See if a local vet can at least check to see if and what is in the feces.
Last year I had a pullet that was sneezing, had a squishy crop, would open her mouth as if she were yawning and runny watery poops with tiny firmer pieces. I was new to chicken keeping and had only had them for about 6 months. I was scheduled to be out of town for a week and had my husband and son trying to get her to eat. She was inside the house and eating less and less.
By the time I got home and I took her to a vet that saw exotics (birds) she had lost so much weight and the vet recommended I put her down. I had a necropsy done. The vet told me it was capillary worms.
So just recently I wormed my chickens with Safeguard goat wormer to rid them of any possible capillary worms and I had another chicken come down with similar symptoms. I had a fecal test done and there was nothing. Then I took her in and had an exam and a gram stain to check for bacterial imbalances. Nothing. The doc (a different one at the same practice) read thru the chart of my other chicken and said the necropsy didn't find any capillary worms but that all the inflammation in her system would be an indication of capillary worms. Big difference there. I hadn't wormed my other chicken I had to put down so the absence of capillary worms was suspect.
The doc concluded that there was definitely something wrong and prescribed an antibiotic. He also wanted me to continue with Corid in her water. He was the vet on the weekend and had no real experience with birds but thought it best after I showed him the post from BYC about treating with Corid.
I'll backtrack a bit here. My chicken had green runny poops and I had seen on BYC other posts with the same problem. A woman treated for coccidiosis and was successful in getting her hen well with Corid.
My chicken got better after much work of tube feeding and getting meds down her. She is happily in the coop and quickly gaining the pound she had lost. My only regret is that I wish I had fecal tests done before I wormed to make sure I did in fact have capillary worms. After finding out what I did at the vet I want to make sure what the enemy here is. Now I will wait for a few months and then have their feces checked to see what I am dealing with.
Sorry this got to be so long. It's my experience and maybe you can glean something from it.
Last year I had a pullet that was sneezing, had a squishy crop, would open her mouth as if she were yawning and runny watery poops with tiny firmer pieces. I was new to chicken keeping and had only had them for about 6 months. I was scheduled to be out of town for a week and had my husband and son trying to get her to eat. She was inside the house and eating less and less.
By the time I got home and I took her to a vet that saw exotics (birds) she had lost so much weight and the vet recommended I put her down. I had a necropsy done. The vet told me it was capillary worms.
So just recently I wormed my chickens with Safeguard goat wormer to rid them of any possible capillary worms and I had another chicken come down with similar symptoms. I had a fecal test done and there was nothing. Then I took her in and had an exam and a gram stain to check for bacterial imbalances. Nothing. The doc (a different one at the same practice) read thru the chart of my other chicken and said the necropsy didn't find any capillary worms but that all the inflammation in her system would be an indication of capillary worms. Big difference there. I hadn't wormed my other chicken I had to put down so the absence of capillary worms was suspect.
The doc concluded that there was definitely something wrong and prescribed an antibiotic. He also wanted me to continue with Corid in her water. He was the vet on the weekend and had no real experience with birds but thought it best after I showed him the post from BYC about treating with Corid.
I'll backtrack a bit here. My chicken had green runny poops and I had seen on BYC other posts with the same problem. A woman treated for coccidiosis and was successful in getting her hen well with Corid.
My chicken got better after much work of tube feeding and getting meds down her. She is happily in the coop and quickly gaining the pound she had lost. My only regret is that I wish I had fecal tests done before I wormed to make sure I did in fact have capillary worms. After finding out what I did at the vet I want to make sure what the enemy here is. Now I will wait for a few months and then have their feces checked to see what I am dealing with.
Sorry this got to be so long. It's my experience and maybe you can glean something from it.
