Antibiotics cause severe diarrhea in hen?

[chickbliss7]

I will have to ponder and weigh your comments tomorrow, as I'm dog-tired right now and can't assimilate all the info at the moment (being mid-night). Will carry on tomorrow. Thanks for the input.

 

[chickbliss7]

Okay, it's the next day and I'm about to go to the coop. I'll put the girl outside while I clean the coop, but still holding off the antibiotics for just one day to see if her diarrhea lessens. I'll pick up some probiotics to try and replace her good digestive bacteria. Vet is closed today, but my lady who helps me with my chickens is very much against stopping the antibiotics. In my experience with antibiotics, if they're going to work at all, you will see results in 3 days; one entire week with worsening symptoms doesn't seem right. Anyone else have negative experience with antibiotics? Is it true that you will never be able to eat an egg (assuming she would ever lay one) from a chicken that's been treated with antibiotics? The whole broodiness thing is really throwing me--here's a chicken that's never even laid an egg!

 

[Judy]

One of the more serious side effects of metronidazole is bloody diarrhea; instructions are to report to doctor immediately if it occurs; this is for people, of course. It is not at all unusual for people to get diarrhea from any antibiotic use. Actually, after lots of antibiotics, it is nearly a certainty, because of what has already been said here, about their killing off the good gut bacteria. I would not presume to advise you to stop the antibiotic, or to give it -- but I would stop it, at least til I could talk to the vet. I would also specifically ask the vet whether she had cocci or worms, if only to see the vet's reaction, but also because you need this information for future reference in her care.

I'd also ask the vet the question about the eggs. Seems strange to me. Could be there is a health code that you can never sell them, but I don't see why you couldn't eat them, after a week or two (if she ever lays any!)

My guess is that she is not broody. Typically, they lay a clutch of eggs to set, then go broody. My guess is she is staying in the nest box because she feels bad, and likes the darkness or softness, or not being bothered, or whatever. Maybe it feels cozy in there to her.

If you bathe her to clean up her butt, which would probably help her feel better, and might have other benefits, you might put a little Vaseline or Neosporin or Prep H or whatever you have on her vent, if only for comfort -- gotta be sore back there....

Yes, live culture yogurt, or probiotics from the feed store, are a great idea, and certainly can't hurt.

 

[chickbliss7]

Thank you so much for your helpful advice. I will call vet tomorrow re: the antibiotics and also what exactly it was she found in the fecal sample. Also about worms and cocci. She is a little terrifying to me, and I'm not easily terrified by people. But, she strong-armed me last week into putting my old 18-year-old cat through dental surgery with guilt about what pain he must be in, etc. I just asked if I could wait a week until the chicken got better! No, not a minute, evidently. Get him in here tomorrow! So, I did. She also got a little huffy with my husband when he asked a question that I had already asked--"you two apparently don't communicate!" Anyway, I'll see if the nice vet tech can look in my chicken's record so I don't have to bug the doctor any more. This morning, I took the girl for a walk around my yard, just to get her "mind" off herself. She seemed to quiet down, but then headed straight for the box when we returned to the coop. After a night of no antibiotic, her poop was a little more solid, at least not liquid. I'll try to wash her butt when I have my chicken helper tomorrow. Do I use plain water or a mild soap? Clip her feathers?

Yes, I agree that it would be strange for her to be broody when she's never laid (or if she has, it's only been one or two). The vet took an x-ray, and there was nada in the shoot or anywhere else. But, could hormones be causing broody behavior? Still, I think it's most likely she doesn't feel well and her puffing up around the other girls is just to tell them she's tough, don't mess with her! They generally leave her alone now, but they are a bit irritated that she's always in their favorite box!

 

[cochinbantam-lover]

I sure hope she'll be ok! Hang in there with her and take the advice from the good folks here!

 

[Judy]

Frankly, after getting my questions answered tomorrow, I would not be back. Dental surgery on an 18 year old cat? I'd be out getting another opinion. One would think there might be a less traumatic alternative that would still provide comfort.

