And I thought raising chickens would be easy..

[Eme]

This past July we got 6 mixed chicks and 2 pheasant chicks. Since then, we've had nothing but heartache. When we got them they were sick and lethargic, and had bloody droppings, so i treated them with sulmat (i believe it is called that).

There was improvement for awhile, and then a little while ago, one of our hens became weak and started tripping over her legs. She had an appetite until the end, but just didn't make it. We thought it may be marek's, but was never confirmed. During that time we added poultry vitamins in their water for the recommended amount of time.

Now, yesterday I noticed one of my roosters was very sickly looking. Not paralyzed, but standing there kind of puffy, lethargic, droopy and just not looking great. I noticed a couple droppings that had a bit of blood in it and started treating with sulmat again. Is this what I should do?

What could it be? Could it be Marek's again with no paralysis? Could my flock have some other sort of parasite/disease/worms that is making them unwell and I dont know of? What should my next move be?

I am thinking of going to the chicken feed store, but I dont know what medications to ask for! Any advice?

What could it be?? All I wanted were healthy, happy chickens.. I didn't expect all this heartbreak.

 

[dieselgrl48]

So sorry about your bird's.I found one link with some info for you.You might try some Corid and see how that work's.Im not sure about the dosing for chicken's.I know basicly it's like 2 oz per 5 gallon of water for goat's etc. Maybe your local feed store could offer some help on the dosing.Hope your bird's get well soon and so sorry

http://www1.agric.gov.ab.ca/$department/deptdocs.nsf/all/agdex4616?opendocument

 

[urbanfarmer101]

Don't give up! Chickens are very rewarding. Chicken husbandry takes a while to get the hang of it. Do as much reading on here as you can, it really helps. Sometimes when the chicks have such a rough start, they have a lot of hurdles to overcome and don't live as long.

 

[Eme]

I took a picture of him (i guess it doesn't show much), but hopefully someone can give me some more ideas of what I can do, and what could be making my flock sick. Would Marek's look like this?

I will try to make it out to my feed store and ask them about corrid, currently treating with sulmat as I had that on hand...

(The little spots on his back are droplets of rain, as it was starting to rain when I took the picture)

Thank you for the words of support

 

[urbanfarmer101]

He really doesn't look well at all. I kinda went thru this with my first batch of chicks. About 18-20 weeks they started getting snotty, bubbly eyes, and resting with their head down and one foot up. They usually died within 48 hours. I got some teramiacin and put it in the water for 2 weeks, isolated the sick ones to a dog kennel in my garage. I am not sure what this was, but they eventually got over it.

 

[dmccann]

I feel your pain ,i would treat with corrid .I had a problem with cocci,my hen was high stepping,later found out cocci can give that symtom. Also blood in droppings,search out cocci,i believe you should not give vitamins while treating cocci. Dr brown has very good article on internet ,do a search and find his article.I lost one also and was lucky to save the rest,i too never knew chickens were so hard at times but they are rewarding! good luck Darlene

 

[dmccann]

Mine looked the same way,as a read they look like bowling balls with heads.

 

[Beekissed]

Quote:


Review the highlighted areas once more.....

My advice would be to start out with healthy chickens and go from there. You might try buying chicks from a reputable hatchery and starting fresh. If you bought these from a hatchery and they arrived in this state, I would have demanded my money to be refunded and went elsewhere.

 

[mypicklebird]

I would recommend taking a sick bird to the vet & have a fecal float done for ova & direct smear done for protozoal organisms. They certainly could have coccidia- but if they survive the initial exposure- they usually become resistant to the effects of the organism. A fecal will tell you whether they are shedding lots of coccidia oocysts, or whether they are loaded with some other sort of GI parasite. Then you will know what to treat for if they have it. Sulmet & Amprolium are both helpful for coccidia control- but amprolium seems to work better in poultry. Do not treat longer than 14 days though, as it can make the birds ill in the same way it controls the coccidia.