Hello Everyone,
A few weeks ago I purchased my first chicks and ducklings. I have been avidly reading the posts of others here and now need to ask a question. When I went to check on my ducklings and chicks (about 3 weeks old) in the brooder (in a spare room of the house) this morning, I noticed one of the chicks was not as eager to munch on the goodies I brought. She stayed laying down to one side and I noticed some clear, bubbling liquid kind of like a mucus around her beak. She does not seem to be able to chirp a normal chirping sound. I tried sticking her beak in some water thinking she might be dehydrated, but I do not know.
Does anyone have any ideas about what could be wrong or what I should do?
Thanks in advance.
Replies
I have separated her from the others and changed and cleaned all of the feed and water containers. I have not noticed any other symptoms so far. She moves around a little, but I will find something for her to snuggle with. I will look for the vitamins from the feed store as well.
Thank you, Catherine, for the link, I will check it out.
Rachel, I had not read anything (at least I do not remember reading anything) about not keeping ducklings and chicks together (the ducklings are muscovies that are one day older) so they are in the same brooder. However, I can separate them out. I was getting prepared to do this anyway because they are much bigger now.
Thank you again for the advice.
I agree with Meg, and it's definitely not a good sign. At the very least I would add some apple cider vinegar (1TBS/pint for a sick bird) or vitamins and electrolyte to the water (you can buy packets of it at the feed store). It's possible she just got chilled from wet bedding and she will recover and be fine. Is she swollen in the face (around the eyes) at all?
Chicks and ducklings should not be in the same brooder for a few reasons. One of which is that waterfowl can carry diseases that chickens aren't immune to and vice versa. The other big reason is that ducklings are messy and like it wet, and chickens do not do well if they get wet. I'm hoping that they're in separate brooders and that just didn't come across in the post.
So, I went back and re-read your post and realize that you're talking about 3+ week old chicks, for some reason I was thinking they were 3 day-olds. While, it's still not ideal for chicks that young to get too wet, some damp bedding here and there wouldn't give them a chill overnight. Has anything changed for her since you posted this?
There are always antibiotics available at feed stores if you are interested in going that route.
3 weeks old tomorrow since they hatched. She has mostly been sitting near the "teddy" I placed in there for company near the heat lamp. I occasionally see her standing, but not eating or drinking (I check on her about once/hr. I usually will dip her beak in her water a few times when I check on her. I still see some of the clear slimy stuff, but I do not know if it has decreased. I think I heard her make a chirp sound, but not sure :p
I am not sure about the antibiotics because I do not know what is causing it, but if I still see the mucus tomorrow, I will probably try it.
Hi Kaesha,
Check out this link for anything that is similar to your chick's symptoms or how you have the brooder set up. Also Meg is right, separate the little one from the others, but remember you still have to keep it warm. I used to use an upside down feather duster to provide some additional 'comfort'.
http://poultrycommunity.com/forum/showthread.php?13328-Help-pls-I-h...
Hope this helps