New Member- Unsteady Pekin chick-

[pebojuno]

I have had a few chickens over the years but hatched out my first brood (with an incubator) 5 weeks ago- I had 12 pekins and all were healthy.

About a week ago I noticed one of the smaller ones had developed a bit of a "wobble" when she walked- often going over to one side, and her wing dropped - i thought to steady her. I kept an eye on her and thought that perhaps she had been hurt by one of the larger ones- she was eating and drinking fine and droppings were normal.

However, 2 days ago she got worse, became even more unsteady, one leg seems very weak, claws curled, she goes round in circles and is getting flustered, sleeping a lot, still eating and drinking- I did some research and decided to try poultry vitamins in her water to try to rule out vitamin deficiencies- they are all on a mixture of chick crumbs and growers pellets and have been free ranging also. (all others are very healthy!) Thought she may well not make it through the night but she is still no better, no worse.

Is there who can advise me with any other course of action or would it be kinder to get a farmer friend to humanely dispatch?

 

[pebojuno]

Chick is still in the same way, no better, has periods of trembly unsteadiness- looks really bad and then seems a bit better, pecking round and walking around with a bit of a stumble- still eating and drinking fine and still on the multivitamins in water- any other ideas?

 

[Anonymous]

I had a very similar problem with my cock bird and though he was a lot more dopey and sleepy thanyou describe the symptoms where very similar. Poison was the problem (slug pelletts) I'm sure that if this is the problem with yours it would have sucumbed very quickly being so young, but worth having a scout around the garden to make sure they havent found anything that they shouldn't be eating while they are free ranging around.
Not sure how long it would take vitamin/ mineral suppliments to take effect and ballance out a deficiency, but I'm guessing not very long?
Hope it starts to perk up soon.
Matt

 

[pebojuno]

Matt,

Thank you for your reply and suggestions- Am pretty sure she hasn't been not poisoned as I haven't used slug pellets this year ( and have the lack of veg to prove it!) It's a tricky one because she's eating and drinking fine- I'm keeping her in on her own so that her siblings don't hurt her by mistake.

Like I said one minute I'm thinking she should be put out of her misery and the next she's wobblily hopping onto the side of the cage she's in to greet me and looking far more perky- Think I'll give her one more week to see if she gets better and then put her down if theres no change- can't see there being much quality of life stuck in a pen on her own- fingers crossed the vitamins work!

Nicky

 

[Anonymous]

Nicky,

One thing - Is she in pain?

(If not)

I would put in her in with rest, take a close eye on her and see how she does in the 'pecking order'.

I'm always a softy, so give her chance.

Good luck.

Ade

 

[pebojuno]

Ade,
She doesn't seem to be in pain at all- Just unsteady and she has good and bad times- I tend to keep putting her in with the others when she looks good and pull her out when she flops- they don't attack her or anything so I'll see how she goes in with them all day next week.

 

[pebojuno]

Good news- after over a week she seems to be slowly getting better- She seemed more upright yesterday but her toes were still curled under- was reading through some old Smallholder mags and saw a picture of a chick whose feet had been "set" into the correct position using sellotape- tried it and she's happily pecking about in with the others- still a bit wobbly but future looking a lot rosier! Thank you for your help and ideas - Nicky

 

[Tim]

Sometimes after a hatch, a chick can be deformed for one reason or another. This usually appears 4 or 5 days after the hatch and sometimes will simply drop dead for no apparent reason when all other siblings are fit and healthy. Disease usually knocks down more than one chick in my experience. I would normally give the chick a few days and then cull it if it didn't improve. This is because I am breeding from my birds and ultimately don't want to breed birds with any problems.

I'm pleased your chick has recovered. You can feed hardboiled mashed egg for the ultimate natural boost for your chicks...

Tim

 

[Anonymous]

We have a chick exhibiting the same symptoms you describe for your Pekin chick - we are new to raising chickens and are wondering what to do. What happened with this chick, now almost a year later?

 

[pebojuno]

Hi,
More than happy to give an update - Sadly, after looking better for a few days she went downhill so we made the tough decision to cull her.
I've still got no idea what was wrong with her but as all of her hatchmates were fine I assume it was some kind of brain damage or individual problem rather than a disease.
Have a look at the symptoms of Mareks disease as they are quite similar and you need to rule that out - as it would spread.
I'd make a decision about your chick based on how well it is doing- There was a clear point where my chick had no quality of life (on it's own, times when it couldn't get to the water/ food) so the decision to cull was made but up until then it was in no pain so I gave it a chance.
Hope you have more luck with yours,
Nicky

 

[Anonymous]

Thanks for the update, wish it was more hopeful! Our chick also seemed to get better for a few days, but now seems worse again. We only have 2 chicks - inherited them from my son's class - so the other one will be lonely if we lose the hen. So far the rooster hasn't been picking on her at all. They are very attached to each other! And my kids are willing to spend a lot of time nursing this chick. So we'll probably go a while longer and see what happens.

But if we need to put her down, how does one do that?

Thanks so much for your advice!

 

[pebojuno]

So sorry to hear she's not improving- Tim has written an article on how to dispatch a chicken here : http://poultrykeeper.com/chickens/general-chickens/how-to-kill-a-chicken.html

You might prefer to take the chick to a vet - who knows, she might have something which can be cured. If not, the vet would be able to put her down in a manner which my cause less distress to the chick, yourself and the children.

Really hope you get a happy outcome,
Nicky

 

[Anonymous]

Thanks so much for the advice. She seems to be holding on, so we're hoping she'll manage well enough that we don't have to put her down. If we do, we'll probably have to invest in a vet for that! Again, thanks for responding.