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Topic: Six Week Old Still Can't Stand (Read 250 times) |
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jnjc
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Six Week Old Still Can't Stand
« Thread started on: Sep 27th, 2008, 7:59pm » |
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Hi,
I have a six week old chick that can't stand. I noticed the problem about a week ago when the chick started limping. It rapidly got worse until the bird can no longer stand.
DL suggested that the problem was probably a vitamin deficiency so for the last four days I've been giving her a couple of drops of Penta-vite a children's vitamin.
There has been no change in her condition. She still can't stand. Apart from that she seems fine and is eating and drinking well (see looks to have grown in the last couple of days).
Is there something else I should try ?
Thanks,
JC
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| « Last Edit: Sep 27th, 2008, 10:15pm by jnjc » |
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DL
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Re: Six Week Old Still Can't Stand
« Reply #1 on: Sep 28th, 2008, 11:14am » |
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Hi and welcome! I am sorry I cannot remember the exact background (I assume it was posted at BYC ?) What has its diet been since hatch and was it always able to easily access feed and drink? What is the environment (housing/weather/does it have access to the outside etc.) ...any other symptoms such as swollen hocks?
I looked up the penta-vite and I see the Penta-vite Liquid Multi-vitamins for Infants (0-3 yrs) is the equivalent to the POLYVISOL Enfamil formulation >>>is this the one you have been giving?
Were you unable to find a general (daily) poultry formulated supplement to give in addition to that? If you can find one then give that too and make sure feed and especially drink is within easy access since it is having trouble walking. The reason for the supplements is often if you can address any eventual deficiencies (A-B-D are the most common) then it will help them deal with whatever else may be ailing them also. This has been going on for a couple weeks now I am guessing? How sudden did the lameness occur?
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| « Last Edit: Sep 28th, 2008, 11:18am by DL » |
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jnjc
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Re: Six Week Old Still Can't Stand
« Reply #2 on: Sep 28th, 2008, 8:24pm » |
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Thanks for the reply.
It started about a week ago. We noticed it limping so we separated it from the others because it was getting knocked around when it was trying to feed. From there it rapidly got worse until she was unable to stand at all (overnight).
We have three altogether all have been feed exclusively on medicated chick feed (other two are fine). At four weeks we started letting them outside for a couple of hours each day. It was about a week later that we noticed the symptoms.
We have set her up as follows so she has easy access to food and water:
Supplies are limited where we are, the only supplement I could find was one for budgies that you put in their water sold in the local supermarket , should I add this to her water ?
We have been giving the Vitamins for about 4 days with no change at all. The first day I gave her the vitamins her poo changed and there appeared to be a lot of undigested feed in it. I figured that maybe I had overdone it so I backed off a little on the amount I gave her and her poo returned to normal.
Someone suggest trying this:
http://fowlfacts.proboards40.com/index.c....lay&thread=1378
So I made up the mixture last night and started her on it. She ate about 1 sixth of the total mixture...
So now I am thinking of trying her on the egg yoke/yogurt/honey etc. mixture with a couple of drops of the multi-vitamin in it ?
Do you think that would be ok or am I overdoing it ? Should I give her a couple of drops of the multi-vitamin as well as the other concoction ?
We have managed to get hold of the place we bought the chicks and they have been vaccinated for Marek's.
Apart from being unable to move she seems happy enough and is eating and drinking well...
Thanks again for taking the time to help us out,
Much Appreciated,
Regards,
JC
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DL
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Re: Six Week Old Still Can't Stand
« Reply #3 on: Sep 29th, 2008, 09:42am » |
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So I have my facts straight, have you been giving her the Penta-vite (and whcih one) or the budgie med ? I cannot answer your question on the budgie med till I know the name of it so I can look up the ingredients (please state how much you gave)...
If your bird is getting a different diet because of this it will affect her poo ... please keep her on her normal feed as a basis and dont go giving her a bunch of different other things (unless you have a very specific reason for doing so)... the dosage of the Penta-vite is three drops a day in beak for a week then taper off the next week. You can also offer her a live culture plain yogurt. Both are general support measures.
Have you examined her legs carefully to see if they are swollen or inflamed or have a strange color? Please examine the bottom of her foot pad for any scratches .
Please describe the area you let them outside... could there possibly besomething there of a toxic nature that it could have eaten which is toxic? Any stagnant water sources? there is simply too little info here for me even to try and guess what may be wrong as there are several things which could cause this (incl injury)
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jnjc
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Re: Six Week Old Still Can't Stand
« Reply #4 on: Sep 29th, 2008, 11:21am » |
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Hi,
Apologies if I confused the issue. I have had her on Penta-Vite for almost a week now. And have been feeding her the medicate chick feed that she's been on all along.
The Budgie supplement was something I noticed in the supermarket and was wondering if maybe I should top her up with that ?
Her legs look fine and there are no scratches.
The outside area we had her was our back garden and there is nothing there that we could think of that would cause her to get sick.
There has been no change in her since we started her on the vitamins.
Someone suggest the rickets diet list at:
http://fowlfacts.proboards40.com/index.c....lay&thread=1378
So last night I made a batch of that up. So for the moment she is getting three drops of Vitamins. Her normal feed and three times a day we are giving her the rickets mixture.
She is still pretty much the same....
Here are a couple more pictures
Thanks Again,
JC
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| « Last Edit: Sep 29th, 2008, 11:22am by jnjc » |
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DL
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Re: Six Week Old Still Can't Stand
« Reply #5 on: Sep 29th, 2008, 12:59pm » |
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A telltale sign of rickets is bow legs and a rubbery/pliable beak...
I see in the photo the legs stretched out in front of her...does she normally hve them in such a position or does she normally have them folded up underneath (can be important this)
Go to your pet store and get baby parrot handfeeding formula (it is a powder that you mix with water) and make up a porridge consistency of that and add enough in with her feed so it all clumps together (you will concentrate the nutrition this way...that formula has saved many a sick bird) ...That is better than the rickets diet (if the beak is not pliable then I suspect it is something else entirely)
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jnjc
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Re: Six Week Old Still Can't Stand
« Reply #6 on: Sep 30th, 2008, 04:02am » |
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More often that not she will sit with one leg stretched out in front of her and one underneath her.
Her beak is hard.
I figured the rickets diet had lots of vitamins etc. in it so that why I decided to give her that.
It looks like she is having spasms now. Every 5 seconds or so she stretches out her neck and opens her mouth. All this said she is still eating and not showing signs of distress. This morning I got 3 drops of the vitamins into her and my wife tells me that she is eating well this afternoon.
I am unsure about how to proceed from here. I am tempted to keep holding on to see if she pulls through but I don't want her to suffer unnecessarily if all signs point to her being a goner ...
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jnjc
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Re: Six Week Old Still Can't Stand
« Reply #7 on: Sep 30th, 2008, 7:39pm » |
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Quick Update
Spasms have stopped and she is eating and drinking well. I have taken her off the rickets diet seeing that putting her on it seemed to coincide with her decline. For the moment she is on three drops of the vitamins and her normal feed. Today I will try and get my hands on some of the baby parrot food you mentioned and give it a try.
Thanks,
JC
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