[daz]

hi im new to keeping chickens/bantams and im looking for a little advice
about a month ago i bought 2 1 year wynedots(excuse spelling) and 5 chicks 2 more wynedots 1 light sussex 1 leghorn and a pekin , the chicks are about 7-8 weeks old and feathered and i took them off heat a couple of nights ago and then put them with the other 2 last night and they seem to be doing fine except one of the adult birds is peking the chicks now i now its normal for them to do this and sort a peking order but when is it to much and considered a problem? and are they likely to settle? i have let the 2 adult birds out of the run for now to seperate them

also there seems to be a problem with one of the wyndot chicks it looks very healthy but i guess the only way to describe it is lethargic and doesnt seem right where as others scracth about and do what chickens do this one dont do much at all and dont run when attacked either any advice
thanx in advance

[Foxy]

Hi Daz and welcome to the forum!  

Personally I would have left it a few more weeks before introducing the chicks to the older birds just because the pecking can turn nasty and will be very stressful for the chicks,particulary if there isn't anywhere to hide.
Stress can also lower immunity so be more prone to diseases.

You mention a lethargic chick, what do the droppings look like? Does the chick looked fluffed up with droppy wings?Are the chicks on grass? A very common but treatable disease which affects youngsters is coccidiosis characterised by lethargy,ruffled feathers and loose sometimes blooming droppings. Treatment is effective if started ASAP. (coxoid added to water and available from feed stores)
Finally what feed are they on and have they been on a medicated starter crumb?
Hope this helps!

[daz]

Hi Daz and welcome to the forum!  

Personally I would have left it a few more weeks before introducing the chicks to the older birds just because the pecking can turn nasty and will be very stressful for the chicks,particulary if there isn't anywhere to hide.
Stress can also lower immunity so be more prone to diseases.

You mention a lethargic chick, what do the droppings look like? Does the chick looked fluffed up with droppy wings?Are the chicks on grass? A very common but treatable disease which affects youngsters is coccidiosis characterised by lethargy,ruffled feathers and loose sometimes blooming droppings. Treatment is effective if started ASAP. (coxoid added to water and available from feed stores)
Finally what feed are they on and have they been on a medicated starter crumb?
Hope this helps!

hi thanx for the advice
should i bring them back in or leave as is?
i think your spot on with that disease the wings are droopy but not noticed any blood in dropings and they have spent some time on grass although the run they are in now dont have much left as teh others scratched it all up
the feed they were having was chick crumb altho i dont know if its medicated or not but will check and also some bread every now and then
as for the medication will it affect the others drinkning the same water and being a sunday will it be ok till tomorow

[daz]

just checked the feed and does not contain coccidiostat

they are now on layers mash which i was told is for 8 weeks onwards is this ok or should i get another bag of chick crumb

[Foxy]

Hi Daz, personally I would bring them in. They are likely to have picked the cocci up from the ground if that is what it is, it does sound like it.
Start the treatment tommorrow if you have only just noticed symptoms and it wont hurt to treat all the birds including the older ones
Keep an eye on them all for any other symptoms and don't give vitamins at the same time.
Is it possible to move their run to fresher ground Daz or is that difficult due to space?
Good luck!

[Foxy]

Sorry daz missed your last post!
Chick crumb up to 6-8weeks then growers until 17weeks ish then onto layers. As they are 6-7 weeks and if you have any chick crumb left pop them back on for a couple of weeks then gradually switch to "growers" keep them on this until around 18weeks old then they can go on to layers.
Dont worry if  isn't medicated the coxiod will sort them out.

[daz]

Hi Daz, personally I would bring them in. They are likely to have picked the cocci up from the ground if that is what it is, it does sound like it.
Start the treatment tommorrow if you have only just noticed symptoms and it wont hurt to treat all the birds including the older ones
Keep an eye on them all for any other symptoms and don't give vitamins at the same time.
Is it possible to move their run to fresher ground Daz or is that difficult due to space?
Good luck!

i built a small run for the chicks outside yesterday which is on fresh grass shall i put them back there for a couple of weeks more or bring them back in the house

the main run where the older birds are is about 2 meters X 1.25 meters but they are also let out to roam the garden and i have plans for building a larger run about 10 X 10

[Foxy]

sounds lovely daz!
Hope the chick gets well soon, looking forward to pics tho -it is the rules!
 

[daz]

thanx for the advice but could you answer this one for me

i built a small run for the chicks outside yesterday which is on fresh grass shall i put them back there for a couple of weeks more or bring them back in the house

[Foxy]

The small run outside should be fine as the weather is warm. Would bring in at night unless they have a house attached to the run. Thats what I have done with mine and they are fine. (as long as their run is secure)
If they are out on grass just make sure it is very short so doesn't cause crop blockage. Grit would be good as well.

Hope this helps!

[daz]

thanx
will leave them out in the day and be on the safe side and bring them in at night
gona go take some pics for you now

[daz]

seems to have taken a turn for the worse and dont look like it will last the day, any advice