Strange illness in flock

[ziggymoon]

I posted a couple of weeks back about some of my flock being sick. I treated them with Corid and I did a round of dewormer for good measure. The sickest ones have mostly recovered and I hadn’t noticed any other sick chickens until the other day when I posted about my chicken with the pale comb.

She seemed fine otherwise but I quarantined her and gave her some iron in case she was anemic. I watched for diarrhea since the others had it pretty badly but the first couple of days in quarantine she was acting fine, pooping normally, even laid an egg! But she took a turn for the worse yesterday when she didn’t eat as much as usual and barely drank, then started the diarrhea. The diarrhea looks to be a dark greenish color.

I checked on her today and she was listless and felt really warm to the touch so I took her temp and it was 109.5. I nutridrenched her immediately and gave a baby aspirin to bring down the fever. She is acting a little better, and I did see her drink on her own again, but still not much of an appetite.

I have no idea what this weird illness could be. They have no respiratory issues. No discharge from the nose or eyes. They look normal and act normal, until they get violent diarrhea that lasts a few days and don't want to eat. The chickens that have been effected occasionally still pass diarrhea and then their poop will return to normal.

There are no vets near me that see chickens. I checked surrounding areas. I don’t know what to do. I live in a very rural area and the only "livestock vets" around only see larger farm animals.

Does anyone have any idea what this could be if it’s not worms and not coccidiosis? And presents with no respiratory issues.

I am at a loss as it came on suddenly without warning. No swelling of the face/wattles/combs/joints. No unexplained paralysis. And some of the chickens are still unaffected 2-3 weeks after the first sick chicken started showing symptoms.
I have some oxytetracycline on hand and am going to dose the sickest chicken with it if she doesn't improve today. If it does help, would it be advisable to go ahead and just treat the rest of the flock as well?

I am so stressed!! I love these birds, and I'm actually leaving town for a few days at the end of the week and my husband will be the one tending to them, so I'm trying to get them well before then.

 

[KRack]

Could you just ask if they’ll at least run a stool sample? Even if they can’t see the chickens, running a stool sample should be possible for them. I’m so sorry!!

 

[MysteryChicken]

What's their diet, treats included, & how often? Also have you checked for mites/lice?

 

[ziggymoon]

What's their diet, treats included, & how often? Also have you checked for mites/lice?

Diet is Dumor brand layer crumbles from TS. They've been on it for a long time, I haven't switched. We don't really do treats, but when we do it's either meal worms from TS, or scratch grains from TS but that's rarely. I checked for mites and lice and didn't find any evidence of them.

 

[ziggymoon]

I was thinking if they all did have coccidiosis, since most of them are 100% better. I checked this morning once again and there’s only one that’s displaying signs of diarrhea she is still acting normal and eating. She was one of the ones that was really sick about a week ago. The other sickest chicken is the one with pale comb, diarrhea, and fever. I am wondering if it is possible that she has contracted necrotic enteritis after the coccidiosis?

 

[MysteryChicken]

Diet is Dumor brand layer crumbles from TS. They've been on it for a long time, I haven't switched. We don't really do treats, but when we do it's either meal worms from TS, or scratch grains from TS but that's rarely. I checked for mites and lice and didn't find any evidence of them.

Any mice, or rats around? They can transmit Salmonella to your birds if they're present.

Some symptoms of the illness in chickens.

 

[MysteryChicken]

I was thinking if they all did have coccidiosis, since most of them are 100% better. I checked this morning once again and there’s only one that’s displaying signs of diarrhea she is still acting normal and eating. She was one of the ones that was really sick about a week ago. The other sickest chicken is the one with pale comb, diarrhea, and fever. I am wondering if it is possible that she has contracted necrotic enteritis after the coccidiosis?

I'm not sure, I've never dealt with that issue with Coccidiosis.

 

[ziggymoon]

Any mice, or rats around? They can transmit Salmonella to your birds if they're present.
View attachment 3146859Some symptoms of the illness in chickens.

She is lethargic and has the green diarrhea but no increased thirst, swollen eyes, or purple comb/wattle. We do have field mice on the property but I’m not sure whether they’ve made it into the coop. I’ve never seen any evidence but of course it’s possible.

 

[MysteryChicken]

She is lethargic and has the green diarrhea but no increased thirst, swollen eyes, or purple comb/wattle. We do have field mice on the property but I’m not sure whether they’ve made it into the coop. I’ve never seen any evidence but of course it’s possible.

You can check if there's mice in the coop if you can place some pet proof mouse traps, in the coop.