Sinking feeling about my flock...neighbor's diseases my problem?

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No way to tell for sure. I have mareks in my crested birds and there is no one near with chickens. I always quarantine and never got birds from anyone other than reputable breeders. Sometimes it just happens. Cocci and mareks can come from your soil as well. There really isn't anything you can do about your neighbor situation unles he is in violation of health codes or animal neglect. I guess you could report him for that.
 
6of6chicks said:
My neighbor lives in squalor. He's an elderly man who lives alone, and his house is in shambles. He also keeps a lot of animals - chickens, ducks, turkeys, cows, goats, and two filthy dogs that roam and cause me a lot of grief. He has mentioned sick animals in the past, but I never connected his sick animals with mine. There is a field (approx. 100 feet) between my house and his, and he is close enough that I can hear all of the animals chatter.

Could illnesses and diseases from his animals make their way over to mine? Either on the wind or transported by birds? I'm working my way through a Mareks thread and came across one fact that made my stomach drop out - Mareks can be transported up to 50 miles on the wind.

My chickens are as well cared for as I know how. Well-built coop & run with adequate spacing (4 sq. ft. per bird in coop, 14 sq. ft. per bird in the run). They are kept clean & dry in the coop and run, with loads of ventilation. It's 95 degrees each day but they are in the shade, with fresh water & frozen treats (like watermelon) and no-one is panting. They've been on high quality feed since day one. Last week I had one come down with coccidiosis. This week I've got one limping and suspect Mareks. This morning I found a patch of red poo in the litter (not outright blood - watery red stain - no CLUE what that means).

I'm crying and at a loss for why my birds keep getting sick. Then I made the connection with my neighbor. Do you think that's a factor or am I grasping at straws?
Click to expand...
A respiratory disease such as Infectious Bronchitis (IB) can travel airborne infecting a flock. Most other respiratory diseases are carried on your person in having contact with infected birds outside your flock, wild birds mingling with an existing flock etc...
Since you have a bird that is limping, is it possible that it jumped down or flew down from a high roost or other object pulling or spraining a tendon or ligament? This happens more often than you might think. As far as cocci goes, it's not common that older birds get overloaded with the protozoa, their system has normally built resistance to the various strains on your property even if the wind has carried a different strain from your neighbors property over the years. Most likely your birds need to be wormed if you havnt done so. Capillary worms can cause sloughing of intestinal lining as well as bleeding.
 
Just don't worry so much about them getting sick to the point you can't enjoy them! Sometimes they just get sick. You educate yourself on illnesses and prevention and do the best you can.
 
6of6chicks said:
My neighbor lives in squalor. He's an elderly man who lives alone, and his house is in shambles. He also keeps a lot of animals - chickens, ducks, turkeys, cows, goats, and two filthy dogs that roam and cause me a lot of grief. He has mentioned sick animals in the past, but I never connected his sick animals with mine. There is a field (approx. 100 feet) between my house and his, and he is close enough that I can hear all of the animals chatter.

Could illnesses and diseases from his animals make their way over to mine? Either on the wind or transported by birds? I'm working my way through a Mareks thread and came across one fact that made my stomach drop out - Mareks can be transported up to 50 miles on the wind.

My chickens are as well cared for as I know how. Well-built coop & run with adequate spacing (4 sq. ft. per bird in coop, 14 sq. ft. per bird in the run). They are kept clean & dry in the coop and run, with loads of ventilation. It's 95 degrees each day but they are in the shade, with fresh water & frozen treats (like watermelon) and no-one is panting. They've been on high quality feed since day one. Last week I had one come down with coccidiosis. This week I've got one limping and suspect Mareks. This morning I found a patch of red poo in the litter (not outright blood - watery red stain - no CLUE what that means).

I'm crying and at a loss for why my birds keep getting sick. Then I made the connection with my neighbor. Do you think that's a factor or am I grasping at straws?
Click to expand...
when was the last time you wormed your flock? How do you know it was coccidiosis? Did you have a necropsy done?
 
I would continue with the full dose of antibiotics since you have already started. Do not, under any circumstances, stop them unless there is an emergency such as one of them being allergic to it and then you would remove the affected bird and continue everyone else's treatment.
How big is their coop? You have a total of 6 chickens? Do they have a run or other out of coop space?
What type of bedding are you using?

If you have never wormed them, I would almost guarantee they have worms. The best thing would be to have a vet check their poop to diagnose the specific type of worms. Safeguard is a good, safe, basic wormer that has no egg withdrawal period.
Call around to vets around you, ANY vet should be able to look at your poop and use their little book to identify it for you.
Worms cause irritation to the digestive tract. They can cause excessive sloughing of intestinal wall and it appears as thick red tissue (could be mistaken for blood in the poop).
I would have them on electrolytes during treatment.
 
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