Young 'un sleeps too much and sneezes

[RenoHuskerDu]

She's just a few months old. We bought three like her to start laying in a few months. The others are fine, but this one got picked on more than the other two for a few days. She's a bit smaller, she sleeps half of the day away, and we hear her sneeze from time to time.

She's quarantined now in her own cage, stays on the back porch there during the day and the garage at night. She's not in the coop just in case she's contagious. And we don't want her getting pecked any more.

We're feeding her water with apple cider vinegar and garlic. We've added some herbs such as dill, clove, thyme and cinnamon to the feed.

We don't plan to take her to a vet. The chicken lady who supplies us offered to swap her out, but it's a long drive. We hope to nurse her back to health ourselves.

 

[DesertBird]

Poor thing, hope she'll be okay soon! It seems like you have a good start with quarantine and giving her some booster herbs. Is it possible she has a respiratory infection? I would suggest giving the others booster herbs as well - they can hide illness well.

 

[RenoHuskerDu]

We did give some booster herbs to five of the other young 'uns. Thanks for the suggestion, as it validates our decision. We're pretty new at this, used to live in the 'burbs where no birds are allowed. We've only been out here on 20 acres for 2 months now.

 

[DesertBird]

We did give some booster herbs to five of the other young 'uns. Thanks for the suggestion, as it validates our decision. We're pretty new at this, used to live in the 'burbs where no birds are allowed. We've only been out here on 20 acres for 2 months now.

No problem - always a good idea to quarantine a sick bird, in my experience. How are the others doing? Any signs of tiredness? As for her, is she eating and drinking well?

 

[Wyorp Rock]

just a few months old. We bought three like her to start laying in a few months.

she sleeps half of the day away, and we hear her sneeze from time to time.

What are you feeding?
Do you have any photos of her poop?
How often is the sneezing?

She may have a respiratory illness, but I would also consider Coccidiosis a well.

I would start her on Corid and see if she improves.
Dosage is 1 1/2 teaspoons Corid powder or 2 teaspoons of 9.6% Corid liquid per gallon of water. Give for 5-7 days - make sure this is the ONLY water available during that time period. Mix a fresh batch at least once a day.

See that she is eating her chick starter very well. Once you finish the Corid, then offer her some poultry vitamins.

If you notice an increase in sneezing or mucous, facial swelling, bubbly eyes or any other symptoms that would indicated respiratory illness, then you can try treating with an antibiotic like Tylan50.
If she does have a respiratory illness, the others have already been exposed. http://edis.ifas.ufl.edu/ps044

 

[RenoHuskerDu]

Oh my goodness...this is scary info. We decided to take that chicken back to the chicken lady after all. She's offered to give us another pair of matching young Marans.

Thank you everyone. We need to get a supply of chick starter, Corid, Tylan50, and poultry vitamins. Does chick starter include antibiotics? We prefer to use them sparingly, on ourselves and our animals.

 

[BrindleFinch]

Oh my goodness...this is scary info. We decided to take that chicken back to the chicken lady after all. She's offered to give us another pair of matching young Marans.

Thank you everyone. We need to get a supply of chick starter, Corid, Tylan50, and poultry vitamins. Does chick starter include antibiotics? We prefer to use them sparingly, on ourselves and our animals.

The bag will either be labelled medicated or non medicated.

You can usually find either in any feed/farm supply store... But medicated is sometimes all they offer. You don't HAVE to give it, however.

You can also consider feeding an all flock food - adult food is unmedicated regardless. I'd only do that as a last resort if your store only has medicated chick feed, however.

 

[Wyorp Rock]

Oh my goodness...this is scary info. We decided to take that chicken back to the chicken lady after all. She's offered to give us another pair of matching young Marans.

Thank you everyone. We need to get a supply of chick starter, Corid, Tylan50, and poultry vitamins. Does chick starter include antibiotics? We prefer to use them sparingly, on ourselves and our animals.

Don't freak out

If you are in the US, then likely the medicated chick starter you will find contains Amprol/Amprolium which is the same thing as Corid. It's a Coccidiostat, not an antibiotic. Feed only contains a very small amount of medication, it's purpose is to inhibit the overgrowth of Coccidia so chicks can build resistance.

If you have Corid on hand, then just use unmedicated chick starter. If the chicks get sick, then use the Corid. Exposing chicks to soil is a good way to help build the gut and it allows them to encounter different pathogens that are found in their environment.

Tylan50 is an antibiotic which is commonly used to treat secondary infection from respiratory disease.

 

[RenoHuskerDu]

This is our first post out here, and it's really been encouraging how much support y'all came up with on short notice.

Because we're relatively new at this, we're taking the easy way out, exchanging that one young Marans. But as we build up experience, this is a situation we'll know how to address ourselves in the future.

Thanks to y'all !!

 

[Wyorp Rock]

I hope all goes well for you!