Can anyone help?? (Sorry long post)

[em530]

Hello, iam at a loss at what to do, any help appreciated, I have a young brahma (approx 22 weeks) when she was around 10/11 weeks she looked very sick, lethargic,eyes closed ruffled feathers I took her to the vets and she was injected with strong antibiotics then we followed a course of orally administering baytril, she perked slightly but has never looked "well" so to speak, I then thought it could be cocci so I treated everyone for that (twice) all other chickens are fine, the little brahma daisy is still the same, I have found myself thinking that I will loose her one day then the next I think it is in my imagination, as severel times through the day she will stand with her neck withdrawn and eyes closed then in the next minute she is pecking around and flapping about like normal, she has a huge appetite and an even bigger thirst she seems to constantly drink, her poops are quite often white and very watery a lot like a splash of milk, she has had vitamins etc still no effect she is a lovely natured girl she is first out the coop and will quite happily follow people everywhere! Iam just at a loss how to help her! It feels never ending weeks go by with no change no better/ no worse just stuck!! Any suggestions?

thankyou in advance

 

[Eggcessive]

What did you use for cocci, and how long did you treat them? After treatment of coccidiosis, chickens can be vitamin depleted and also the beneficial bacteria in the gut needs to be replaced by giving a probiotic supplement, or a little buttermilk orally for a few days. Vitamins are usually given for a few days also. Chickens can suffer intestinal damage from cocci. Also chickens with cocci can later get necrotizing enteritis from organisms in the soil such as clostridium perfringens. Worms could also be a problem. She sounds like she had the cocci symptoms when you took her to the vet in the beginning. You could have a stool sample checked (fresh and early morning) by your vet for cocci, worms, and ask if he could check her for enteritis. If that is not possible, I might give another course of cocci treatment with Corid (amprollium) 2 tsp of liquid, or 1.5 tsp of powder per gallon of water for 5 days. Then you could worm her with Valbazen 1/2 ml given orally, then repeated in 10 days. I would also put Probios Dispersible Powder, and a poultry vitamin in her water twice a week to help with immunity, and help to build up her strength.

 

[em530]

Hi thankyou for your reply I treated them with amprollium for a week then followed by probiotic and multivitamins for 5 days I did this twice, I will try worming her, and also again with corrid (can I do that together?) i really hope it's not intestinal damage I don't want to loose her, thanks so much for your help

 

[Eggcessive]

Would it be possible for you to take a stool sample into the vet. It also could identify any coccidia or which worms are there. She may have some other issue going on that nothing will help. Chickens can suffer from all kinds of internal problems such as kidney or liver problems they are born with. Since you have given 2 treatments of Corid already, I would probably switch to an antibiotic such as Tylan or amoxicillin for possible enteritis if you can't get vet care. I would worm her with Valbazen if you don't get the fecal test. Not all vets will cooperate with doing fecals on chickens. I think you have done a lot for her already.

 

[em530]

I will ring the vet, I had a bit of a spat with them before as I got some rather shirty comments about how "stupid" it was bringing in a chicken!!! Needless to say I soon corrected them and got an apology! I will worm her and try the anti biotic you suggested, I hope something helps her but I have a terrible feeling it is something she was perhaps born with as she has always been "sickly" I will try my best that is all I can do thankyou for your help

 

[Eggcessive]

The Valbazen and Tylan 50 or Tylan Soluble Powder can be found at feed stores in the cattle section. If the vet wasn't that helpful in the past, maybe you could just take in a stool sample. I hope you can help her, but some chickens, like you said, are born sickly. Probiotics, worming, good layer or all flock feed and clean water, and keeping in a secure coop at night, and that is usually all it takes to have healthy chickens.

 

[em530]

I shall try and hunt some down tomorrow hopefully if there is somewhere open thankyou

 

[em530]

Quick update, after reading another post about a light Sussex I believe that my brahma may be suffering the same thing, weight loss, tucked in head (never extends) , feathers a mess and sort of tired looking eyes. Could mareks be a possibility?

 

[The Kibble Goddess]

Another thing to consider is diabetes. Yes, chickens can be diabetic. Increased thirst, weight loss, un-thriftyness and runny poops can all be symptoms. Your vet should be able to check her for this.

 

[em530]

Doubtful the vet I usually use will be able to on my first visit I got called into the room to see that she had googled common chicken illnesses! I think I may have to search for a new vet! Is that treatable in chickens? I'm trying all sorts with her and nothing seems to make a difference