Bizarre illness in my flock! Help please?

[snowflake]

I have to agree with dawg53, I had chickens for 3 yrs never a problem with any thing. Then WHAM, lost some chickens before we discovered the problem, cocci and worms. Vet check confirmed what the problem was, chokes are doing well now and I will continue to treat yearly now. ... one of the meds we used was the fenbendazole recommended by the vet. you need to remember most wormers do not kill ALL worms so you kneed to know what you are treating for,so you get the right med.

 

[goldeneggtees]

Hey Dawg, since BYC changed their format, I don't always get notified when my thread was updated and missed your post! You know, I haven't visually seen any rats lately but I know those suckers are still there! It was scary there with the hens for a few days, I'll tell ya. One hen never made a full recovery and came inside for some r&r. Gave her some IV fluids and some baytril in case she had an infection going on. She was hanging in there until I gave her her first shot ever today. She convulsed and died 15 min after the shot. Who knows what wrong there. She wasn't eating or drinking anyway so was probably going to go anyway.

Do your hens have names and are they pets to you? This one was Baby Bad Wings and pulled through some pretty major emergencies but not this time around. My husband Steve is saying I am the Dr. Korvorkian of chickens! Oh well, at least she is out of her misery.

I thought it was another RAT problem Howlinggood LOLOLOL!!
Seriously though, I'm glad your birds are making a good recovery. Panacur is fenbendazole, sold as Safeguard at feed stores etc. It is a very good wormer and very safe for use in chickens. It would take 10 times the dose for birds to show an adverse reaction.
It is always best to discard eggs after worming. It can extend the withdrawal period and help build resistance to the wormer next time they are wormed with panacur/safeguard.

 

[goldeneggtees]

Thanks Snowflake, I used two different wormers on my hens. I have a question for you, what are the symptoms of cocci? I had a hen who had smelly poops and she died today. A necropsy will be performed tomorrow. UGH!