Beckys Birds
Songster
When I left the house today all 6 of my week old Sapphire Gem chicks were running around, eating and drinking. I come back 1.5 hours later and there is a chick laid out, away from the brooder plate, head reared back against her back, legs and toes stretched straight out and wiggling. I scooped her up, and ran to the hair dryer. She was cold. I warmed her up with the hair dryer while giving her drops of sugar water. She had several more spells where her head would rear back against her back and it felt like all her muscles were straining. She couldn't stand or keep herself up. If I laid her on her side, she struggled to breathe. I got the heating pad out and wrapped her body in it. She kept looking at me and would softly peep when I would move her around or check for her for breathing. Two hours I sat with her, talking and petting. She never gasped for breath.
She had one more shaking spell in my hand and died.
Can anyone give me any clue to what happened? I don't want it to happen to the other 5 chicks. Could this be coccidiosis? I had a kitten die 25 years ago of coccidia and he had a seizure where his head was thrown back with legs and toes straight out and shaking like what happened to this chick.
Backstory: I have the chicks on my kitchen table in 2 large, clear totes connected by a wide PVC tube. The lids are cut out with hardware cloth. There is a smaller brooder plate and hemp bedding. I feed (unmedicated) nutrina chick crumbles I wet into a mash and water with Rooster Booster vitamins. They have free access to Dumor chick grit. In about a week or so, they will be moved to a big (6ft long x 3ft deep) brooder with a brooder plate that's twice as large as the small one. By week 5 when fully feathered they will be put outside in my cochin run to gow out all the way. I've used this setup 3 times prior with great success and no deaths.
And help would be appreciated. They take a chunk out of my heart when they die, and especially when they die in my hands. I hate not being able to help them.
She had one more shaking spell in my hand and died.
Can anyone give me any clue to what happened? I don't want it to happen to the other 5 chicks. Could this be coccidiosis? I had a kitten die 25 years ago of coccidia and he had a seizure where his head was thrown back with legs and toes straight out and shaking like what happened to this chick.
Backstory: I have the chicks on my kitchen table in 2 large, clear totes connected by a wide PVC tube. The lids are cut out with hardware cloth. There is a smaller brooder plate and hemp bedding. I feed (unmedicated) nutrina chick crumbles I wet into a mash and water with Rooster Booster vitamins. They have free access to Dumor chick grit. In about a week or so, they will be moved to a big (6ft long x 3ft deep) brooder with a brooder plate that's twice as large as the small one. By week 5 when fully feathered they will be put outside in my cochin run to gow out all the way. I've used this setup 3 times prior with great success and no deaths.
And help would be appreciated. They take a chunk out of my heart when they die, and especially when they die in my hands. I hate not being able to help them.
.