On the bath, whatever you feel is best. A little soap would be ok, but make it just a little. If clipping might seem to be something that would make her more comfortable, by all means.

Best of luck. And keep us posted.

 

[chickbliss7]

I found out that the fecal infection my Barred Rock has is called "clostridial enteritis." Has anybody heard of that? She is still sick and I stopped the antibiotic because I felt it was giving her terrible diarrhea. At least that is better. My chicken helper is insisting I call the vet back and try another antibiotic. She is losing weight quickly and she doesn't get out of the nest box, as far as I can tell, unless I lift her out and put her in front of the food and water and start to feed her by hand. She eats and drinks very, very little. I'd like to find out what this infection is and what drug would work best on it. Is there hope for her?

 

[silkiechicken]

Never heard of it in chickens... Google might give more ideas, but in birds just found something about it being rare and fecals not being a guarantee that is the issue. Honestly, I too would not be going back to your vet after the cat thing. Could it be possible she might be laying at some point and the eggs were hidden, stolen, eaten by one of them or look like eggs from another bird? If her vent looks moist, she could very well be a layer and broody. Really though, since broody is all hormonal, if she wasn't ever a layer, she could be hormonally imbalanced and it threw her into the brood mode. A broody often can lose weight and it is not unheard of for one to starve to death on the nest. You can try to "break" her by keeping her out of the nest in a wire cage so she can't get comfortable. If she is sick, 90% of the time, in chickens it is viral or paracitic, bacterial issues are usually due to secondary issues.

 

[Glenda L Heywood]

the diarrhea is caused as the medication is not working for the chicken

FIRST AND FORMOST DO THIS

take the chicken and put it in a rabbit hutch as she needs to be on wire to break her of her setting problem

she will never be okay till you break her up
if you don't have the wire cage
do this make a box to keep her in and only put large sand stones in it for bedding
she will then break up in about 4 days
then put her back on pine shavings
but DO NOT PUT HER BACK WHERE THE NEST BOXES ARE
I believe I talked to you about this situation?


also the vet is really a losser and is using you to finance her problems. she will never get this hen well
she never mentioned gut flora did she?
did she mention any thing about worms in chickens?
Did she say any thing about
coccidiosis or E.coli in the hens gut?

all she knows is the expensive medications

II doubt she really knows chickens or ever has seen one till you came on the site

with all this said I would try and not feed the medication and use the wet mash probiotic with 3 vit's that I suggested

3 tbsp of dry cruble feed
4 tbsp of milk
1 tbsp of yoguart
then crush up a 1000 mg of Vit E and cut end off the capsule and squeeze it into the wet mash
1 vit B complex crushed into the wet mash
1 selenium tablet crushed into the wet mash
mix all good and add
1 tbsp of applesauce to help her be interested in eating this

My feeling is she has a serious case of E.coli and she needs the wet mash probiotic twice a day for two weeks and it will help her gut flora and nervous system

also use the 2 tbsp per gallon of ACV in the water for all the hens

she needs it to reestablish her gut flora

any questions email me

 

[chickbliss7]

I found some scientific articles about this, but it's called clostridial necrotic enteritis. The vet didn't use the term necrotic. It's apparently common in chickens, but the "best" solution (according to the articles) is to give them antibiotics regularly. Since my girls are organic and antibiotic-free (except this one obviously), I don't see how I could have avoided it. Tylan is given with some success, but it sounds really scary. I'm worried about my other chickens, who have not had any symptoms or problems YET. Chickens evidently can get this disease from meat products (mine are vegetarian, except for bugs and worms), or from a heavy diet of grains (isn't this what they're supposed to eat, except for vegetables and fruits and greens??) I'm always careful to buy whole grains, but I do rely on the feedstore for organic crumbles. Should I be so trusting? It's got me thinking that raising chickens is a lot harder than I thought...