# Poorly treated chick, hoping to rescue. Need help.



## Tyler J Walsh (May 15, 2017)

I currently have 6 Leghorn chicks, all five weeks old. This is my first time raising chickens. All 6 is what I've started with, I've had no deaths and they are all doing amazing. My girlfriend was browsing through Craigslist and sees an ad for a chick that needs to be rehomed. I hope to save it but I don't want any chance of harming my 6 current chicks. What should I worry about, what course of actions should I take if I do get the 2 month old chick? If it needs to stay in a separate room for another two months (even though 2 months old is when they should go into the coop) I can make it work.


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## Tyler J Walsh (May 15, 2017)

Sorry if this is the wrong place to post this, I just hope I can get the info so I can get the chick before some other kid wants a cute chick pet to neglect.


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## Carol0622 (May 15, 2017)

I would def quarantine until you know it's safe to introduce to your flock.


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## Carol0622 (May 15, 2017)

I would also be saving it ASAP and figuring it out later .


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## Southern by choice (May 15, 2017)

There are some diseases that no matter how long you quarantine it doesn't matter because those diseases can lie dormant.  
MG is one, and you could be bringing in carriers.  
Know who you are getting chicks from. Don't risk it.


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## Tyler J Walsh (May 15, 2017)

Ok, and what sicknesses can a chick get from not being treated right? For 2 months old that chick looks both smaller than my 5 week olds and is a lot less feathered. Any recommendations on tests to give or signs to watch for to indicate any illness? If there's any illness that I wouldn't want around my chicks I may be able to find a relative that would take care of it as a pet but at least those people would treat it very well as they use to have flocks of ~30 for years.


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## Wyorp Rock (May 15, 2017)

IMHO the biggest concern would be "HE" having a contagious respiratory disease.  Notice the ad say "he" can you have a rooster where you live, what are your laws/ordinances?

Second thing in the ad I see is "comes with vitamins and antibiotic treatment"  Hmmm....is the chick on ANY antibiotics? if so, that would be a red flag that he may have had some type of illness. 

"$20 rehoming fee"  well, that's up to you, but if someone needs to rehome a chicken most of the time it's free.  fwiw - A 2month old chick won't need heating lamp/bulbs, etc. so you probably don't need that.  I understand they want it gone, but only take what you need - negotiate pricing if you decide you just have to have him.    To me this chick does not look 2months old in the photo, but looks can be deceiving.

ASK LOTS OF QUESTIONS!!!! Ask if the chick has every had sneezing, runny eyes, mucous from the nostrils, coughing, Coccidiosis and whether or not he has been vaccinated (if so, which vaccination(s) - usually Marek's is the only vaccination).  Also ask where he came from - hatchery, feed store, breeder, another backyard chicken owner, etc.   

I recommend that you do some research/reading on quarantine, bio-security and poultry illnesses.  Quarantine and bio-security should be followed when getting new chickens.  I'm not trying to be the "boogie-woman" or trying to scare you.  Too often on BYC, I see someone get new chickens, add them to their existing flock and all of sudden their "old flock" is sick and/or dying while the new bird seems to be just fine (new bird is carrier of illness), this can happen in reverse as well.

Here's a few well written articles on quarantine/biosecurity to help you out - there's plenty of info on BYC and the web as well:
http://www.the-chicken-chick.com/2016/08/biosecurity-for-backyard-chickens.html
http://www.the-chicken-chick.com/2012/12/quarantine-of-backyard-chickens-why-and.html
http://www.fresheggsdaily.com/2012/07/backyard-biosecurity.html

Just to help out with my boogie woman rep, here's a list of common poultry diseases as well:
http://edis.ifas.ufl.edu/ps044


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## Southern by choice (May 15, 2017)

You really don't know how this chick was treated you are making assumptions... it appears their cat is going after it and that is one reason it is being rehomed.... it is on antibiotics & vitamins... so obviously someone thought enough to treat it. 

You have no idea the background. Some chicks are hatched with severe deficiencies, some hatch with disease present, other issue can cause failure to thrive.

Here ya go... it is a long list... 
http://edis.ifas.ufl.edu/ps044


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## Southern by choice (May 15, 2017)

LOL @Wyorp Rock  we were posting at the same time. Nice to see someone who understands carriers!


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## Wyorp Rock (May 15, 2017)

Haha!  I noticed your post when I replied - still getting used to this system - the old BYC would flash when someone was posting!

It's important that people do try to understand carriers - it may not seem that big of a deal,  but I see it all to often and people are just devastated when their flock becomes ill, they have to cull, start over, keep a closed flock, etc. 

Best to be safe than sorry.


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## Tyler J Walsh (May 15, 2017)

Southern, "The cat is going after it" that's a red flag right there. It is not difficult to keep a cat away from chicks. Worst case if you have no room you can put the chick in a closet that has ventilation until it's grown and can go into a coop. Since it is only 1 it should be easier to ensure it doesn't go through the stress of being constantly attacked by a cat. I have two cats that would eat my chicks given the chance. I'm sure to keep them away though. Even if the rest was birth defects, chicks do not handle stress well. I'm not trying to be an ass about it just making an educated guess. I hope he's been treating the chick well but one must expect the worst and hope for the best.
And Wyorp, thank you. I definitely will ask many questions. And I'm thinking if it's as defeathered as the picture shows I may want to keep the heat lamp just as an option for the chick to use if it wants to. 
I will definitely go over all of the links you all have provided. Also where I live I can have roosters so it's just a matter of its behavior with my hens concerning it's gender.


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## Southern by choice (May 15, 2017)

Tyler J Walsh said:


> I hope he's been treating the chick well but one must expect the worst and hope for the best.



Well I think if the person takes the responsibility to list the chick because of the cat and they obviously  are treating the bird that right there say they care about it... in my book that isn't poorly treating the bird they are doing what is right for the bird by trying to home it.

You will really like the link from Fl St. it is very comprehensive and has a nice chart at the end.  It is a great bookmark. We use to give this link out to all our clients so they could understand why we were so strict on bio security and so they understood why not to bring birds in from all over and so many different sources.

There are many chicken rescues, there may be some in your area. I'd just hate to see you expose your birds to something for trying to help.


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