Eglu Go With 2m Run For Sale

[Katrisha]

Hi everyone,

 

I'm really worried about one of my girls. I have three chocolate orpington bantams, they're 5 and a half weeks old.

 

This week (wednesday to be precise) they went from their brooder to a coop. The coop is still indoors as I've been told they're still a bit young for going outside. They still use their Brinsea, and when they were in the brooder they'd be in and out of it all day, but since moving into this coop on Wednesday evening they've just been under it at night. The coop has a raised house area with nest box (you can see it here http://twitpic.com/5pybt7'>http://twitpic.com/5pybt7), and then a ladder coming down to a run area - which is where they've spent most of their time since we first moved them over on Wednesday evening.

 

They're a bit slow bless 'em and they haven't quite clocked on to the idea of going up the ladder to their bedroom, where the brinsea is. So I've been having to put them up there to go to sleep at night. Because their food was downstairs however, I have left the side door slightly ajar so they could get down and eat/drink if they wanted to.

 

This morning I've come down, and like yesterday morning (after their first night in the new coop) all three were downstairs, scratching about and doing their thing. But one of them has just been standing in the dull part of the run which is directly under the coop house, and has been sleeping - at least since I came down at about 8:30 this morning. So two are being normal, have come out into the house and had a bit of a scratch about, I even put them in the upstairs part of the coop so they could perch looking out the main front door which I left open (again you can see the front door here - http://twitpic.com/5pybt7), but the third has seemed really off, just sleeping.

 

I've had the odd trill noise from her while she's been a kip, but she's not even tucked her beak up under her wing like she normally would. It's really out of character and I'm concerned there could be something wrong. They're only on chick crumb and haven't been eating treats (they don't even like meal worms!). But we've given her a check over and there doesn't seem to be anything obvious. She's impeccably clean, her crop doesn't seem that full. She's even doing the odd chirping either with her eyes closed, or she'll open them, chirp, then go back to sleep. The only thing that doesn't seem right is her tail isn't held as high as the other two - but then I can't remember noticing whether the other two's tails go down when they're sleeping or not, so I'm not sure, this could just be normal while they're a kip.

 

Do you think maybe she just didn't have a good night's sleep? They're normally both up and sleeping all throughout the day, they were while in the brooder - and even now the other two will run about and then have a 5 minute kip on the perch. She's just not even moving, it's like she glued to the spot. It's very out of character and I'm really worried about her.

 

We've put her in the upstairs house next to the Brinsea (although she's just standing where we put her down, she hasn't gone under there) and we put a little bowl of food and water upstairs for her too. As I've written this she's just sat down for the first time all morning, still in the same spot, and still hasn't tucked her beak under her wing.

 

Any advice or suggestions would be great - she definitely doesn't seem right. I'm hoping she's just really tired, but this doesn't seem normal. She's hardly woken up all morning, and hasn't moved of her own accord either. Here's a picture of her right now - http://i47.servimg.com/u/f47/14/47/27/63/2011-010.jpg - except now she's sitting down rather than standing.

 

Thanks guys! Any help would be brilliant

[Redwing]

That doesnt look like a well chick

 

They are plenty old enough to be in the coop and even off heat but some chicks take to change better than others

 

My first hope would be that she is simply cold, can you confine her to a box for a few hours with the electric hen to see if the warmth will help? or put a little cardboard coral around the electric hen (about 20cm away) and confine her to that, the other two chicks should be ok away from the hen during the day

 

Are they on medicated chick crumb? that stance could be a sign of coccidiosis, that would probably be my next thought

[Katrisha]

Thanks for your quick reply!

 

She's shuffled under the Brinsea and we've put some food and water up there for her. She now looks like this - http://i47.servimg.com/u/f47/14/47/27/63/2011-011.jpg

 

We've closed the door so the other two are downstairs - they are acting and looking normal... http://i47.servimg.com/u/f47/14/47/27/63/2011-012.jpg

 

They've been ok without the Brinsea the last day or so, so I think they'll be alright today if we leave her upstairs and see how she gets on.

 

I can't see that there have been any unusual poos. As yet none of them have worked out that going up the ladder = warmth and sleep space, so I'm worried that perhaps she may have some down in the night for whatever reason and been cold or not gotten any sleep. I don't know, is that a possibility?

 

The other two are fine - so I'm wondering if there's a chance of coccidiosis would they all be off looking? Or is it normal for one to be down and the others not so?

 

I haven't had chickens so I was a kid and living back at home, so I'm hoping I'm being overly paranoid because I'd be so gutted to lose any of them - especially at just 5 weeks old. The only thing that has changed has been their coop, they get cleaned regularly (every couple of days), fresh water and food is there all the time for them.

 

I work from home right opposite the coop, so I'll be watching, but right now she's asleep under the Brinsea and I'm not sure what else I can do for her?

 

Cheers

Kat

[Katrisha]

Sorry there are loads of mistakes in there - I should have read before posting!

 

They've been alright without the brinsea in the day time, but have still been sleeping under it at night.

 

And I haven't had chickens 'since' I was a kid, not 'so' I was a kid!

[Redwing]

Hmm she doesnt look so good does she?

 

Leave her to sleep for a while under the heat but as time goes on it will appear more obvious if she was just cold or is sick

 

Cocci doesnt always result in blood in poo and just one can get sick initially, the coop looks immaculately clean but sometimes its just one of those things so please dont rule it out

 

Sometimes though you do just get weak chicks and you dont know whats going on inside them sadly, it may be a job for a vet but see if she perks up in the next couple of hours

[Katrisha]

Thanks for the advice - it's really helpful and I appreciate your quick replies!

