Sick chicks! I need some advice fast...

[baymule]

Pass the Puffs tissues please.......AH-CHOO!

 

[MontyJ]

UPDATE:

Still have the bubbly breathing and sneezing. It doesn't seem to have spread though. Still just the one doing it. If the other is, I can't hear it. Frankly, it's getting to the point that I can't wait for the trips to freezer camp to begin.

 

[897tgigvib]

Freezer camps, chick jail...

 

[MontyJ]

I spoke too soon. I was just out in the coop and heard at least 3-4 now bubbling. It sounds like head congestion. There is no discharge from the eyes or nose that I can see. Tomorrow I will catch one and give it a complete exam for any discharge from the head area. I will also post some pics in case I am missing something important.

 

[canesisters]

http://edis.ifas.ufl.edu/ps044

Great link for good, solid info on bird illnesses and treatments. Got this from Dawg53 on BYC (he knows his stuff).

I had rampant wheezy, sneezy chicks for a while there - they got over it. But, as I understand it, if it's a virus the chicks will most likely be carriers from now on, and should not be passed along to another flock without - at a minimum - letting the new owner know. Not a problem for me, I'm keeping everyone till they're old and wizzened up.

 

[catjac1975]

OMG I had to stop reading the diseases-I would never have gotten chickens if I had read this first.

http://edis.ifas.ufl.edu/ps044

Great link for good, solid info on bird illnesses and treatments. Got this from Dawg53 on BYC (he knows his stuff).

I had rampant wheezy, sneezy chicks for a while there - they got over it. But, as I understand it, if it's a virus the chicks will most likely be carriers from now on, and should not be passed along to another flock without - at a minimum - letting the new owner know. Not a problem for me, I'm keeping everyone till they're old and wizzened up.

 

[canesisters]

I know what you mean... it's scary to think about. But most likely, the backyard chicken owner will never see most of them! I believe it's better to be well armed and able to take action.
Sorry if I upset anyone.

 

[catjac1975]

Oh no. I was not complaining about your post. I just remember now why I don't like to look things up. The same is the case for any animal that we might get. Actually we humans too. Haha.

I know what you mean... it's scary to think about. But most likely, the backyard chicken owner will never see most of them! I believe it's better to be well armed and able to take action.
Sorry if I upset anyone.

 

[MontyJ]

I just spent most of the day in the coop doing another remodel. I got a chance to observe the ill chicks quite a bit. They sound like they are bubbling when they breath, but it's not coming from deep down. After a minute or two, they will sneeze once or twoce at most and the sound goes away. I picked one up and looked at it very closely. There is no redness areound the eyes or anywhere else. The eyes are clear and alert with no discharge. There is also no nasal discharge. I also noted that they are eating like the little pigs they are and drinking normally. If they are deathly ill, they sure aren't acting like it. My very unprofessional and inexperienced opinion is that they just have a head cold. It hasn't spread to the layers or the older CX yet, and no more than 3 or 4 have it at all. I still have them on the Duramycin and electrolytes, but if they don't start showing improvement by tomorrow night I am taking them off the antibiotic. I have read that Duramycin can rob calcium, and I sure don't need that in a CX. How would I go about boosting the calcium intake for 3-4 week old CX?

 

[baymule]

How would I go about boosting the calcium intake for 3-4 week old CX?

Get some oyster shell for layers and smash it up real fine and let them have it for grit. But really, their feed is supposed to be perfectly balanced with everything they need in it. :/ Glad I'm not a chicken eating boring dry crumbles.