(Video)-Cornish Cross Chick gasping for breath-Help!

[Chicken411]

These chicks will be 2 weeks on Sunday. I seperated this guy out when I found him gasping for breath yesterday. I have started removing all of the chicks feed at night, which I was not doing. I am concerned this guy has congestive heart failure from too much feed. I was sure he was going to pass away last night, but he is still here tonight. He actually opened his eyes, is standing up, and took a few drinks of water and ate some feed. It's killing me watching him suffer like this. I can't believe the little guy is still here. His whole body moves and he opens his beak with every breath he takes. It has got to be exhausting on his/her little body.

I have attached a link to a video, hoping someone can tell me for sure what is going on. Usually he is not moving, has his eyes closed, lays down and just does that rythmic gasping you see in the video. Sometimes you can hear a gurgling when he breathes if you listen really close while holding him. For some reason when I grabbed the camera he/she decided to wake up like mentioned above. The other chicks seem to be fine, except for one who appears to have wry neck, so I put vitamins and electrolytes in the water.

Please help, anyone? I have never raised cornish x chicks before.

 

[pecky longstocking]

Hello I cannot offer you any answers sorry all I can say is my sick chicken is behaving in exactly the same way, so lets hope someone has the remedy.
All the best Steve

 

[Festa X11]

I don`t know if the Cornish X are the same breed or closely related to commercial broiler breeds like Ross, Cobb and Hubbard. If they are it`s one side effect of intensive breeding and modification of the breed.
I got some chicks from a farm that I sub contract to last year and a couple had a similar problem they also rattled when they were breathing. Because they have been bred to be a terminal breed a lot of defects are present with them and generally the only treatment that is given are electrolytes and broad spectrum anti biotics, these can help, however if you have got the chicks for meat production you need to weigh up if it is viable to treat the birds, against any loss this early on, remembering that these birds consume a large amount of food and can fail at any time of their life before dispatch. You want the most healthy birds you can get as later failures will cost you money with no return.
This may seem a heartless way of looking at a life but when you grow for meat thats the territory you are in, you do the best you can for them but at the end of the day they are livestock not pets.

 

[Chicken411]

Festa, thanks for your response. Yes this is a commercial broiler meat bird and the problem is probably what you say. I realize this chick is going to die, but he is taking his time about it. That's what is most upsetting. I knew I would probably lose some. I guess you just always think you are going to be the exception to the rule. Thanks again for your response.

 

[theFox]

What is the temperature that chick is being kept at?

95 is correct for the first several days above that they will peep and slowly dehydrate, below that they'll freeze.

Take your pick dry out and die or freeze and die.

Put a thermometer in there and find out what the temp is.

Where are it's buddies?

 

[Chicken411]

Quote:
He is in a box, which is in the brooder. The brooder is anywhere from 92 to 78 degrees depending on where you are in it. I put him in the box with everyone else when he started peeping really loudly today. He just started running around with them, eating, and acting normal. Then he had a scare where the heat lamp almost fell on him (thank you dear husband) and now he is gasping again. I'm just going to leave him in with everyone else. He seems happier in there and they are not picking on him and I'm pretty sure he is not contagious.

Also, I readjusted the heat lamp, so now the warmest spot in the brooder is 82 degrees.

Update: The chick is still going strong this morning.