Blackhead disease? Pls help

[QueenBubbles]

One of my chickens hadn't been feeling good (spending a lot of time in the coop and in the nest box) for about a week and now she has these weird yellow poops that look like Blackhead Disease (from the other weird yellow poop thread):

I fed her an egg, some grower kibble, BOSS and dry meal worms and they are less loose now (she spilled the grower kibble, so that is down there, too)

She isn't really eating on her own but will eat and drink when I offer it to her. She is all puffed up and will preen but doesn't move around much.

I've been trying to find the API General Cleanse or fishzole but my Petco doesn't have it & the fish store had a different brand with inactive ingredients I didn't recognize.
If she has had these yellow poops for going on 3 days, do I have time to order the metronidazole online?
I know I will need to worm everyone, too - that is the Safeguard goat wormer, right?
This all started after I adopted 2 new hens that had dry feathers and were a little scraggly. Those 2 are looking a lot better but mine seem to be suffering from the change. The yellow poop just started but I'm also seeing dark black poops with no white at all in them. I can get a pic tomorrow. At this point I'm *hoping* that is just the worms I will be treating.
The other question I have about blackhead disease is how communicative it is. I have new chicks in a brooder also inside - will washing my hands be enough? What cleaner will kill it enough to use a perch that got pooed on for other chickens?
Thanks in advance - I learn so much from the forums that I usually don't even have to ask.

 

[Wyorp Rock]

One of my chickens hadn't been feeling good (spending a lot of time in the coop and in the nest box) for about a week and now she has these weird yellow poops that look like Blackhead Disease (from the other weird yellow poop thread):

I fed her an egg, some grower kibble, BOSS and dry meal worms and they are less loose now (she spilled the grower kibble, so that is down there, too)

She isn't really eating on her own but will eat and drink when I offer it to her. She is all puffed up and will preen but doesn't move around much.

I've been trying to find the API General Cleanse or fishzole but my Petco doesn't have it & the fish store had a different brand with inactive ingredients I didn't recognize.
If she has had these yellow poops for going on 3 days, do I have time to order the metronidazole online?
I know I will need to worm everyone, too - that is the Safeguard goat wormer, right?
This all started after I adopted 2 new hens that had dry feathers and were a little scraggly. Those 2 are looking a lot better but mine seem to be suffering from the change. The yellow poop just started but I'm also seeing dark black poops with no white at all in them. I can get a pic tomorrow. At this point I'm *hoping* that is just the worms I will be treating.
The other question I have about blackhead disease is how communicative it is. I have new chicks in a brooder also inside - will washing my hands be enough? What cleaner will kill it enough to use a perch that got pooed on for other chickens?
Thanks in advance - I learn so much from the forums that I usually don't even have to ask.

Can you take her to a vet?
You may want to have a fecal float and gram stain for cocci, worms and bacterial infection.

Blackhead is usually seen in turkeys, but occasionally chicken can have it too.

You mention that she was spending a lot of time in the nesting box. How does her abdomen feel - is she bloated, swollen, fluid filled, etc.?
When was the last time she laid an egg - was it normal?

She may also be suffering from an internal laying/reproductive disorder like Egg Yolk Peritonitis, Ascites, Salpingitis, cancer or tumors.
Provide her with supportive care - poultry vitamins and see that she is eating/drinking. Antibiotics treatment is usually not that effective for these conditions, but some chickens do responds for a short period of time.

There's no way to know how long she will last or if Metronidazole will help. A vet may be able to get you meds more quickly.

Dosage for Fenbendazole (Safeguard, Panacur) is 1/4 ml per pound for 5 days in a row.

If you do lose her, you may want to have a necrospy. This will give your more information about what you are dealing with.

Keep us posted.

Peritonitis and internal egg laying issues:
http://www.chickenvet.co.uk/health-and-common-diseases/egg-laying-issues/index.aspx

Blackhead:
http://www.thepoultrysite.com/diseaseinfo/74/histamonosis-histomoniasis-blackhead/
http://www.merckvetmanual.com/poultry/histomoniasis/overview-of-histomoniasis-in-poultry

 

[Eggcessive]

As Wyorp Rock said, blackhead is more common in turkeys kept near chickens. Cecal worms, if found in the droppings by your vet, might be helpful in diagnosis. If I saw those poops in the pictures, I might think more about internal laying or egg yolk peritonitis, but without some testing such as a fecal float for worms or even coccidiosis, you may be treating with metronidazole for nothing. Here is a whole page of links for purchasing fish zole:
https://www.google.com/webhp?sourceid=chrome-instant&ion=1&espv=2&ie=UTF-8#q=fish+zole&*

 

[QueenBubbles]

Her last egg was 4 days ago and it was lighter than usual - more blue than sea foam green.
I don't feel bloat but maybe squishy abdomen. She feels hot and often has her beak open. Her comb is bright red now, tho it was pretty pale when I brought her inside.

 

[Eggcessive]

She might be running a fever. Antibiotics can be effective early in oviduct infection. Sometimes it is really hard to figure out one illness from another without lab work, such as a fecal test for coccidiosis, worms, or other parasites.

 

[QueenBubbles]

It is hard to tell one from another! And what are the relevant bits to take into consideration. I didn't mention in this thread that she had been attacked prior to her poop changing color to that very scary yellow.

Soooo, I broke down and took her to the vet.
She said that Penny's abdomen feels pretty normal, she is still well muscled but her crop was empty.
She was of the opinion that the dog attack, not the feeling bad and staying in the nest box prior was the cause of change in droppings.
She uncovered a whole other puncture that I didn't see when cleaning her wounds by myself.
I thought the added stress from the attack could have lowered her resistance and the Protozoa take hold but she thought the stress of not eating and drinking properly was wholly responsible for Penny's poo color.
So they didn't do the fecal test at all. Just a feeding tube and see how it goes.
The timer for the brown rice I'm making for Penny just went off, so I need to leave it here. Thanks for all the help - I will post updates.

 

[Eggcessive]

Keep us updated.

 

[Wyorp Rock]

Thanks for the update, keep us posted.

 

[QueenBubbles]

Penny went back out to join the rest of the flock today and is spending her first night in the coop!!
We transitioned out of the urgent care (kitchen) to the back room infirmary on Tuesday. I had a nest box, the perch over a produce box from Costco and the repurposed cat box for her dust bathing needs. She did actually use the dust bath, which is a little more sanitary than the hole they have dug under my east facing eaves.

I took her out for a little while Wed and Thursday I found a cockroach "nest" while moving stuff around for the rain and new coop and brought her out to decimate it. She was happy to oblige.

She wasn't eating much while inside, but I didn't force feed her (tube feeding). The vet said I could continue hand feeding her as long as she was eating more than just treats.
She liked getting her greens and onions and some carbs but not a big appetite. The bugs got her going, tho, and she held her tail up and strutted around, staying on top of that pecking order.

Her poops got less sulfur yellow yesterday. It was after the greens (romaine and some baby kale) and onions. And the cockroaches.

I was happy my vet felt comfortable seeing her and she found other puncture wound that was deeper than the others. She cleaned it up, confirmed her abdomen felt normal, healthy weight (6lbs) and told me to carry on.

Thanks for the help and encouragement to not jump to conclusions based just on the color of the yellow poops. Stresses from a variety of sources can cause that yellow!

 

[Wyorp Rock]

I'm glad to hear she is doing better! Thanks for the update