Young Croad Langshan poorly??

[Chickadee2401]

Hi...I have an 8 week old Croad and im not sure what/if anything is wrong with her. I've checked her over and she has hardly any fur under her wings..not sure if this is normal or not? She also sleeps a lot more than my other chickens and had had diarrhoea. I put apple cider fluid in the water. She has access to my 20 week old Black Rocks feed though...which has layers pelpellets mixed in. Her feathers have looked ruffled on her lower back and she doesnt seem to have a tail at all yet. I was wondering if she was being pecked by one of the others but doesn't have a bald patch anywhere. New to keeping chickens and not sure if im just being paranoid?

 

[BantamLover21]

Hi...I have an 8 week old Croad and im not sure what/if anything is wrong with her. I've checked her over and she has hardly any fur under her wings..not sure if this is normal or not? She also sleeps a lot more than my other chickens and had had diarrhoea. I put apple cider fluid in the water. She has access to my 20 week old Black Rocks feed though...which has layers pelpellets mixed in. Her feathers have looked ruffled on her lower back and she doesnt seem to have a tail at all yet. I was wondering if she was being pecked by one of the others but doesn't have a bald patch anywhere. New to keeping chickens and not sure if im just being paranoid?

The slow feathering is probably normal. Some chickens are just like that. Also, even older chickens rarely have much, if any, fluff beneath their wings.

However, something more concerning is her sleepiness and diarrhea. I would treat her, and possibly any other chicks that you have, for Coccidiosis, as lethargy and diarrhea are signs of that. The best medication to use when treating Coccidiosis, which is a disease caused by protozoan parasites that live in the digestive tract, is Corid liquid or Corid powder. Corid can generally be found at a livestock supply store, and is often sold for cattle. The Corid liquid dosage is 1/2 teaspoon liquid per quart of water, and the Corid powder dosage is 1/2-3/4 teaspoon powder per gallon of water. Replace the water daily, and continue treating for 5-7 days. Improvement should be seen after the first three days; if not, then your chick could just be naturally unthrifty due to some sort of internal problem.

Another thing that I should mention: chicks should not have access to layer feed. This is because of two reasons. 1) Layer feed doesn't contain enough protein for the proper growth and health of chicks and their feathers. 2) Layer feed has way too much calcium for young, non-laying birds. This will damage their kidneys, often irreversibly. And, the calcium can sometimes cause pullets to lay before they are mature enough, which can result in prolapse or oviduct damage, among other things.

 

[Chickadee2401]

Hi, thank you for your reply. I have found after much research that the man at the pet shop gave me the wrong food...this food contained layers pellets and oyster shells. Being so new to this I took his word for it, until I read otherwise. I went and got growers pellets this morning and feed my layer the layers pellets separately on its own. I am npw convinced that my Croad has Coccidiosis. She is now sleeping more eating less feathers are more ruffled and drinking occasionally. Hardly walking at all. I will get the Corid and keep my fingers crossed!