Young chick lethargic and making weird noise

[LaurasLorps]

1) What type of bird , age and weight.
Barred Rock...not sure on age, but I guess around one week.

2) What is the behavior, exactly.
I just got some new chicks today, one of the little barred rocks seems especially lethargic. She isn't exploring the brooder like the others and is sleeping lots. She also is making a very strange sneezing/coughing/gagging sounds. I've had other chicks that sneezed occasionally, but this noise sounds very juicy. There is no discharge from eyes or nostrils, but she seems to be breathing through her mouth a lot? I have seen her eat, drink and poop. I am just not sure what is wrong.

3) How long has the bird been exhibiting symptoms?
All day (I've only had her one day), got her from a local farmer.

4) Are other birds exhibiting the same symptoms?
nope

5) Is there any bleeding, injury, broken bones or other sign of trauma.
nope

6) What happened, if anything that you know of, that may have caused the situation.
no

7) What has the bird been eating and drinking, if at all.
I have seen her eat and drink. I feed medicated chick crumbles

8) How does the poop look? Normal? Bloody? Runny? etc.
Poop has looked normal

9) What has been the treatment you have administered so far?
tried to feed them some hard boiled eggs, but none of the chicks (including sicky) were interested. I've just been watching her, trying to figure out any other symptoms

10 ) What is your intent as far as treatment? For example, do you want to treat completely yourself, or do you need help in stabilizing the bird til you can get to a vet?
I would like to treat her myself

11) If you have a picture of the wound or condition, please post it. It may help.

12) Describe the housing/bedding in use
Pine shavings from TSC

 

[Anianna]

Have you noticed any nasal or eye discharge? It sounds like it might be a respiratory infection and it might be contagious.

See here for comprehensive information from the University of Florida regarding respiratory illness in poultry. It may help you determine which ailment she may have and how to treat it.

Here are some more general options:

Oxine – without activator! Use as disinfectant or in humidifier/fogger to treat respiratory illness. Use to clean coop surfaces after pest infestations such as mites and lice. Add to water to discourage slime growth. Can be used with activator to thoroughly disinfect EMPTY animal houses (do NOT use activated Oxine around animals). See this link for more.

Humidifier or fogger – for treating respiratory illness with Oxine.

Duramycin-10 (tetracycline hydrochloride) – broad spectrum antibiotics for use in chickens and other livestock. See the drug label information for dosage and usage information. When antibiotic treatment is complete, feed plain yogurt or buttermilk to restore good gut flora.

Tylan 50 – labeled for cattle or swine – use to treat bacterial respiratory infections such as coryza or mycoplasma. Dosage is 1/2 – 1 cc per chicken. When antibiotic treatment is complete, feed plain yogurt or buttermilk to restore good gut flora.

 

[Tikkijane]

Keep her separated/quarantined. If it is viral and you have others, you don't want them getting sick. Even if they all came from the same place, I would separate to be safe. Good luck!

 

[LaurasLorps]

what if there is no drainage from eyes or nasal area? should I quarintine her anyway? do I need to treat the whole flock with something? I only have one 7-week pullet and the 3 babies I got yesterday. Babies are already in seperate pen from my big girl (long story on the age difference)

 

[Tikkijane]

Quote:
I would separate, yes, especially since you don't know what it is. iI it's a physical defect, you don't need to treat the whole flock. Any time you have new birds, you want to quarantine to make sure they don't have something that will infect the rest of the flock, even if they seem healthy when you get them.

And, if there is something not right with her, chances are good that the others will pick at her anyhow. I have one that was separated yesterday (blood); they were all together inside overnight, but when we took her out with them this morning, they went right to the injury again. Looks like she is inside with us again today, although we will periodically try to add her back and see if they leave her alone.

Good luck!

 

[LaurasLorps]

Quote:
I would separate, yes, especially since you don't know what it is. iI it's a physical defect, you don't need to treat the whole flock. Any time you have new birds, you want to quarantine to make sure they don't have something that will infect the rest of the flock, even if they seem healthy when you get them.

And, if there is something not right with her, chances are good that the others will pick at her anyhow. I have one that was separated yesterday (blood); they were all together inside overnight, but when we took her out with them this morning, they went right to the injury again. Looks like she is inside with us again today, although we will periodically try to add her back and see if they leave her alone.

Good luck!

thank you. I will separate her right away. this might be a dumb question, but how do I tell if it is a physical defect or a viral thing?

 

[Tikkijane]

Quote:
Since she was with the other chicks and none of them are sick, that would indicate to me that it's not viral (which means that you don't need to worry about treating your whole flock). How many chickens do you have total? You have 4 total and the 3 are new? I would have 3 groups- your original 7 week old; the two that are not sick and then the one that is. Keep an eye on the other two new ones that are not sick and watch for signs of illness. If they get sick, you know it is viral and will need to be treated as such.

If it's not viral, it could be something bacterial, but I would think that if the other two (that came from the same place) are fine, it's not likely (although it still could be) bacterial. Sometimes, chicks are just not healthy for whatever reason (like people- some are born with problems).

Try scrambled egg (protein). If you can get a little bit of yogurt mixed with crumble in, that is good. Otherwise, how is the eating and drinking? Still good? Don't be afraid to hand feed (and use a dropper for water) if you need to. Mouth breathing could be a sign of being too hot- my chicks were too hot at the standard temps. You could try lowering the temp (moving your light higher; making sure she can get away from the heat; etc, if you don't have actual temp control).

She could also just be younger than the others, which would mean more sleeping comparatively.

How is she today? Can you post pics?