 

She's moved from out of under the Brinsea and is now lying down near the front door of the upstairs, and her tail seems to be up in the air again. I'm really hoping she just had a bad night - but will keep an eye on her and keep you updated, and no doubt throw more questions your way!

 

Thanks again for your help!

[scarlettohara]

You need to keep her under the heat, don't allow her to move away from it as she will just get cold again.

[Katrisha]

Out of curiosity - if she's overly tired because she wondered downstairs on her own late last night and didn't get any sleep, roughly how much sleep do you think she may have missed out on?

 

I've been trying to find out how long they normally sleep for at night, but I can't seem to find any info on it. I know they normally take mini sleeps throughout the day, but do they get their heads down for 5/6/7/8 hrs a night normally as well?

 

I figured if I could work out how much sleep she may have missed then I can determine how long she should be kipping for to catch up? Obviously we're coming up to 2pm now and she's been like this since at least 8:30 this morning. She seemed fine last night when they all went to bed so whatever it is, somethings taken over her last night.

 

She came out from under the Brinsea herself so I was worried she might be a bit warm - is it likely she may have gotten a cold so is trying to regulate her temperature a bit? She feels average when you touch her - not excessively cold or hot. It's pretty warm in here today, the thermometer's reading 24.4 degrees but we have windows open so there's a gentle airflow.

 

This is her now, still sleeping but tail's been in the air for the last hour or so - http://i47.servimg.com/u/f47/14/47/27/63/2011-013.jpg

[Redwing]

I dont think the whole missing sleep thing is the problem, they are a bit like puppies and kittens, they nap then wake up and are active then crash out again, you wouldnt expect a chick to sleep for hours on end like this

 

I am afraid to say I think its probably sick

[Katrisha]

We spoke to the farm where we got them from who have been very very helpful since they hatched.

 

They have been on medicated chick crumb which I'm told should mean cocci is unlikely - it specifies that it protects against it, the symptoms and situation seem to have indicated that she's gotten out the top coop, come down on her own into the run last night and because she couldn't find her way back her temperature has dropped excessively - this is the worry of our friend at the farm.

 

Apparently because their feathers take longer to come in than many chicks, because of their breed, they're very susceptible to cold temperatures even at this age, and that would make her weak, which would in turn prevent her from getting to her food and water, meaning she gets weaker and dehydrated.

 

We're drip feeding her water every 30 minutes and she's lying with the brinsea very low on top of her. I desperately hope she pulls through, but it doesn't look good. I'm devastated.

[Redwing]

Well it sounds like you have had some very sound advice, sign of a good breeder thats good news about the chick crumb too

 

I guess all you can do is keep her warm now, fingers crossed thats all it is

[Katrisha]

Thanks for all the help and advice - we're so devastated, we were drip feeding her but eventually she had a seizure and went to sleep. Feel absolutely gutted not only that we've lost her, but also that it could have been prevented if I hadn't have thought they were old enough to be away from the brinsea so much. I didn't think anything of leaving the door ajar so they could have more space at night if they wanted it - but I now realize that was a silly, silly mistake, and I'm really mad at myself that's resulted in the loss of Dianosaurus Ross.

 

I only hope that my naivety and her tragic loss may help someone else looking online - in particular with this lovely breed - to make the right decisions and hopefully keep their birds happy and healthy for a long time.

 

I'm so gutted. I'm just so pleased that my other two beauties (the supremes) are as chirpy as normal, and this wasn't as big of a tragedy as it could have been. I wish there was something more we could have done.

 

Thanks again for all your advice.

[KimmyCustard]

You poor thing, you must be so sad and fed up! You tried your hardest with the chick, it was a mistake and you have learnt from it. I'm a new hen keeper and am learning all the time, I spend half my time guessing if there's anything wrong (then coming on here to ask another question ) to actually enjoying them!

 

Dont beat yourself up, when we know better, we do better xx

[Katrisha]

Thanks Kimmy, it's good to have some reassurance - it's been a hellish couple of days to say the least!!

 

I'm unsure what to do now. I know I need to build up the flock, as if anything happened to one of my two remaining girls I'd be left with a very lonely chick. I'm going to speak to the breeder about this tomorrow - but I always like to have a few different opinions, so if anyone has any advice as to when I should be introducing new chicks to the flock, that would be great. I don't know whether to do it sooner rather than later, or with chicks that are the same age (my girls are 5.5 weeks) or with older/younger birds.

 

I desperately want to do what's best for the chicks, so any advice on this would be brilliant.

 

Thanks in advance

[Redwing]

I'm sorry about your chick

 

If you and your breeder are happy that the chick didnt die of anything that can be spread to the other two then I'd get more chicks sooner rather than later, chicks are hugely tolerant of each other when young and any bickering settles down very quickly

 

As they mature things get more tricky

[Katrisha]

Thanks for the advice, I thought perhaps it would be better to get them sooner rather than later because they'd be more set in their ways as time goes on, but I also didn't want to distress them too much too soon having just lost their sister. 

 

I'm probably over thinking it all because of what's happened! Your advice is great, thanks.

[WitchHazel]

Sorry to hear about your chick. Don't beat yourself up about it, you did what you thought was right (so it wasn't through neglect or cruelty).

 

The other two probably won't be too worried that one has gone and, as Redwing says, at this stage (and younger) they are reasonably tolerant of newbies. Your breeder sounds very knowledgeable, so I'd see what they suggest.