ALABAMA!!

[chickadoodles]

Thanks all. We're ok... trying to let it sink in. Cried a bunch ofcourse, will probably cry some more at silly memories. We laughed too.. thinking about the crazy things she did. My mom was crazy.. like, certified been to the looney bin before crazy... and she kept you on your toes. And she was the most giving, caring person you'd ever met.

Certainly a unique woman!

But, I feel a huge drive now to get healthier, to take care of her grandbabies.. and the garden and the chickens. She LOVED those chickens. And she worked her butt off in that garden everytime she was visiting. She was really happy I had made a life for myself here. That I found my happiness.

We really saw eye to eye for those three weeks, which is a darn miracle in itself. My mother-in-laws death had us talking about our final wishes.. about life.. about a lot of things. We were at peace with eachother and I am really grateful for that.

I am also very grateful that the local store took back all the packs of cigarettes she had bought to take back with her. They said 'give them to someone who smokes' and I was like 'My mom passed away from complications with her COPD.. I will not give cigarettes to anyone, ever' and they handed me a refund.

Please folks. If you smoke... try and quit. It's not worth the agony.

My fiance's parents both passed from heart and lung related issues.. same for his grandparents... my mom.. It's not worth it! Besides, every pack of cigarettes buys you another chick instead

Now, on to happier things! Any word from Raz? It's baby season! My brother's girlfriend is expecting in 4 weeks. My step-son is expecting a baby brother at any time (they're in Brookwood as we speak, but they managed to stop things.. kiddo is only 30 weeks. But, his momma STILL smokes

)

Gimme some good news!

Tomtom, I don't think I have ever known anyone as strong as you are! I don't know how you are holding it together. But you are and that is great!
Will con't to keep you in our thoughts and prayers!

By the way after 30+ yrs of smoking, I quit abt. two months ago. But I still have COPD. I wish I could have quit before I got it!

 

[Orps]

Tomtom, I don't think I have ever known anyone as strong as you are! I don't know how you are holding it together. But you are and that is great!
Will con't to keep you in our thoughts and prayers!

I totally agree....

 

[chirpingcricket]

Okay, I have a sick chicken! I have already had two die and I'm afraid I am going to lose more! I have never been one to like medicine, but something has to be done. Okay, symptoms: losing weight, sleeping during the day, standing still, just generally lethargic, runny poo. No visible mites. First hen dies two days after I Put her in with others. I got her, kept her separate for a few days, she seemed fine. put her with my others, she dies two days later. I am afraid she has infected others with whatever this is. Roo dies suddenly. He seemed a little droopy and slow one day, dead the next morn. Maybe had lost a little weight. He died two weeks after the first hen. Now I have another hen, stands around, sleeps, droopy tail. Lost weight.

Any suggestions? I have no idea how to tell which medicine to use for what. I don't feel confident in diagnosing so I am coming to you, the experts. Or at least the most experienced!

My dad stopped at the local feed store and told them the situation. They sold him powdered Duramycin 10 to mix with water. However, it states on the back of the package (In fine print of course) not to use in poultry that produces eggs for human consumption. This was a huge red flag for me!

Any help is greatly appreciated!

Hey, I agree with Chicka, if you can find/get a vet, take a feces sample or the corpse to the vet for an eval, it would be valuable information to have for your coop/grounds. Often very difficult to find a vet though.....

If not.....how old are the chicks/roo ? It is a good practice to quarantine a bird/flock for 3 + weeks...

Knowing the age of the existing flock and new chicks will assist greatly....


It is a common practice among chicken owners to use antibiotics etc. labeled for goats....just waste the eggs (or incubate) for 2 weeks or so based on dosing recommendations etc. Same goes for slaughter, have
to have a time for the meds to clear their system.

The Duramycin would most likely be more for a respiratory situation, hence that antibiotic.


The next problematic area would be protozoan/eggs hence the reference for Cocci.


The MOST problematic area for chickens, outside of Maryek's etc...is WORMS.

See note #10 at the end of this post. More questions need to be asked and answered before getting a handle on which direction to go.

First................ISOLATE THE BIRD(S) ................



With all the rain lately, cocci would be first suspicion...if the following exist..

1. Standing, refusing/unable to sit or lie down. (Bleeding/stomach/intestinal pain prevents them from sitting.)
Bleeding may not be present at first or noticeable. Place on white paper/towels to see if blood is presenting. It won't usually show up on thier bums, etc.
2. Feathers looked like they have been twirled backwards 360 degrees and won't lay smooth.
3. They have a "hunched" over look at the shoulders....think Egor or Hunchback of Notre Dame (keeps pressure off their stomach...won't eat/drink and very lightweight.....
4. Death within 48 to 72 hours of onset, without treatment ...no obvious signs....other than noted above.
5. Treat with Corid asap, may have to syringe it, every 3 to 4 hours....if you need dose assistance let us know. Be very careful not to aspirate, push fluids/med into lungs. Just place tip of the syringe on the tip of the beak and let dribble into side of the beak.
6. Hydrate via syringe (electrolytes mixed with probiotics-powders from TSC etc) every 6 to 8 hours.
7. Offer medicated chick starter feed, refreshen often and keep them on it for 20 weeks...!!!!!!!
8. Keep them clean, remove bloody waste/bedding at least daily, keep their feet clean from blood, food, debris etc. Do this for 5 days vigilantly!!!!
9. Alot of work, but can be done...


10. If I may, please go to page 523 posts 5222, 5225 and 5226....review that info as well....please let me know if it helps....thanks and good luck to you....

