7 week old SGE- Possible Coccidiosis/worms + Slow Crop?

[ChickenChick889]

Hi! I have a 7 week old pullet that I noticed was a bit lethargic this morning, she wasn't eating with the others and wasn't very active. I encouraged her to eat and drink and she did drink a little. However then I noticed her crop was full of liquid, Googled it, learned about sour crop, blockages, etc and ran to the Tractor Supply as soon as they opened with the intention of getting whatever sounded like it might help a sick chicken. I got some Nutra-drench, electrolytes and probiotic powders, brought her in the house, and offered her some water with a small amount of Epsom salts, ACV, and nutri drench, electrolytes and probiotics and have been massaging her crop several times throughout the day and she has drank some of the water when I dip her beak. I dont have food out for her since it sounds like you shouldn't feed them for 12-24 hours with a sour/slow crop. She is very mellow although standing on her own 2 legs often. When I handle her, her wings are a bit droopy, and when I massage her crop she closes her eyes and lays down and then I worry that she isn't doing well at all, but then when I check in on her she is standing, so she may just enjoy the massage. I used a dropper to make sure she was taking in some of the liquid, and she has now pooped 3 times which is how I discovered she ate atleast 2 small slugs, (although after looking again, is it possible they are large/fat parasites? ~half inch in length. I have definitely seen slugs around the coop so very possibly slugs) and has bloody mucousy poo. More Googling lead me to believe she may have worms and/or Coccidiosis and that her crop being full of liquid is a side effect of that and not the main issue. I sent my husband out for some Corid and plan to start treating her and the other chickens as soon as he gets back with that but just wanted to get other peoples opinions who have more experience to make sure I'm on the right track. How long should it take for her to get an appetite back, and should I offer her food tonight or wait until tomorrow? Thank you for any help you can offer!

 

[Wyorp Rock]

I got some Nutra-drench, electrolytes and probiotic powders, brought her in the house, and offered her some water with a small amount of Epsom salts, ACV, and nutri drench, electrolytes and probiotics and have been massaging her crop several times throughout the day and she has drank some of the water when I dip her beak. I dont have food out for her since it sounds like you shouldn't feed them for 12-24 hours with a sour/slow crop.

Are those slugs or blood clots?
I'm tagging in @dawg53 and @Eggcessive as well.

I would monitor to see that her crop empties overnight. Check first thing in the morning before she's had anything to eat/drink. (After a full night's sleep).

Do provide her with some plain fresh water after giving her the ACV/Salts/Ect, the salts especially can be dehydrating.

I never withhold food during waking hours, some do, you'll have to decide what course of treatment(s) are right for your situation. I would make wet mushy chick starter available.

I agree, the poop looks bloody and questionable. I'd start her on the Corid right away, dosing instructions are below. I'd also get a Sulfa antibiotic ordered and have it on hand in case it's needed.

Liquid Corid dose is 2tsp or Powdered Corid Dose is 1 1/2tsp per gallon of water given for 5-7 days as the only source of drinking water.
Do not add any extra vitamins/electrolytes that contain B1(Thiamine) to food or water during the course of treatment.

You can find the sulfa medication here:
https://jedds.com/products/trimethoprin-sulfa-medpet?_pos=2&_sid=bce7f7911&_ss=r

 

[Eggcessive]

I would start the Corid, but try to get a sulfa antibiotic asap. Sulfadimethoxine, SMZ TMP, Albon, and sulfatrim are some sulfa antibiotics. If you cannot get one from a vet, then try online. The dark things look like blood. It possibly could be casing from cecal coccidiosis, but the pictures I have seen are not that dark. Here in this link there are some pictures of cecal hemorrhage in E. Tenella, one of the more serious strains:
https://www.merckvetmanual.com/poultry/coccidiosis-in-poultry/coccidiosis-in-poultry

Here is where to find sulfadimethoxine:
https://jedds.com/products/medicox-medpet

 

[dawg53]

Snails/slugs can be carriers of gapeworm; here's an example:
https://www.tillysnest.com/2011/12/slugs-html/

 

[ChickenChick889]

