Baffled and Totally Bummed OUT!! ***FINAL UPDATE***

[wundernurse]

The story starts like this:
bought 7 day-old pullets in February from a hatchery- 1RIR, 1 BO, 2 SLW and 3 EE.
Grew up and did great in their brooder, then their coop, run, with access to backyard with supervision. In late July, one of my SLW started acting more lethargic, not eating, then diarrhea, more lethargy then death over about a week. Then in late August of of my EE started acting more lethargic, not eating, ruffled feathers, then died. Then last Saturday my other SLW died after the same non-specific type symptoms. She had started laying and had stopped laying a month before dying. Well now my last EE stopped laying 4 days ago, and is seeming a bit "off". Just not as vigorous as she usually is. The RIR and BO seem great. So is it weird I have lost 3 of my birds over the last 4 months? 3 days ago I treated the 3 birds I have left for lice, even though I have never seen any. I also ordered wormer (Wacine) and will treat when it comes. What else can I do/try? I am at such a loss. Are they getting it from each other? I have never had 2 birds sick at the same time. They eat Country Side organic soy-free layer feed, oyster shell and grit free choice. I give them treats like BOSS, sunflower seeds, and scratch, grapes, broccoli, melon, yogurt. They are on a dirt floor in their coop with mulch on top. I use some pine shavings in their roost and clean out everyday and wash with a mild bleach solution. I add ACV to their water. DE and peat moss for dirt bathes. Thank you so much to anyone who has read this and can give some of their insights.

 

[Kojack]

 

[raylastanford]

Sounds like coccidia. Were they on medicated feed? Sometimes even when they are, they eat so much other stuff that they don't get enough of the medication to treat subclinically, and allow coccidia immunity to develop. Amprol or corid are treatments for coccidia. First time flocks in new housing can be especially at risk for some reason. Tractor Supply Stores or farm/feed stores carry the medicine and it's not expensive, either. Amprol 9.6% is 9 1/2 cc or ml per gallon of water for 5 to 7 days. I hope that's all it is because it does treat well, and once treated, they don't normally get it again. Good luck.

 

[Kittymomma]

I bet it's coccidia, I'm treating a hen for it now. Here's the "poop" link, check it out and see if anything looks familiar. You can take a sample to most vets without bringing the chicken in and have it tested. It's not very expensive and will tell you if you're dealing with cocci, worms, or something else. Good luck and keep us updated.

http://happyhenhouse.proboards.com/index.cgi?board=poop&action=display&thread=7588

ETA: I have 20+ chickens right now and this is the only one that appears sick. I can't get to the vet until Monday to have a fecal done so I'm just treating her with corid because I'm *pretty sure* it's cocci. If it is I'll treat the others because they'll have it too, just doesn't always show symptoms until/unless they get run down or stressed out by something else--molt, attack, move, etc.

 

[sammi]

describe the droppings...color and consistency..

for treating cocci...Corid or Amprol as Raylastanford suggested..or get liquid Sulmet 12.5%...(directions on label)
very important to follow directions exactly.

I'd also check the feed for any signs of mold or mildew..
sometimes it can be a bad batch, too..with a wrong mixture.

 

[sammi]

is the DE you are using FEED GRADE?

I would consider taking a fecal sample to a vet for worm and protozoa (cocci) test..sometimes called a fecal float.
any vet can do it who's willing...doesn't have to be an avian vet.

 

[PurpleChicken]

I agree with having a fecal test done but I disagree with Cocci unless there is blood in the stool.

I think you are overmedicating and overcleaning. Chickens, like humans, need to be exposed to pathogens in order to build immunity. Cocci is one of those things. If the birds died of cocci it's because the coop is too clean.

It's also possible the birds just had random deaths. I've lost a few birds for no apparent reasons.


Need more info...

 

[sammi]

intestinal cocci doesn't always show blood...droppings can be khaki color, and even other colors.

cecal cocci almost always shows blood.

 

[chicksrcool]

Gosh you are taking such good care of them, I can understand your sadness/frustration. I hope you get some answers soon.

 

[wundernurse]

Thanks everyone for the input. I plan on taking a fecal from the one that is a little off to a vet tomorrow. Yesterday her droppings were not too bad, a little green. The other birds that died just looked watery, no blood, no frothiness. Would cocci be bothering a flock this old? They are 9 months old at this point. Could it be a bad batch from the hatchery? It seems to have affected my EE and SLW. It has been really hard to make connections and conclusions with such a small sample size of birds. The bag of food I have now, is not the same as the one that I had when it killed the first couple of birds. I keep the food in a metal trash can with a lid in the garage. I add more food every couple of days, and dump out everything every week or so. The birds never had medicated feed. Should I just treat for cocci?

Purple Chicken--Do you really think I could be over cleaning? I do clean out their roost area every day, but the area is small and would smell after a couple days, and they would walk in their poop getting to their nest boxes. I scoop out poop from the coop a couple times a day with a pooper scooper. I will also turn over the mulch bedding in the bottom of the coop after I scoop. I don't do anything in the run. What am I overmedicating with? I use food grade DE in the dust bath area, treated for lice (just in case), and they get ACV in water. I do let them out to roam the yard with supervision a couple times a day.