California - Northern

[Deerling]

And the drama continues...There are some days that I am so discouraged that I think about rehoming all of my chickens. Sigh... One of my little 4 wk old OE chicks is sick again. The 6 days of treatment with Sulmet for Coccidiosis ended last Thursday. Since then, they have been getting probiotics and electrolytes in their water. All have been healthy and thriving. Then this morning, when I checked on them, I heard a big sneeze. It was one of the biggest OE chicks. I'm pretty sure he is a he! When I picked him up, he was gurgling/crackling so I immediately separated him from the rest of the chicks. He is kicking back in his own private cat kennel with food and Denagard in his water. He doesn't have any nasal discharge or any signs of eye problems. He just sneezes occasionally and sound horrible when he breathes. I haven't seen him eat at all and I have twice given him medicated water by syringe being careful to drip it on the end of his beak so he wouldn't aspirate it. I just checked on him and found a large bloody poo. Coccidiosis, again? I have been feeding them King natural starter crumbles dry and also fermented. They do make a mess with the fermented feed and I waited an extra day to clean out their brooder so it was day 3 on the same pine shavings. Does it sound like a respiratory infection or maybe mold? The other chicks seem fine but I am dosing them with a preventative dosage of Denagard. Any advice for me?

I'm so sorry to hear that. No advice, just

 

[Feathersprings]

I was worried the big group of chickens we got wouldn't be as friendly, since there are 27 of them they don't get held as much as I would like. But yesterday when I got home from errands some of them ran over to me and "talked" to me, and a few of them perched on my arm for a while. Today when I went to the brooder to take them outside over half ran -to- me and let me lift them into the tote I use to carry them outside (some are still scared and run away). Later one of the little roosters sat and looked at me for a few minutes and walked onto my arm and hung out. Then a little Australorp hen jumped on my shoulder and sat there for a while. They like me! They really like me!

The baby lambs and Barnevelders are so sweet!

How much fun they are!!! Mine dont fly up on me but follow under my feet.. sometimes it is hard to walk across the yard

 

[debs_flock]

And the drama continues...There are some days that I am so discouraged that I think about rehoming all of my chickens. Sigh... One of my little 4 wk old OE chicks is sick again. The 6 days of treatment with Sulmet for Coccidiosis ended last Thursday. Since then, they have been getting probiotics and electrolytes in their water. All have been healthy and thriving. Then this morning, when I checked on them, I heard a big sneeze. It was one of the biggest OE chicks. I'm pretty sure he is a he! When I picked him up, he was gurgling/crackling so I immediately separated him from the rest of the chicks. He is kicking back in his own private cat kennel with food and Denagard in his water. He doesn't have any nasal discharge or any signs of eye problems. He just sneezes occasionally and sound horrible when he breathes. I haven't seen him eat at all and I have twice given him medicated water by syringe being careful to drip it on the end of his beak so he wouldn't aspirate it. I just checked on him and found a large bloody poo. Coccidiosis, again? I have been feeding them King natural starter crumbles dry and also fermented. They do make a mess with the fermented feed and I waited an extra day to clean out their brooder so it was day 3 on the same pine shavings. Does it sound like a respiratory infection or maybe mold? The other chicks seem fine but I am dosing them with a preventative dosage of Denagard. Any advice for me?

I think I would try the Oxine solution in a humidifier treatment. Order a gallon on Amazon, you'd have it in a few days.

 

[ronott1]

And the drama continues...There are some days that I am so discouraged that I think about rehoming all of my chickens. Sigh... One of my little 4 wk old OE chicks is sick again. The 6 days of treatment with Sulmet for Coccidiosis ended last Thursday. Since then, they have been getting probiotics and electrolytes in their water. All have been healthy and thriving. Then this morning, when I checked on them, I heard a big sneeze. It was one of the biggest OE chicks. I'm pretty sure he is a he! When I picked him up, he was gurgling/crackling so I immediately separated him from the rest of the chicks. He is kicking back in his own private cat kennel with food and Denagard in his water. He doesn't have any nasal discharge or any signs of eye problems. He just sneezes occasionally and sound horrible when he breathes. I haven't seen him eat at all and I have twice given him medicated water by syringe being careful to drip it on the end of his beak so he wouldn't aspirate it. I just checked on him and found a large bloody poo. Coccidiosis, again? I have been feeding them King natural starter crumbles dry and also fermented. They do make a mess with the fermented feed and I waited an extra day to clean out their brooder so it was day 3 on the same pine shavings. Does it sound like a respiratory infection or maybe mold? The other chicks seem fine but I am dosing them with a preventative dosage of Denagard. Any advice for me?

