Very worried!!! Chicks breathing fast and making a clicking noise...

[TwoCrows]

Did anyone figure out what was happening to these chicks? I have a 4-5 day old that's doing the same thing.

Hello and welcome to BYC!

Start with your temperature. Make sure it is not too high or too low. If you suspect illness, error on the side of caution and keep it up a bit around 95 degrees Fahrenheit. I like to start healthy chicks at 90 degrees. But sick birds need a bit higher heat. Get a VERY reliable thermometer and lay it directly beneath the heat source on the floor so you know exactly what the temp is. If it is too hot, they will over heat, pant, breathe heavy and can die. So make sure you know the exact correct temp.

Make sure there are no drafts in your brooder...so solid walls and floors. Do not cover the lid with anything but a screen or wire for good heat and oxygen exchange.

Keep the heat off on one side, the food and water on the other. This gives them the ability to adjust their temperature if they are cooler or warmer, they can find a perfect spot in the brooder. 1/2 to 1 square foot per chick.

Next...are these dry sneezes or wet sneezes? Dry ones are usually due to the dander the chicks are putting out as they are starting to molt out their fuzz. So lots and lots of dander will be filling the air for a few months until the molt into their final adult feathers. Bedding, especially wood shavings are dusty. These can cause sneezing as well.

If you have the correct temp in your brooder, no drafts and they are still wet sneezing up a storm and not eating or drinking, you no doubt have a bacterial infection going on in the brooder. I would get them started on some antibiotics of some sort and quick. Babies die fast. Some Duramycin or Sulfadimethoxine will help with most respiratory infections.

If these are dry sneezes, I wouldn't do anything. Chicks dry sneeze in the brooder quite often.

Keep us posted!

 

[bloopiedoopie]

Hello and welcome to BYC!

Start with your temperature. Make sure it is not too high or too low. If you suspect illness, error on the side of caution and keep it up a bit around 95 degrees Fahrenheit. I like to start healthy chicks at 90 degrees. But sick birds need a bit higher heat. Get a VERY reliable thermometer and lay it directly beneath the heat source on the floor so you know exactly what the temp is. If it is too hot, they will over heat, pant, breathe heavy and can die. So make sure you know the exact correct temp. 

Make sure there are no drafts in your brooder...so solid walls and floors. Do not cover the lid with anything but a screen or wire for good heat and oxygen exchange. 

Keep the heat off on one side, the food and water on the other. This gives them the ability to adjust their temperature if they are cooler or warmer, they can find a perfect spot in the brooder. 1/2 to 1 square foot per chick.

Next...are these dry sneezes or wet sneezes? Dry ones are usually due to the dander the chicks are putting out as they are starting to molt out their fuzz. So lots and lots of dander will be filling the air for a few months until the molt into their final adult feathers. Bedding, especially wood shavings are dusty. These can cause sneezing as well. 

If you have the correct temp in your brooder, no drafts and they are still wet sneezing up a storm and not eating or drinking, you no doubt have a bacterial infection going on in the brooder. I would get them started on some antibiotics of some sort and quick. Babies die fast. Some Duramycin or Sulfadimethoxine will help with most respiratory infections.

If these are dry sneezes, I wouldn't do anything. Chicks dry sneeze in the brooder quite often. 

Keep us posted!

Thank you! I'll try these, I've given them enzymes an probiotics do you think these might help them?

 

[TwoCrows]

Probiotics are wonderful to boost the immune system, however it won't help much with an outbreak of infection, more as a preventative. Respiratory issues are more of an "air" thing so probiotics aren't as helpful. It won't hurt them to offer up antibiotics in dire situations. It might make the difference in saving their lives. Antibiotics are often over used, however in the case of chicks, they have not yet developed their immune systems and they can die easily from bacterial infections.

BUT...in the future, the use of probiotics and apple cider vinegar are wonderful ways to keep the bird healthy. Good bacteria and a sour environment in the intestinal tract keeps those pathogens under control and out of their systems, which is where much illness does start.

 

[bloopiedoopie]

Probiotics are wonderful to boost the immune system, however it won't help much with an outbreak of infection, more as a preventative. Respiratory issues are more of an "air" thing so probiotics aren't as helpful. It won't hurt them to offer up antibiotics in dire situations. It might make the difference in saving their lives. Antibiotics are often over used, however in the case of chicks, they have not yet developed their immune systems and they can die easily from bacterial infections. 

BUT...in the future, the use of probiotics and apple cider vinegar are wonderful ways to keep the bird healthy. Good bacteria and a sour environment in the intestinal tract keeps those pathogens under control and out of their systems, which is where much illness does start. 

Ok thank you. Also I've just realized that I said enzymes instead of electrolytes. I'm sorry.

 

[TwoCrows]

Quote: Electrolytes are basically salts and sugars. They are good for a bird that is dehydrated, fatigued, stressed and even over heated. But it won't help with the wet sneezes or illness. How bad are they? Are they eating and drinking?

 

[bloopiedoopie]

I've seen them eat and drink a lot. They're still breathing heavily and they're still breathing through their mouth. They're also a lot smaller than their sibling and they hatched the same day.

 

[TwoCrows]

I've seen them eat and drink a lot. They're still breathing heavily and they're still breathing through their mouth. They're also a lot smaller than their sibling and they hatched the same day.

So they are breathing through their mouths...are their nostrils really wet and sloppy, hence the breathing through their mouths? Mouth breathing alone can be just over heating. However if they have runny noses, they will always breathe through the mouth since the sinuses are clogged. So this would suggest a bacterial infection.

Generally any chick that has a respiratory ailment in the first week of life, many times was hatched from an incubator that was not fumigated properly. All the gunk left over from hatching needs to be blown and washed out with disinfectants or at the next incubation, it grows all kinds of nasty. Chicks hatch with these bacteria and die in the first week.

They are probably smaller than their sibling because they are sick and not growing. If your chicks have really runny noses and can't breathe, you should get them on something soon. Even human antibiotics like Amoxicillin will work. Chicks have no immune system at this age and bacteria over takes them fast and kills them.

Keep us posted!

 

[bloopiedoopie]

Their nose isn't runny an they seem to have gotten a little better. They're still breathing heavily but most of the time it's through their nose. I'll try to get them some antibiotics.

 

[Lanaep10]

I have a 3 day old tolbunt polish chick I hatched. I noticed the faint clicking noise the first day and she's just starting to eat a tiny bit and drink a tiny bit. Should I be concerned? She's not open mouth breathing, no sneezing, no nasal discharge, but she does breath a little heavier than the other chicks I just got to put with her.