Americauna Not Doing Well

[UrbanChickensRUs]

Hi. Sadly I went out to let the girls out this morning and noticed our 9 month old Americauna standing in the side of the run not looking quite right. Her feathers were puffed up and she was standing there looking dazed. She did not appear to be excited to exit the run as usual and I knew something was wrong. A couple hours later I went out to feed them some scratch and she again was uninterested. This is VERY unusual... I chased her out of the run and grabbed her to see if I could notice anything unusual. The only thing out of place is the puffed up feathers and some white diarrhea looking poop dried up in the feathers surrounding her vent. I searched the forum but didn't find anything that was exactly her issue. Any info would be greatly appreciated. Oh, I am looking to handle this w/o the use of a vet, and the others are still fine. THanks.

 

[UrbanChickensRUs]

Another update that I forgot... I have not seen an egg from her in at least two days. Not all together strange this time of year.

 

[Chicken_Pauper]

At 9 months, I assume you have not wormed her yet? Have you wormed the flock? When, with what?

And, is she laying? Daily? Is she acting like she wants to lay, but not producing an egg?

You might Search here on BYC and look for subjects such as... "giving oral medications".. "worming with Valbazen"... "how much Valbazen".. "eggbound".. "treatment for eggbound" or "eggbound treatment"...

Check her for mites.. look closely at her vent, under her wings (armpit skin)... part her feathers anywhere and look for "critters" running or specks on her feathers, at the base of her feathers.

Look for posts by dawg53 on "Sevin Dust"... "mites".. . "worming".. look for the posts from more recent years, more recent posts. You will get good reliable infomation on "treating mites" and "worming with Valbazen" from him.

If it is cold and wet where you are, bring her inside and give her a warm, dry, quiet place.. read up on the Eggbound bath and maybe do that first.. then, read up on all these things while she dries.. You might need to go to the local feed store for supplies, such as Sevin Dust (also available at Lowe's or Home Depot, etc.; as well as the feed store).. and Valbazen is available at most feed stores.. (note it is not a chicken wormer, so look for it with the livestock wormers, it is a bit expensive and it will most certainly expire before you use it all up... you can also order it from jefferslivestock.com, if you can and want to wait a few days).

You can also purchase the water soluable antibiotic.. something like Duramycin 10 (which is Tetracycline)... if you need it, it is given at 1 to 1+1/2 tsp. per gallon of water, changed at a minimum of every 24 hours, made fresh, also change if it becomes dark or dirty.

Best of luck.. (The Search at the top of the page, just under the tabs here on the BYC page)....

 

[UrbanChickensRUs]

Thanks for the info. Very helpful. I will do all you suggested and report back. I had not treated for mites yet and have been watching them very closely. I didn't want to treat unless I had to. Maybe not the best approach but the mite dust seems a bit harsh. She has not laid in a couple days so I will look into the eggbound thing. Again, thanks. I had to leave town tonight for work and won't be back until Thursday. do you think she will be ok until I return or do I need to enlist a neighbor?

 

[PoultryPedia]

For quite a while, my rooster had lots of dried white diarrhea stuck on his hind feathers. Otherwise he seemed healthy. I didn't know if his food was giving him the runs or what.

It appears he had ulcerative enteritis, which has white diarrhea as one of its symptoms.

The way I determined it was a very painful way: I gave him a sulfa med (sulfamethoxidine) and the next day he was in intense pain huddling on the floor, breathing with his mouth open and his eyes closed, while the other birds with him were fine. The sulfa was apparently burning the sores within his guts, and it was horribly painful.

I stopped the sulfa immediately, gave him buttermilk to soothe his guts, etc. Then I gave him Penicillin injections for 3 days (should have done 4), and the problem cleared up.

Here is some info on ulcerative enteritis:

http://msucares.com/poultry/diseases/diseases.html

Ulcerative Enteritis (Quail disease)

Ulcerative enteritis is an acute or chronic infection of game birds, chickens, turkeys and other domestic fowl. Death losses may be high for young quail or pullets being raised for egg production.
The cause of the disease is Clostridium colinum, a spore forming bacterial rod. The infection spreads by the droppings from sick or carrier birds to healthy birds. The disease organism is very resistant to disinfectants and will persist under varying environmental conditions.

Birds with the acute form may die suddenly while in good flesh, whereas more chronically affected birds become listless, have ruffled feathers, whitish watery diarrhea, and develop a humped-up posture. Such birds usually die in an extremely emaciated condition.

The dropping may be confused with those of birds with coccidiosis and the two diseases are often seen in the same bird. Droppings of birds with only ulcerative enteritis never contain blood.
The postmortem lesions are characteristic. The entire intestinal tract often has button-like ulcers but the lower portion is most often affected. These ulcers often perforate, resulting in local or generalized peritonitis.

Although the disease is characteristic in nature, anyone suspecting the infection should seek professional confirmation before treatment is started. Bacitracin and penicillin are the most effective drugs in the treatment and prevention of this disease. If bacitracin is used, it should be incorporated in the feed at levels up to 200 grams per ton of feed. Addition of bacitracin to the water at the rate of one teaspoon per gallon aids in controlling an outbreak of the disease. Either method of administering bacitracin will control the disease within two weeks, unless a bacitracin-resistant strain of the disease organism is present. Penicillin is also used to treat the disease if bacitracin is not effective.

Raising birds on wire is an effective preventative measure. Specific drugs (bacitracin or penicillin) fed at low levels, are effective for controlling the disease in operations where the use of wire flooring is impractical.
- - - -
http://edis.ifas.ufl.edu/ps044

Ulcerative Enteritis

Synonyms: quail disease
Species affected: Captive quail are extremely susceptible and must be maintained on wire-bottom pens or on preventive medications. Chickens, turkeys, partridges, grouse, and other species are occasionally clinically affected.
Clinical signs: In quail, the disease is acute with high mortality. In chickens, signs are less dramatic. Acute signs are extreme depression and reduction in feed consumption. Affected birds sit humped with eyes closed. Other signs included emaciation, watery droppings streaked with urates, and dull ruffled feathers (see Table 3 ). Accumulated mortality will reach 50 percent if the flock is not treated.
Transmission: Birds become infected by direct contact with carrier birds, infected droppings or contaminated pens, feed and water. Bacteria are passed in the droppings of sick and carrier birds. Infection can be spread mechanically on shoes, feed bags, equipment, and from contamination by rodents and pets.
Treatment: Bacitracin and neomycin can be used singly or in combination. Other antibiotics and drugs such as tetracyclines, penicillin, Lincomycin, and Virginomycin are also effective. Consult a veterinarian for dose, route, and duration of treatment.
Prevention: Ulcerative enteritis is difficult to prevent in quail. When quail have access to their own droppings, this disease commonly occurs. To eradicate, depopulate stock, thoroughly clean and disinfect, and start over with young, clean stock.

 

[PoultryPedia]

I would be concerned that leaving her without treatment for a few days might result in serious problems, since it sounds like she's really not feeling well. But it really depends on what's causing it.

If you are able to keep her where she's likely to be warm & dry, and will be close to food & water, that will probably help. If you can give her vitamins, electrolytes, probiotics or other health promoting foods--that might help her also, in making it through.

It's got to be hard that you've got to be gone for a while. I wish you the best with her.