Any advice helps! New chicken owner with 2 sick girls :(

[Eggcessive]

Where are you located? It helps to put your state or country in your info, so that we may be able to suggest items available to you. Corid may be called amprol, amprollium, or coxoid depending on your country. You can find it online and in farm stores that sell cattle products.

 

[HAndrews07]

Where are you located? It helps to put your state or country in your info, so that we may be able to suggest items available to you. Corid may be called amprol, amprollium, or coxoid depending on your country. You can find it online and in farm stores that sell cattle products.

Sorry! I never even thought about location. We are in Nova Scotia, Canada

 

[HAndrews07]

Where did you get them from and were they vaccinated for Marek's at hatch? Marek's disease often exhibits at this age and symptoms can vary enormously. It is one of the most complicated diseases to diagnose in chickens and one of the commonest.

How long have you had these birds at your premises? If they have only been there a week or two it may be coccidiosis as explained by Eggcessive

We got them at the end of July so they have been here for a few months. No sign of blood in their poop at all. I hope it’s not mareks. I am going to message the woman we got them from and see if she has had any issues with other birds.

 

[Eggcessive]

You may need to get the amprollium from a vet. Just ask for some to treat your chicken for coccidiosis. Others on here have not had trouble getting that way. Amprollium may be available where cattle medicines are sold.

 

[HAndrews07]

Has anyone had experience with sour crop? We just brought them inside and gave them some melon (their fav treat). They both started eating it like crazy but noticed the barred rock would sort of spit up every now and then. Her crop feels fluidy which makes sense... will check again in the AM

 

[Eggcessive]

Crop problems, especially a slow to empty crop may be common with some other illnesses, including coccidiosis. Here are 2 good threads from BYC members:
https://www.backyardchickens.com/ar...w-to-know-which-one-youre-dealing-with.73607/

https://www.backyardchickens.com/ar...d-sour-crops-prevention-and-treatments.67194/

 

[HAndrews07]

Finally got a poop pic! They had been much more liquid but with similar coloureds bits. This is the most formed one I’ve seen in a while.

 

[rebrascora]

Hi, there is no photo showing!

 

[HAndrews07]

Hi, there is no photo showing!

Argh! Learning this forum.

 

[rebrascora]

I would treat for coccidiosis. Have you managed to source some Amprolium? Also, there are a lot of sunflower seeds there in the photo and in amongst the poop means that if there is an infection or overgrowth of coccidian, that is encouraging them to re-ingest it and perpetuate the problem. It would be best to feed them a formulated feed and cut out the treats, especially when they have upset digestive tracts. You can make a wet mash by soaking the pellets or crumbles in water as they may find that more attractive. If you want to give them a treat to encourage them to eat, a little scrambled egg mixed into the wet mash should help. Also, do you provide grit for them? Apologies if you have already covered that.... I've read a lot of posts today! Grit is very important for their digestion if you are giving them anything other than a pellet or crumble feed, so grains, seeds, insects and vegetation all need grit for the bird to break them down. Birds will usually find grit whilst free ranging but it is a good idea to provide them with a small pot containing some.