Week old chicks with crackling lung sounds UPDATE- THEY ALL HAVE IT

[clkingtx]

Hello,

Some of my week old(thereabouts) chicks are making crackling sounds when they breathe(I may have heard some yesterday, but not sure). As I was doing the daily pasting up removal, I could hear/feel it in three chicks, out of 11 that I had to work on. The chicks are in our garage, we have a heater in there, but it is really cold, I am guessing around 40 or so. Each night I use a wet paper towel and very warm water as needed to clean the pasted on poop from the chicks. So they sometimes have a wet rear for a few minutes. The chicks have a 250 watt heat lamp in their brooder, which is cardboard, bedding is pine, I think. I changed the bedding out completely two days ago, replacing it with fresh. I can't really tell any changes in behaviour in any of the chicks, as most of them look just alike, and there are a lot of them! I have been putting ACV in their water, about a tablespoon per quart. I have tetracycline, but I am holding off on dosing yet, till I know I really need to.

should I medicate?
Will tetracycline be ok to use?
how likely is it to spread to chicks housed separately, but in the same garage?

Any advice? I am really not wanting to cull, I would prefer to treat.

Thanks,
Carrie

 

[chickensioux]

You say the bedding is pine "I think", you must be very sure that it is pine. Cedar will definately cause respiratory problems and eventually kill them if they remain on it.

 

[teach1rusl]

More info. would be very helpful. Are the chicks eating, drinking, and running around like normal? You mentioned a heat lamp bulb, but then you also said it was pretty cold in the garage. Are they staying kind of clumped together under the lamp, or are they spread out? Is the brooder pretty contained (as in it will hold in the heat fairly well), because at one week, the chicks should have a space kept at around 90 degrees. Is the bedding being kept clean and dry?

 

[usschicago1]

Quote:
I agree! Also one more thing make sure its not dusty in the air floating around...or alot of sawdust they are eating

 

[clkingtx]

Thanks everyone for your replies. I will try to be more clear.

The bedding is not cedar, I made sure of that. It is from Atwoods, and I don't think it says specifically that it is pine, but I don't have any more bags right now to check. But it is a blond wood, no red; and not the slightest bit of cedar smell. Also, none of the 100 plus chicks brooded on this this year have had any problems with it at all, if that makes a difference. The bedding is good and dry, also. I turn it from time to time, to get the fresh bedding on top.

It is cold in the garage, but the brooder is an oval shape about two feet high, made from old boxes taped together, so very secure and draft proof.

The chicks are running around normally, chirping a normal amount, none acting distressed, they are scratching around in the bedding, etc. I have brooded a lot of chicks this year, and these are not acting any different than any of the others, I don't think.

The heat lamp keeps it VERY warm directly underneath it(I would guess around 100+ degrees F) because the chicks won't stay directly under it; they form a circle on the outer ring of the light, when they are laying down. Otherwise, they are running all around the brooder.

I especially mentioned it being cold in the garage because I had been getting their rears wet when I cleaned the poop off of them with water. After cleaning them, I put them straight back in the brooder so they could get as warm as they like as they dried(last night while cleaning them, I minimized the water usage, just in case that might be causing a problem.

There is not dust in the air now, but when I did the bedding change(2 days ago), it stirred up a lot for a little while. They are not eating a lot of the woodchips, because if I pick them up before feeding their food, they are empty, but shortly after refilling their food, they are very heavy, and crops are full. Would eating sawdust cause respiratory problems?

Thanks again,
Carrie

 

[clkingtx]

Update- now all three groups of chicks are affected. I listened to one chick from each of the other two groups, and each chick has the same sounds. It is worse in the youngest ones, and least in the oldest ones(month olds). None are acting sick, that I can tell. They are all eating and drinking and pooping fine. They are all feathering out well, at a good pace. They are very active, don't cheep a lot, and none are really fluffed out. Well, I think the big ones do a little, when they lay down to sleep, but they are cooler than the rest, since they are nearly fully feathered.

I did check the temp under the light in the brooder holding the youngest chicks. I raised the light an inch or two, and pointed it straight down. It melted the plastic of the thermometer, and measured greater than 120. No wonder they were never getting directly under the light! They would have fried! Anyway, I adjusted it so that they can tolerate the temperature under it, but are not piling up on top of each other. They still seem ok, though a little disturbed at me messing with their stuff! Could the heat have been causing the wood chips to fume, somehow, maybe irritating all their lungs?

I went ahead and started them all on tetracycline. I figured better safe than sorry.

Any ideas?

Carrie

 

[cuddlebug149]

One of ours has crackling and wont open its eyes. Still walking around and chirping, with eyes closed. Let me know if you find out anything!

 

[clkingtx]

cuddlebug149 - I went ahead and started them on duramycyn-10(the 6.4oz pkg that says this packet contains 10gm of tetracycline hydrochloride activity). I mixed it to be 800mg/gallon, and gave it as their only source of water. Today is the third day, and I haven't lost any. They all seem to be acting better, and the crackling is less than it was. I added more bedding, to get them more insulated from the concrete slab, so they would be warmer. I think the most important thing is to act quickly. These little ones don't have much in reserve, so we need to treat quickly.

Someone recommended earlier on this thread to get VetRx, which I found at an Atwoods nearby. It is just a bunch of aromatic oils that are supposed to be very good for treating and preventing disease. I thought it was funny, it smells to me just like the fresh bedding I put down! I put a drop on top of each of their waterers, so they can get some benefit maybe. I am planning to apply it to the chicks today, since I have the antibiotic in the water, I can't put the VetRx in also, but you can apply it topically. It sounds to me like it is like the vapor rub stuff that people use, so should be pretty good.

I hope your chick does better!