Thank you all! She is up, eating and drinking and from what I can tell, so far acting totally normal this morning. Her crop feels like it fully emptied overnight (to the point I couldn't actually palpitate it) and I watched her poop a medium brown, even consistency poop this morning. Not very solid, but no blood, mucous or anything weird (slugs or clots). The things she pooped out yesterday were fairly solid, like very very very firm jello (or firm tofu....I can't think of a good comparison.). Not as hard as wood but definitely held its shape. It was gross but I applied a lot of pressure to "it" and it did eventually split open directly in half.....to my knowledge a blood clot would have been a lot more squishy/less structured. I will continue to treat her water with Corid, as well as all the others, and order the sulfa for future emergencies and hope that this one continues to be improved.

 

[Lillith37]

You can also use worming meds at the same time as amprolium if you’re concerned it might be worms as well.

 

[ChickenChick889]

You can also use worming meds at the same time as amprolium if you’re concerned it might be worms as well.

Good to know! I actually didn't realize Cordid wasn't for worms/not sure if I understood initially that Coccidiosis isn't a worm/still don't fully understand lol. I'm learning more. As a general rule, I think I should be giving them Corid every so often as a preventative for Coccidiosis? Not sure how often? And then dewormers are separate, should that be used as a preventative also? We had chickens and other livestock growing up and I know we gave them Corid as a preventative but that was 25 years ago. I had my own flock of chickens for the first time 7 years ago and I know I gave them I believe it was Corid once or twice as a preventative or maybe I had seen some funny poops and got scared, but never had any health issues with them and never gave them anything else aside from ACV, treats and Electrolytes on the hottest days. After relocating twice and finally getting set up at my new house, I got my new babies this spring (my old girls went to a family member and have all since been taken out by predators in the last few years and to now run into a scare, I want to make sure I'm doing everything I'm supposed to be doing to keep them healthy.

 

[Lillith37]

I’m in Australia and we have an amprolium medication which treats coccidiosis daily for 5-7 days and then dilutes the dose for the same period of time and that’s that. It also specifies a preventative dose which is every four days for the duration of possible infection e.g. during heavy rainfall periods. So depends on your product and specifications.

Coccidia are a Protozoa which lives in the soil and many animals are affected and there are multiple strains that infect chickens. It colonises the digestive tract and chickens develop immunity but young birds can struggle and older birds can also be affected. For example here in Melbourne we’ve had three consecutive La Niña years and I have had adult birds suffer from coccidiosis symptoms during heavy rainfall periods. I do the preventative dosing which helps a lot.

As for worms, some people worm on a preventative basis/at regular intervals and others worm at the showing of symptoms. It depends on your environment. I tend to worm on the equinoxes and solstices because the same rainfall conditions that favour coccidia also favour worms. Any issues with slow crops and abnormal droppings make me consider worms.

 

[Wyorp Rock]

Thank you all! She is up, eating and drinking and from what I can tell, so far acting totally normal this morning. Her crop feels like it fully emptied overnight (to the point I couldn't actually palpitate it) and I watched her poop a medium brown, even consistency poop this morning. Not very solid, but no blood, mucous or anything weird (slugs or clots). The things she pooped out yesterday were fairly solid, like very very very firm jello (or firm tofu....I can't think of a good comparison.). Not as hard as wood but definitely held its shape. It was gross but I applied a lot of pressure to "it" and it did eventually split open directly in half.....to my knowledge a blood clot would have been a lot more squishy/less structured. I will continue to treat her water with Corid, as well as all the others, and order the sulfa for future emergencies and hope that this one continues to be improved.

As a general rule, I think I should be giving them Corid every so often as a preventative for Coccidiosis? Not sure how often? And then dewormers are separate, should that be used as a preventative also?

I would not give Corid periodically.
Birds build resistance to the strain(s) which are found in their environment.
You only treat as needed - mostly youngsters or sometimes old hens that have other health problems.

Deworming is really on an as needed basis as well. Some folks have no problems with worms while others find they need to worm monthly. Getting a fecal float when the chicks get older will help you determine worm loads and then you'll be able to come up with a plan for deworming if necessary.