What is happening to my chicks?

[Anonymous__]

I recently integrated my chicks with my flock and they have been doing well other than the fact I have some chicks just puffed up standing by themselves. I took them inside and some were fine and were eating and drink full of energy but there were a few who became very weak and plopped over. I putt a blanket over them and put food and water near by as well as giving them some raw egg to get them back on their feet but for hours the weak ones sat there with their eyes closed and one suddenly opened their eyes and completely stretched out and closed her eyes again followed by her pooping out tan liquid. She became completely immobilized but still had a heart beat but died shortly after. After her, another chick began to do the same thing. What could have caused this and how do I help the last weak chick?

 

[nuthatched]

How old are they and what are your temperatures where they're kept? What it their diet?

 

[Anonymous__]

They are 5-7 weeks old with a heat lamp they can go to and they are fed 18 % protein chick feed.

 

[BlindLemonChicken]

Is thier first exposure to soil? Coccidiosis can kill chicks pretty quickly and they are more susceptible because they haven't built up any resistance-especially if they haven't been exposed beforehand.

 

[Anonymous__]

No, they have been on soil for over a week and were fine. They have their own space where the bigger chickens can't get to them so I don't what it could be. They experienced the same symptoms too so it must be a certain thing that is causing them to become weak.

 

[BlindLemonChicken]

No, they have been on soil for over a week and were fine. They have their own space where the bigger chickens can't get to them so I don't what it could be. They experienced the same symptoms too so it must be a certain thing that is causing them to become weak.

Yeah coccidiosis would not make them drop dead overnight. It takes a while. I had a full grown hen die of it and it took a couple months. It is a parasite and is found in all soil. Chicks have no resistance but older hens do. Slowly introducing chicks to soil can help them build up resistance but just plopping them out can have negative results. Corid is cheap and it won't hurt them to treat them for it.

 

[Anonymous__]

They haven't been outside a whole day, I just bring them outside and sit with them as they get use to my flock but they have been fine most of the time. They just randomly started to fluff up today.

 

[BlindLemonChicken]

So we can try to tag some people for other advice but in the meantime you should do some research on coccidiosis and see if it sounds familiar
@azygous @Wyorp Rock

 

[azygous]

I agree with @BlindLemonChicken that you are most likely dealing with a very serious case of coccidiosis. You need to buy some Corid 9.6% oral solution if you reside in the US or whatever brand amprolium that is sold in your country.

If you are in the US, mix two teaspoons Corid to a gallon of water for five days. Give them a week off, and do another five days to get new coccidia hatching. In addition, do a drench dose of undiluted Corid or amprolium once a day for three days for the chicks showing symptoms. Give .1ml by oral syringe. (The dose for adult chickens is .1ml for each pound of body weight.)

 

[Anonymous__]

I thought chickens with coccidiosis would have bloody poo and such but I haven't seen any red or abnormal coloring in their poops and all my other chicks have been full of energy. Is there any certain sign to know if it is coccidiosis?