chicks.

We have a Silkie, an Easter egger, a Plymouth Rock, golden laced Wyandotte, and a Blue Cochin . We just lost our Rhode island Red ( Cherry ). The Silkie and Red were about the same age. The other 4 are older. Probably 4 or 5 weeks.

We are feeding them a blended sprouting mix we got from the farm. It has barley , black oil sunflower seeds, Green Field peas, millet,flax seeds, oat Groats and red winter wheat. It has been blended until it's very fine. No large chunks.

Anything we need to change?

 

[azygous]

How about grit? Are you supplying chick grit to your chicks to digest all these elements in their feed?

 

[MrsM74]

I was also going to ask about grit. Did the chick have a full crop? If it is cocci, you will want to medicate all your chicks, although 2.5 weeks seems early for cocci in my limited opinion. My best guess is it had an impacted crop from not having grit, if you are not giving grit.

 

[Ash.M]

We do have grit that we are sprinkling on top of the food daily sometimes twice a day. I didn't feel much of anything in the area where I thought the crop was. Maybe I was off on location and there was something stuck there. Would that explain the gurgling when we tried to give her water? It almost seemed like she was breathing bubbles. She kept gulping too. Thanks again for trying to help me sort this out. I just want to make sure to protect our other chicks so we don't have to go through this again.

 

[MrsM74]

I am really sorry and know your frustration. We have had a bit of a mystery disease in our flock this last year, it is hard to lose any of them.

 

[azygous]

Yes, it does sound like crop trouble. Chicks sometimes have incomplete digestive systems that need to catch up. Until they do, some are prone to crop and gizzard impaction. Most folks don't recognize the symptoms and think their chick has died of mysterious causes. It's more commone than almost anyone thinks.

Coconut oil. It saves chicks. It needs to be in everyone's chick first aid kit.

 

[MrsM74]

Yes, it does sound like crop trouble. Chicks sometimes have incomplete digestive systems that need to catch up. Until they do, some are prone to crop and gizzard impaction. Most folks don't recognize the symptoms and think their chick has died of mysterious causes. It's more commone than almost anyone thinks.

Coconut oil. It saves chicks. It needs to be in everyone's chick first aid kit.

I have no experience with crop problems, but I wonder if a recent hen's death would be crop related. We have had a number of deaths, mostly chicks from the same hatch that I got from a breeder, and they had the same symptoms. For those chickens, I think one of our vaccinated hens sheds Mareks and the local chicks died from it. Lost 6 of 8 chicks at various ages. My hen who passed last weekend died suddenly. She seemed fine one evening, eating and acting normally. The next morning I found her out in the run, roosting on top of her feet but on the ground, shivering. Her comb was very dark and turning purplish in places, which indicates an oxygen shortage but she was not gasping or wheezing. Her crop was full and felt like a sand filled balloon, I could massage it a little but it was not soft at all. I got some water in her, did a little massage on her crop (upright position only), checked for a bound egg (none), then put her under the heat lamp. She died a few hours later. She had no sour smell and was eating just fine the night before. I took fecals in to the vet from our other chickens and everything was negative. Do you think this could have been a crop problem?

 

[Ash.M]

Thanks. Should I give it to our other chicks proactively?

Thanks so much to everyone for all your help and support. I really appreciate this wonderful community.

 

[azygous]

I would wait to see if any other chicks show symptoms. The first sign is sluggishness, droopy eyes, balance a bit tottery.

Is the feed milled very fine? Chicks systems get overwhelmed very easily. It's also very important you see they are able to get adequate water. Make sure each is drinking regularly. There will be a rhythm to the brooder. You will quickly spot anything that's stopped being part of the rhythm as you did with this sick chick.