It gets hard to figure out what to do when they do not respond to the first treatment. You do need to be careful with giving them multiple medications. If the one that sneezed is getting Denegard you need to finish the treatment for the number of days it takes. If they or he is not better after the Denegard try giving them a couple of days off and then see if you should treat with corid for Cocci.

$10.50 and the cost of mailing an envelope to CAHFS at UCD will let you know if they have Coci and how to treat it. Use the Standard submission test and find the Fecal test. In the notes ask them to check for Worms and Coci.

Also, are you completely sure there is not a hidden source of mold somewhere? It can hide and kick out spores. Sneezing, bloody poo and Vent Gleet can all be caused by mold.

Hoping and Praying for the best for your flock!

 

[PetRock]

I think I would try the Oxine solution in a humidifier treatment. Order a gallon on Amazon, you'd have it in a few days.

Thanks, Deb! I did start that for him. I left it on for 1 hour. How often and for how long do you recommend that I do it?

 

[PetRock]

I'm so sorry to hear that. No advice, just

Thank you! I feel like such a needy BYCer these days!

 

[PetRock]

It gets hard to figure out what to do when they do not respond to the first treatment. You do need to be careful with giving them multiple medications. If the one that sneezed is getting Denegard you need to finish the treatment for the number of days it takes. If they or he is not better after the Denegard try giving them a couple of days off and then see if you should treat with corid for Cocci.

$10.50 and the cost of mailing an envelope to CAHFS at UCD will let you know if they have Coci and how to treat it. Use the Standard submission test and find the Fecal test. In the notes ask them to check for Worms and Coci.

Also, are you completely sure there is not a hidden source of mold somewhere? It can hide and kick out spores. Sneezing, bloody poo and Vent Gleet can all be caused by mold.

Hoping and Praying for the best for your flock!

Thanks, Ron. I just moved them into my bigger brooder at the end of last week. Everything was scrubbed with soap and then sprayed with Oxine. I guess it doesn't hurt to do it again. I'm going to pick up some Corid because I obviously need it in my chicken first aid kit. How much poo do you send in to Davis?

 

[mendocinosunris]

okay, so I have a weird question. I hatched out 5 chicks from grocery store eggs. They're white with a few small black spots. Well, they're growing right along & I just switched out their heat lamp to a smaller watt bulb that happens to be a blacklight. I've used the blacklights before - they work just fine as heat lamps.

The bizarre thing is... two of the chicks have bright orange spots under the black light - the other three just look normal.
Anybody know why? I'm just really curious. Now I'm gonna have to take pics of the other birds under a blacklight...


Here's a pic of them when they first hatched last week:



Here they are tonight under a black light:
The middle one looks normal, but see the orange spots on the back of the other heads? They're a lot brighter in real life.

 

[gryeyes]

I'm so sorry to hear that. No advice, just

Thank you! I feel like such a needy BYCer these days!

Oh, pshaw! This assistance and camaraderie is what BYC is all about - being there for others. Many of us have had similar needs, or WILL, and are just paying it forward. As have you on other occasions. Don't struggle alone.

 

[ronott1]

Quote: The mold grows inside them and moves slowly. Once it takes hold it does not stop when the exposure stops. The oxine is a good idea because it can kill the fungus in the chick.

CAHFS told me they needed at least 5 Grams. I gave them 15G so they had plenty for a sample. If you are sending it in, use Fedex and collect first thing in the morning. I would send it tomorrow or Wed to make sure the get it within this week.

DO NOT US USPS. They only deliver on M W and F at the campus and it has to go to the mail division first. That always adds a day.

I would send in the test and definitely send any dead ones in for a free Necropsy. If the one starts looking bad, drive it in for euthanation and necropsy. Still free except for your time and gas.