Sick chicks! I need some advice fast...

[MontyJ]

When I did chicken chores this morning, everything was fine. When I got home from work this afternoon, DW told me one of the younger CX had died. She also said another sounded congested. I immediately went to the coop and checked on them. Sure enough, one of the younger CX is definately congested and sneezing a little. I pulled it out of the brooder and put it in a seperate box. I then listened closely to the other chicks and found another of the younger CX also beginning to sound congested, and saw it sneeze a couple of times. I seperated it as well. This appears to be something that can spread, and fast. I am very worried about the laying chicks. What kind of seperation do I need to try to keep them safe? I could move them back into the small brooder and put them back into the barn, if necessary. Also, what can I do for the CX? I really don't want to loose them all to a respiratory infection, if that's what it is.

I need some help here chicken experts!

Thanks

 

[vfem]

Sounds like a respritory and it spread quick, so start treating with some duramycin. You should be able to get some at tractor supply. Its 1 tsp per gallon of water. Do that for 7 days.

We've dealt with this recently with the CX we bought at auction. They are now all fine.

 

[baymule]

Monty, I can't be of any help here. I haven't had any sick chickens in the 4 years of chicken keeping. I hope they get better, vfem has good advice!

 

[ducks4you]

Sorry, but you're gonna lose some more. Baby chicks are very vulnerable. vfem is right. Did you buy them locally, or did you have them shipped?
I have been incubating eggs for a few years now, and I haven't had any sick chicks from my hatchings, although a few were lame and a few passed on shortly after hatching. When I've helped them hatch, I found they were too weak to live. The bigger operations often spread respiratory diseases.
Make sure that your baby chick feed is medicated, and keep them warm. I keep mine on the medicated feed even though after about a month they no longer need the medication, but they don't need the extra calcium in layer feed, either.
They need to be kept in 95 degrees F the first week, then 90 degrees for a week, then 85 for a week. I just watch if they want more or less heat and move the lamp.

 

[MontyJ]

Thanks vfem! I have some Duramycin on the way. These were purchased from TSC about 10 days ago. I was out there at 6:30 this morning and didn't notice anything unusual, but with all the peeping and cheeping and clucking at breakfast time, it's hard to hear anything. I will pay much closer attention now.

For the moment, the two ill chicks are still in the coop, but in their own box with a lamp, food and water. If others in their brooder start showing symptoms, I'm just going to combine them again. I gave the layers a good looking over. They are all active as always and I couldn't hear anything out of the ordinary. This evening, I am going to have DW help me catch each one and listen to them breath.

 

[catjac1975]

I'm so sorry this is happening to you. Chickens for 35 years and have never had such troubles.We have always found them easy. What are you using for bedding? Do they get air circulation-nothing fancy just a screened window. Are they going outside yet? Find out where the supplier got the chicks. Frankly I would not get the at TSC-I don't really know why I feel this way. The chicks are handled a lot in the store by anyone who thinks they are cute. Call them and see if they have had complaints-don't know if they would tell you, though. We buy ours from murray mcmurray and always get them vaccinated. I not happy to do that-certainly not organic-but there are so many things they can die from. Good luck.

 

[897tgigvib]

Best of luck Monty. I don't know anything about chickens but looks like you have good advice all around in this topic.

Is there anything technical you can google to find information from veterinarians also? you might know from that if it is viral, bacterial, or fungal, or even from some dust or air particle, or if genetics has something to do with it. I don't know, but trying to be helpful!

I know you'll do everything you can, so if you lose one or more, try not to feel bad. You are trying!

 

[MontyJ]

I have them started on Duramycin and added some sav-a-chick electrolytes for good measure. I put all of the chicks on the Duramycin. Since they are all in the same area, I figured they have all been exposed. I am considering putting the sick chicks back with the others tomorrow, if they survive the night. The bedding is pine shavings. The hatchery is Mt. Healthy Hatchery. I have had these chicks long enough to feel comfortable that it didn't come from there. I believe it is the coop, weather, and possibly even the repeated opening/closing of the coop to tend to them. By next spring I will have a dedicated building for raising chicks.

They are way too young to go outside yet. Daytime high today was 41. The coop is not well ventilated right now. I have a choice of either being able to keep the chicks warm or ventilate the coop. Overnight lows are still lower 20's. The brooder/coop area is 64 sq feet. The door is opened several times a day which allows a considerable amount of air to come in/out. Until the weather breaks, that's the best I can do. By Friday, the temps are supposed to be somewhere near normal, so I will be able to vent the coop. I am going to design the vents so that they can be closed up during any future cold nights.

Thanks Marshall. We are trying. I did Google the symptoms, ut there are so many respiratory infections associated with chickens that it's nearly impossible to determine the problem. I would like to find some tetramycin to use since it's a more broad spectrum antibiotic, but I can't seem to locate any locally. Of course, antibiotics won't help if it's a viral infection.

So, for now, we are going to stick with the Duramycin and see how this plays out.

I do have one more question though...when does keeping chickens become fun?

 

[catjac1975]

You are just having an unusually bad time. I would call the hatchery for advice. I wonder were the walls of the chicken shed moldy? If so next time spray it down with a bleach solution before you put the birds in. We bleach ours before we start a new group of chickens, but only if the house has been empty. I doubt whether opening the door hurt them. Clean the waterers and feeders before the next use also. Don't blame yourself. Stuff happens. If you saw how casually we raise chickens you would be shocked. The reason I asked about the bedding was whether there was a lot of saw dust in the wood chips. I could see that causing a problem. We put down bedding with the chicks and then cover it with newspaper and cover it with clean paper when it becomes soiled. That is only when they are very little. Next time get them when the weather is warmer so they can be let outdoors in an enclosure during the day once they are about 3 weeks old. This is something we can no longer do because we have a cat with a taste for chicks. We have to let them get bigger than the cat before we let them out. Don't let this discourage you-in my eyes this is unusual. You haven't done anything wrong.

 

[baymule]

I do have one more question though...when does keeping chickens become fun?

Fun........oh, that goes with getting pooped on by a peeping little ball of fluffy cuteness. Sorry you are having troubles with your chickies. You will get past this.

Fun is getting your first egg. My first egg only cost $360, after that, they were all free!

Satisfaction is putting chicken on the table that you raised yourself.

Fun is watching chicken TV, the program is the same, but every episode is different.

Along with all the fun comes devastation and heartbreak and a grim determination to catch/shoot/destroy the varmit that killed your chickens.

Fresh eggs are a treat that will swear you off store bought eggs forever. Fun is eating them. Fun is cooking Angel Food Cake, custards, omlettes, deviled eggs, lemon chess pie, eggnog, scrambled, fried, breakfast, lunch and supper.

Monty, it gets better. Hang in there.