Chronic diarrhea in flock and hens have stopped laying - any advice appreciated!

[Tarpman3]

We have a small flock that has been having chronic diarrhea for a couple of months. The flock is mixed: One Dominique rooster, one Wyandotte hen, and one bantam hen (I'm blanking on the specific breed). We have 4 new hens separate from them that we want to introduce, but are waiting to get the diarrhea under control first.

They're fed Purina layer pellets and we supplement with random grains, vegetables, dried soldier fly larvae, etc. The two hens were laying fine for a while and then just stopped late summer (it's October now). Then, the bantam and the rooster started having diarrhea and haven't stopped. We took the bantam to a vet and were prescribed antibiotics for both of them. He suspected a chronic bacterial infection. We also gave them dewormer (Fenbendazole) and did notice some worms in the bantam's poop. Unfortunately, the bantam didn't recover and died last week. They both had been eating/drinking fine.

I usually clean their coop out once a week, but almost have to do part of it everyday because of how bad the diarrhea is.

Does anyone have any other ideas? All of the other threads and forums I've read on here suggest that this is worms but we've been routinely deworming our remaining birds ever since the bantam died.

Any input is appreciated!

 

[nuthatched]

I'd cut out the treats for now and switch to an all flock feed for your roosters sake.
Are they molting?

 

[Tarpman3]

Thanks for the reply. No, they're not molting. I can definitely see how an all-flock feed would benefit the rooster, but my hens are the ones dying. Actually, our Wyandotte passed this morning/last night. After trying antibiotics and dewormer (multiple times) I'm at a bit of a loss as to what's killing them.

 

[meganmtea]

This is my husbands post — I don’t know if comments will help boost this post but please send any advice! Truly at a loss on what to do.

 

[SueT]

Get some Corid in case they have coccidiosis. The liquid form you use 1 tsp per gallon for mild outbreak, 2 for severe outbreak, 1/2 t for prevention.
Stop all vegetables.

 

[meganmtea]

Get some Corid in case they have coccidiosis. The liquid form you use 1 tsp per gallon for mild outbreak, 2 for severe outbreak, 1/2 t for prevention.
Stop all vegetables.

Just ordered! Thanks

 

[Wyorp Rock]

We have a small flock that has been having chronic diarrhea for a couple of months.

They're fed Purina layer pellets and we supplement with random grains, vegetables, dried soldier fly larvae, etc. The two hens were laying fine for a while and then just stopped late summer (it's October now). Then, the bantam and the rooster started having diarrhea and haven't stopped. We took the bantam to a vet and were prescribed antibiotics for both of them. He suspected a chronic bacterial infection. We also gave them dewormer (Fenbendazole) and did notice some worms in the bantam's poop. U

Sorry to hear about your losses, the best way to find out what's causing the problem is to send the body to your State Lab for testing/diagnosis.

Did you see improvement at all with antibiotics and deworming?
What antibiotic was used?

Photos of the birds and their poop?

How old are they?

If you noticed worms in the poop, Fenbendazole should take care of most species except for Tapeworms - what type of worm was it?
Fenbendazole (Safeguard Liquid Goat Dewormer or Equine Paste) dose is at a rate of 0.23ml per pound of weight given orally once daily for 5 days in a row.

Corid as suggested won't hurt them, it treats Coccidiosis, you can find Corid in the cattle section of stores like TSC.

Liquid Corid dose is 2tsp or Powdered Corid Dose is 1 1/2tsp per gallon of water given for 5-7 days as the only source of drinking water.
Do not add any extra vitamins/electrolytes that contain B1(Thiamine) to food or water during the course of treatment.

Any chance that feed got moldy and the birds ate it, they got into compost or something rotten?
Check the dates on your feed to ensure they are as fresh as possible.

 

[Tarpman3]

Get some Corid in case they have coccidiosis. The liquid form you use 1 tsp per gallon for mild outbreak, 2 for severe outbreak, 1/2 t for prevention.
Stop all vegetables.

Thanks! Just ordered some today.

 

[Tarpman3]

Sorry to hear about your losses, the best way to find out what's causing the problem is to send the body to your State Lab for testing/diagnosis.

Did you see improvement at all with antibiotics and deworming?
What antibiotic was used?

Photos of the birds and their poop?

How old are they?

If you noticed worms in the poop, Fenbendazole should take care of most species except for Tapeworms - what type of worm was it?
Fenbendazole (Safeguard Liquid Goat Dewormer or Equine Paste) dose is at a rate of 0.23ml per pound of weight given orally once daily for 5 days in a row.

Corid as suggested won't hurt them, it treats Coccidiosis, you can find Corid in the cattle section of stores like TSC.

Liquid Corid dose is 2tsp or Powdered Corid Dose is 1 1/2tsp per gallon of water given for 5-7 days as the only source of drinking water.
Do not add any extra vitamins/electrolytes that contain B1(Thiamine) to food or water during the course of treatment.

Any chance that feed got moldy and the birds ate it, they got into compost or something rotten?
Check the dates on your feed to ensure they are as fresh as possible.

Appreciate the reply. Will try to post some photos. We thought they perked up with the deworming but the bantam died a week or so after. Their poop is dark brown diarrhea. We had read that with Coccidiosis their poop is normally bloody, which theirs isn't - but now I'm wondering if the color had blood mixed in with it. We don't think they had tapeworms.

We bought some Corid to try asap.

Thanks again

 

[Tarpman3]

Sorry to hear about your losses, the best way to find out what's causing the problem is to send the body to your State Lab for testing/diagnosis.

Did you see improvement at all with antibiotics and deworming?
What antibiotic was used?

Photos of the birds and their poop?

How old are they?

If you noticed worms in the poop, Fenbendazole should take care of most species except for Tapeworms - what type of worm was it?
Fenbendazole (Safeguard Liquid Goat Dewormer or Equine Paste) dose is at a rate of 0.23ml per pound of weight given orally once daily for 5 days in a row.

Corid as suggested won't hurt them, it treats Coccidiosis, you can find Corid in the cattle section of stores like TSC.

Liquid Corid dose is 2tsp or Powdered Corid Dose is 1 1/2tsp per gallon of water given for 5-7 days as the only source of drinking water.
Do not add any extra vitamins/electrolytes that contain B1(Thiamine) to food or water during the course of treatment.

Any chance that feed got moldy and the birds ate it, they got into compost or something rotten?
Check the dates on your feed to ensure they are as fresh as possible.

Here is the remaining sick bird that we have. He's a Dominique rooster, probably 1.5 years old. Here is what his poop looked like this morning (sorry - it's graphic!). Note that this is the first time I've noticed the milky-white color. Prior to this, it's been a brownish color. We have some Corid coming in the mail today and we will treat him ASAP.