Chickflick29
Chirping
- Jun 9, 2020
- 44
- 44
- 91
Hello! I have an approximately 5 week old chick that seems to be having some respiratory symptoms. I’m slightly terrified, as I’ve read so many horror stories and this is our baby. To give some details:
She’s been living in a brooder and now a crate in the house with two sisters, all approximately the same age, since about 1 1/2 weeks old. Up until 3 days ago, as I write this post, they were on pine shavings with a small “dirt box” for dust bathing. We’ve switched them to hay bedding, as we always have that around for the horses and I got worried about dust with all the flapping and chick zoomies going on. The weather has been nice this week, so in the last two days we were able to make them a secure mini-run and let them “free range” in the yard almost all afternoon.
About 2-3 days ago, I noticed our little chick had started shaking her head almost nonstop. I kept an eye on it, but she was fine otherwise. They went out in the yard most of yesterday, and this morning I noticed that the head shaking was less frequent but now she is sneezing a lot and wiping her beak on every surface she’s on. Her nostrils looks pretty clean, no discharge hanging around, but I do see clear spatters after she sneezes. No wheezing, no foam on her mouth or eyes, no swelling.. it’s hard to tell about pale comb because she doesn’t have one yet. She also has an intermittent clicking noise I can hear when she’s hanging out with me and I’m up close - sounds like probably mucus as air gets pushed through it.
Her two siblings are fine, no symptoms we’ve noticed at all. Other than the things I just described, our chick seems fine - she eats, drinks, zooms, flaps, dust bathes, pecks and scratches, preens, etc. There’s no bad smell coming from her beak/nose.
I’m wondering if she got a respiratory something from all the dust associated with the shavings, especially as rambunctious as the 3 of them have been. They have had supplemental heat from a heat lamp (which they can get well away from in their extra large crate) and a little heat pad tunnel they like to sleep under (not near the heat lamp). I’ve also been giving probiotics and vitamins/electrolytes through their water and they’re on unmedicated chick feed with the occasional tomatoes, cucumbers, strawberries and daily mealworm treats.
I’m terrified to lose her, does anyone know what might be going on or how I can help her get over her symptoms? I know it seems mild now, but I’m scared it’ll get ugly fast. Am I being paranoid lol?
Including a pic of the little sweet girl, she’s such a part of the family I’m going crazy trying to keep her well.
She’s been living in a brooder and now a crate in the house with two sisters, all approximately the same age, since about 1 1/2 weeks old. Up until 3 days ago, as I write this post, they were on pine shavings with a small “dirt box” for dust bathing. We’ve switched them to hay bedding, as we always have that around for the horses and I got worried about dust with all the flapping and chick zoomies going on. The weather has been nice this week, so in the last two days we were able to make them a secure mini-run and let them “free range” in the yard almost all afternoon.
About 2-3 days ago, I noticed our little chick had started shaking her head almost nonstop. I kept an eye on it, but she was fine otherwise. They went out in the yard most of yesterday, and this morning I noticed that the head shaking was less frequent but now she is sneezing a lot and wiping her beak on every surface she’s on. Her nostrils looks pretty clean, no discharge hanging around, but I do see clear spatters after she sneezes. No wheezing, no foam on her mouth or eyes, no swelling.. it’s hard to tell about pale comb because she doesn’t have one yet. She also has an intermittent clicking noise I can hear when she’s hanging out with me and I’m up close - sounds like probably mucus as air gets pushed through it.
Her two siblings are fine, no symptoms we’ve noticed at all. Other than the things I just described, our chick seems fine - she eats, drinks, zooms, flaps, dust bathes, pecks and scratches, preens, etc. There’s no bad smell coming from her beak/nose.
I’m wondering if she got a respiratory something from all the dust associated with the shavings, especially as rambunctious as the 3 of them have been. They have had supplemental heat from a heat lamp (which they can get well away from in their extra large crate) and a little heat pad tunnel they like to sleep under (not near the heat lamp). I’ve also been giving probiotics and vitamins/electrolytes through their water and they’re on unmedicated chick feed with the occasional tomatoes, cucumbers, strawberries and daily mealworm treats.
I’m terrified to lose her, does anyone know what might be going on or how I can help her get over her symptoms? I know it seems mild now, but I’m scared it’ll get ugly fast. Am I being paranoid lol?
Including a pic of the little sweet girl, she’s such a part of the family I’m going crazy trying to keep her well.
The photo from my original post is from 2 days ago, here’s one from today at another angle - she likes to hang out while I work.
