Could it be blackhead disease?

[BettyG]

My sick 5 month old roo is still doing poorly, upon doing some more research, I'm wondering if he could have blackhead disease? We live out in an area where there are tons of wild turkeys...this is a Silver spangled Spitz, he had a really white top knot, and now his head is all dark and greasy looking, as is his face. I've been giving him electrolytes and vit's. and it's perked him up a tad, but not much...on the chance that it is blackhead disease, I just dosed him with some metronidazol. Any thoughts?

 

[casportpony]

My sick 5 month old roo is still doing poorly, upon doing some more research, I'm wondering if he could have blackhead disease? We live out in an area where there are tons of wild turkeys...this is a Silver spangled Spitz, he had a really white top knot, and now his head is all dark and greasy looking, as is his face. I've been giving him electrolytes and vit's. and it's perked him up a tad, but not much...on the chance that it is blackhead disease, I just dosed him with some metronidazol. Any thoughts?

Has he ever been dewormed with Valbazen or Safeguard? What does his poop look like? Metronidazole might help if he has something like blackhead or enteritis.

-Kathy

 

[BettyG]

Yes, he's been wormed with safeguard/panacur, back in June when he developed the ataxia symptoms, we had a very wet spring, after a 7 year drought, so we had a very bad parasite problem, we are in sand, it was so wet my sheep developed foot rot, unheard of in this area...

I gave him some safeguard again this morning as well...His poop looks fine/normal. He's still not really able to get around, he is able to stay sternal, but his feet seemed to be cramped/clenched, and he's twitching his head. He's still fairly alert, his eyes go from being bright to a little dull intermittently...

Really frustrating for me, as I'm pretty good with dogs, sheep, horses, and even fish ailments, but chickens not so much...wish I knew what to do for him :-(

 

[casportpony]

Yes, he's been wormed with safeguard/panacur, back in June when he developed the ataxia symptoms, we had a very wet spring, after a 7 year drought, so we had a very bad parasite problem, we are in sand, it was so wet my sheep developed foot rot, unheard of in this area...

I gave him some safeguard again this morning as well...His poop looks fine/normal. He's still not really able to get around, he is able to stay sternal, but his feet seemed to be cramped/clenched, and he's twitching his head. He's still fairly alert, his eyes go from being bright to a little dull intermittently...

Really frustrating for me, as I'm pretty good with dogs, sheep, horses, and even fish ailments, but chickens not so much...wish I knew what to do for him :-(

You could try worming him for five days with Safeguard in case it's capillary worms. The dose I use for capillary worms is 0.23ml per pound for five days. A one day dose will treat roundworms and cecal worms *if* you give them enough of it, but it will not treat capillary worms.
Many things can cause ataxia in birds:

• Coccidiosis
• Worms
• Bacterial infections
• Vitamin deficiency
• Marek's

-Kathy

 

[BettyG]

I'm giving him the paste (horse) safeguard, I was told a pea sized dollop? Is that correct? If it was coccidiosis, wouldn't he more than likely have diarrhea? He's pretty solid...plus I did treat for that. I'm guessing that even if they've been vacc. for Mareks (pretty sure he has been) they can still contract it? Well I guess I'm doing everything I can for him, I can't get him in to my vet until Wed. :-( Hope with all I'm doing, something kicks in soon...He's a really good patient, and a sweet little guy...

Just out of curiosity, can you take a chickens temp? and what is it supposed to be?

 

[casportpony]

I'm giving him the paste (horse) safeguard, I was told a pea sized dollop? Is that correct? If it was coccidiosis, wouldn't he more than likely have diarrhea? He's pretty solid...plus I did treat for that. I'm guessing that even if they've been vacc. for Mareks (pretty sure he has been) they can still contract it? Well I guess I'm doing everything I can for him, I can't get him in to my vet until Wed. :-( Hope with all I'm doing, something kicks in soon...He's a really good patient, and a sweet little guy...

Just out of curiosity, can you take a chickens temp? and what is it supposed to be?

How much does he weigh? Safeguard liquid or paste must be given for *5* days to treat capillary worms. A pea sized amount is like giving them 1/4cc of the liquid, it only has 25mg of medication.

-Kathy