Sick chicken- treating for coccidiosis but need advice

[casportpony]

I did successfully get a dose of the oral drench down her. As long as she is not drinking independently, any advice on how much fluid I should try to get in her per day? While she will not take water on her own, she is willing to accept the medicated water (1.5 tsp per gallon solution) via syringe.

How much does she weigh? When I have a sick one I shoot for no less than 10% of their body weight per day. If you can get a tube I can teach you how to tube. Can you post a picture of her?

-Kathy

 

[sabrina514]

She weighs 384 grams (taken earlier today with my postal scale to get the weight for the oral drench). I will get a picture. Unfortunately nobody around here would carry a tube- only one place in the area had the Corid and no kind of medical equipment besides syringes and needles. But I'd love to know where I can get them so I can have them on hand in the future in case I need them. I'm trying to get an emergency care kit together so I can immediately treat anything that may happen later on.

 

[sabrina514]

 

[casportpony]

She might be big enough that you could use some aquarium air line.

-Kathy

 

[Free Spirit]

She might be big enough that you could use some aquarium air line.

-Kathy

Info on aquarium air line. It's 1/4 inch outside diameter and fits the tip of a syringe quite well. But use the "silicone" airline as it is much softer and more flexible. Choices are blue and black so get the blue one as you can still see through it. The clear vinyl is to hard and rigid and can cause some discomfort because of that.

 

[sabrina514]

She's still so tiny I'm afraid it would be too big, especially when I haven't tubed before. She made it through the night, and I got almost 4ml down her first thing. I'm aiming for 4-5ml per hour. Going to do another drench later today too. She's not out of the woods by any means but she seemed a bit perkier this morning and it has been easier to syringe feed today than it was yesterday so I'm taking that as a good sign.

 

[casportpony]

I find it helpful to weigh them every morning.

-Kathy

 

[sabrina514]

I was actually thinking of doing just that.

 

[sabrina514]

She is down to 374 g today but I'm still pushing the medicated water and am attempting to syringe moistened food into her (she seems to take the water much better than the food mixed with water). While doing this I noticed her crop is soft. The other chicken seems completely recovered- several normal poops today, eating/drinking normally, acting fine and firm crop. Is the soft crop an additional problem I need to treat for or is it related to the coccidiosis? I'm thinking this is why she might not be eating now.

 

[casportpony]

Soft crop can mean it's just slow to empty, probably from the coccidiosis. Concentrate on fluids and maybe add a little sugar if you think that would help her energy level. What does her poop look like now?

-Kathy