18 Year Old Hen, Possible Coccidiosis

[Ritz]

Hi everyone,
So, I have an 18 year old hen that I had posted about a few months ago. She was doing poorly at the time but bounced back just fine after a few days.

Now, however, I'm very worried about her. Yesterday she started having watery bloody stool and didn't eat much at all. This has continued today. She's looking rather weak. After a little research I'm afraid she might have coccidiosis. I've never had it present in any of my birds, but I read somewhere it can pop up when they are old. The weird thing is that she has been living inside for most of two years.

Does anyone have any idea what it could if it's not that? I've considered worms, but have not seen a single one in the past two years. And does anyone know where I can buy Corid in Massachusetts ASAP?

 

[Frizzlett98]

18 years old? Can a chicken even live that long?

 

[Frizzlett98]

Well I just read that some do live that long. I didn't know that. I'd start with Corid. I get mine at a Farm Bureau store but we only have those stores in Virginia. You might have something similar where you live but I'd try Tractor Supply if there's one nearby.

 

[cafarmgirl]

Hi everyone,
So, I have an 18 year old hen that I had posted about a few months ago. She was doing poorly at the time but bounced back just fine after a few days.

Now, however, I'm very worried about her. Yesterday she started having watery bloody stool and didn't eat much at all. This has continued today. She's looking rather weak. After a little research I'm afraid she might have coccidiosis. I've never had it present in any of my birds, but I read somewhere it can pop up when they are old. The weird thing is that she has been living inside for most of two years.

Does anyone have any idea what it could if it's not that? I've considered worms, but have not seen a single one in the past two years. And does anyone know where I can buy Corid in Massachusetts ASAP?

I would definitely treat for coccidiosis so that you can at least rule it out. They can come down with it if they are stressed or if their immunity is otherwise compromised. You should be able to find Corid at most any decent feed store or Tractor Supply. They may have the liquid in the chicken dept., or you can usually find the 20% powder in the cattle dept.

I would also highly suggest you deworm all your birds. BIrds can be full of worms and you may never see one in their poop, they do an awful lot of damage to the birds and a heavy load can eventually kill a bird. Far better to stay on top of it and not let get to that point where the health of the bird is damaged or worse. Valbazen would be a good choice for birds that may be carrying a heavy load. It works slowly over a few days so you don't get a big worm kill-off all at once.

Good luck with her, hope she's able to hang around even longer! 18 years is amazing!

 

[deacons]

Not sure where you are in Massachusetts, but if you live a reasonable distance from Keene, NH, you can definitely get Corid at the Cheshire Horse. If you can't get to the store, looks like you could order it from their website:
http://www.cheshirehorse.com/Corid-Solution-P9388.aspx

18 years old is quite a feat. Pulling for the old lady!

 

[Ritz]

The only wormer I have right now is Wazine... I'm a little afraid to give it to her if she is weak, but if it is worms I'm going to wish I had.... I'm not sure how soon I will be able to get any other medication, and I still find it a little hard to believe she could have coccidiosis when her conditions have not changed in so long. Argh, I just don't what to do.

It doesn't help that it's taken all day to get her to eat anything. She hasn't actually drank straight water in months; I make her a wet mash everyday which she loves, though I am always concerned about dehydration, especially since she may not have eaten anything yesterday when this started (I was out of town until the evening, my family had been taking care of her and they're not sure how much she might have gotten). In the couple days prior she was in her cage longer than usual and may not have had as much as she usually would... could that be enough to make a case of worms that she had been living with get worse? There have been times in the past that she refused food for a day or two and nothing came of it.

 

[Frizzlett98]

I also have Wazine but I only used it once for only some of my chickens. I got equine horse wormer, fenbendazole. If you are able to get that, I can help you with dosage. It shouldn't matter if she's sick for the horse wormer. I used it on my sick ones, the ones I didn't use the Wazine on.

 

[Eggcessive]

Her bloody stool could be from coccidiosis, capillaria or hairworm, enteritis, or she could have a tumor. I don't think that Wazine (piperazine) treats capillaria worm. It takes fenbendazole (SafeGuard or Panacur Equine paste, or SafeGuard Liquid Goat Wormer) 1 ml given 3-5 days in a row to get capillaria. So I would treat for coccidiosis while I was waiting for fenbendazole to arrive in the mail. If the blood stops with Corid, you could hold off with the wormer. Enteritis comes from the soil, so if she is inside, that might not be her problem.