hi,
i found this website doing a search for an issue thats come up and im really happy about it, theres so much information here. i read quite a bit and there seems to be a lot of different variables and conflicting information, not to mention what the chicken lady at the feed store told me isnt exactly what im reading here. so heres my situation, thanks in advance to anyone interested in helping me out.
5 days ago (saturday morning) we picked out 2 hens from our local feed store. 1 rhode island red, and 1 astralorp. both about 4 months old, as we were told anyway. neither of them are laying yet. we brought them home and introduced them to their new coop and gave them a day to get accustomed to it. the following day we took them out for a few hours, supervised, and continued to do so the next few days. they both are behaving in what i would assume to be a normal chicken fashion. i do see slight personality differences between the two, but nothing that would make me think one of them is sick. this morning i found a pretty sizable pile of bloody poop in the coop. i know it was the astralorp because every single night they have been in the exact same spot on the perch, including last night at midnight when i peeked in on them, and this pile is right under her spot. it wasnt all blood, it was some greenish white semi firm stuff, but with about a tablespoon of blood on top. internet searching chicken bloody stool almost exclusively returns cocci. at this point i wish i had taken a picture, and i will if it happens again. the chicken has been lively, happy and eating/drinking, grubbing around every day. including this morning after i found the bloody pile.
i called the feed store and it was suggested there has been some sort of trauma, as in "did you drop her?" unless they were partying around at night or when i wasnt looking and she hurt herself, this hasnt happened. i explained some research has led me to believe it could be worms, or maybe cocci. she told me to come in and get a wormer and some antibiotics. when i got there she gave me "wazine 17" and "duramycin-10" and told me to follow the directions on the packages, putting it in their water. after reading some here i have reservations about both of these medications and i would like to try and get some more information first. some of the things i have read here that i find pertinent are:
she may be too young to have the kind of infestation that would cause that much blood.
cocci would cause some lethargy or sickness type symptoms before the appearance of blood.
sometimes a hen will simply shed some blood from her intestinal walls. (this seems like too much for that)
dont give antibiotics unless you are positive theres a problem.
if one is sick i need to treat them both.
plus a host of other stuff about which types of medications are best, etc.
problem is, id like to have a general idea of what im actually dealing with. apparently i can have the stool tested to be sure, i may consider that at some point. i suppose for now im going to wait and see if it even happens again.
any input would be greatly appreciated.
i found this website doing a search for an issue thats come up and im really happy about it, theres so much information here. i read quite a bit and there seems to be a lot of different variables and conflicting information, not to mention what the chicken lady at the feed store told me isnt exactly what im reading here. so heres my situation, thanks in advance to anyone interested in helping me out.
5 days ago (saturday morning) we picked out 2 hens from our local feed store. 1 rhode island red, and 1 astralorp. both about 4 months old, as we were told anyway. neither of them are laying yet. we brought them home and introduced them to their new coop and gave them a day to get accustomed to it. the following day we took them out for a few hours, supervised, and continued to do so the next few days. they both are behaving in what i would assume to be a normal chicken fashion. i do see slight personality differences between the two, but nothing that would make me think one of them is sick. this morning i found a pretty sizable pile of bloody poop in the coop. i know it was the astralorp because every single night they have been in the exact same spot on the perch, including last night at midnight when i peeked in on them, and this pile is right under her spot. it wasnt all blood, it was some greenish white semi firm stuff, but with about a tablespoon of blood on top. internet searching chicken bloody stool almost exclusively returns cocci. at this point i wish i had taken a picture, and i will if it happens again. the chicken has been lively, happy and eating/drinking, grubbing around every day. including this morning after i found the bloody pile.
i called the feed store and it was suggested there has been some sort of trauma, as in "did you drop her?" unless they were partying around at night or when i wasnt looking and she hurt herself, this hasnt happened. i explained some research has led me to believe it could be worms, or maybe cocci. she told me to come in and get a wormer and some antibiotics. when i got there she gave me "wazine 17" and "duramycin-10" and told me to follow the directions on the packages, putting it in their water. after reading some here i have reservations about both of these medications and i would like to try and get some more information first. some of the things i have read here that i find pertinent are:
she may be too young to have the kind of infestation that would cause that much blood.
cocci would cause some lethargy or sickness type symptoms before the appearance of blood.
sometimes a hen will simply shed some blood from her intestinal walls. (this seems like too much for that)
dont give antibiotics unless you are positive theres a problem.
if one is sick i need to treat them both.
plus a host of other stuff about which types of medications are best, etc.
problem is, id like to have a general idea of what im actually dealing with. apparently i can have the stool tested to be sure, i may consider that at some point. i suppose for now im going to wait and see if it even happens again.
any input would be greatly appreciated.