 

[chirpingcricket]

Maybe coccidiosis.. It's also VERY contagious.

http://www.easychickenry.com/coccidiosis-in-chickens.html

 

[acreed]

Thank you all so much! Found a vet that looked at stool and he said looks like coccidiosis. Treating now. I cannot begin to thank you for all the info! I do have one question, should I go ahead and treat all the chickens in the pen? There are 8 hens. Also, I have another pen about 8 feet away that has teenagers in there. There are 10 in that pen. Should I treat them? I have 23 five week old chicks on our front porch. Others are behind house. Is there any reason to treat them?

Once again, thanks so much for all the advice!

 

[chirpingcricket]

Thank you all so much! Found a vet that looked at stool and he said looks like coccidiosis. Treating now. I cannot begin to thank you for all the info! I do have one question, should I go ahead and treat all the chickens in the pen? There are 8 hens. Also, I have another pen about 8 feet away that has teenagers in there. There are 10 in that pen. Should I treat them? I have 23 five week old chicks on our front porch. Others are behind house. Is there any reason to treat them?

Once again, thanks so much for all the advice!

How old are the chickens in the pen? They have been exposed and may have developed an immunity, but......

Yes, absolutely, I would....that way they all develop an immunity, with all this rain/heat/humidity, it's like a stew pot for the cocci eggs to burst open, sooner or later.... and the birds will pick them up while eating anything of the ground. It will affect young chicks and older hens if their is a soil overload.

Curious, what did the vet recommend?
Did you go with Corid, that kills all 8 strains of cocci, or Sulmet that only kills 2 strains?

Also, I would keep them all on the med feed, just to help boost their attack on the cocci.
Recommended for up to 20 weeks old on the feed.
Some folks will take them off the med feed while being or after treatment. Their thought is they have developed immunity by that time......I don't know.......

I have personally gone through this recently with 13 chickies bleeding out. I was uncomfortable taking them off the med feed, since they really struggled to live, and I did not want to take a chance on them relapsing due to the soil having a heavy load of eggs at the time. I moved them inside, since it was still cold outside. (cold/rainy/hot/rainy on and on their for a week or two)
Kept them under a heat lamp...took about 2+ weeks to get their strength up and completely stop bleeding.

Don't forget to come back with bleach or Oxine sprayed on the wood surfaces and soil...lightly spade the soil and spray and spray again to kill/knock down the cocci egg load.

Please stay in touch and let us know how they are doing....good luck and chickie prayers coming your way!

 

[RedneckGurl]

In light of the recent cocci conversation, I have a question. I am in the final stages of coop and run construction before adopting some older hens (10 or so) from a friend who is rehoming her older birds to make room for younger layers. Is there anything I need to do to the ground prior to bringing these birds home? I was planning on letting the chickens clean up all the grass and weeds currently growing in the area that will be their enclosed run and then, once they had cleared all that out, put down about 4" - 5" of sand. I'll be using sand in the coop as well. I would hate to make these girls sick by just bringing them to my property and I had never considered that something might be living in my dirt that could make them sick. I appreciate any feedback. Thanks!

 

[chickadoodles]

Thank you all so much! Found a vet that looked at stool and he said looks like coccidiosis. Treating now. I cannot begin to thank you for all the info! I do have one question, should I go ahead and treat all the chickens in the pen? There are 8 hens. Also, I have another pen about 8 feet away that has teenagers in there. There are 10 in that pen. Should I treat them? I have 23 five week old chicks on our front porch. Others are behind house. Is there any reason to treat them?

Once again, thanks so much for all the advice

Glad you found out what it was to treat it and make your birds healthy again! Thats great! Take care

 

[chickadoodles]

In light of the recent cocci conversation, I have a question. I am in the final stages of coop and run construction before adopting some older hens (10 or so) from a friend who is rehoming her older birds to make room for younger layers. Is there anything I need to do to the ground prior to bringing these birds home? I was planning on letting the chickens clean up all the grass and weeds currently growing in the area that will be their enclosed run and then, once they had cleared all that out, put down about 4" - 5" of sand. I'll be using sand in the coop as well. I would hate to make these girls sick by just bringing them to my property and I had never considered that something might be living in my dirt that could make them sick. I appreciate any feedback. Thanks!

I have a friend that worked at the animal shelter and they cleaned their runs and pens with a mixture of clorox and soapy water. The clorox will kill bacteria and alot of other stuff and yet it evaporates quilckly! I am going to use a 5 gal. bucket and mix up some and pour it over the ground where my birds are this weekend. I can do half at a time, so that my birds will not get into the clorox!

 

[Tomtommom]

I have a friend that worked at the animal shelter and they cleaned their runs and pens with a mixture of clorox and soapy water. The clorox will kill bacteria and alot of other stuff and yet it evaporates quilckly! I am going to use a 5 gal. bucket and mix up some and pour it over the ground where my birds are this weekend. I can do half at a time, so that my birds will not get into the clorox!

Never thought about doing that to their area... I doubt I have cocci in my flock. I -would- treat for that. I just try and not over protect... Be too preventative, ya know? Sometimes it's kind of natures way of favoring the strong and healthy I guess.

Part of me wants to protect things all the time, and part of me realizes it's better to let go and have them exposed to things.. so they don't become susceptible. Not sure if Cloroxing their area would be the way to go. Afraid I'd kill too many beneficial stuff.

I gave my birdies weeds with dirt on them at 3-4 weeks.. Get them used to the yuckies they'd encounter outside.