Chicken diarrhea- what to do?

[ErinJones0810]

I have four 6 month old Barred Plymouth Rock hens. They have been experiencing on and off diarrhea for the past month or so and I don't know what is going on. Here is the timeline:

-About a Month ago they started having very liquid white diarrhea. It went on for about 5 days with no change. Egg production and behavior were normal.
-I gave about 3 days of apple cider vinegar in their water and that made no impact.
-Then I have a 5 day dose of CORID. It resolved the diarrhea in a couple of days. I did notice that while on the CORID that one hen had a very pale colored comb, however she was still eating and laying like normal. Also during this period one of the hens had a very soft egg although they have free access to calcium.
-Following the CORID, I gave a week of nutridench because I thought that would help them rebound. It did seem to help the girl with the pale comb.
-They looked great for about 5-6 days, no running poop, normal activity.

But Now, for the past few days I have noticed dirty butts and running poop again. I noticed that all the overnight droppings from last night were very liquidy. Its bad enough that today I am planning to do butt baths for all four girls.

Their coop is clean. Its a mobile coop so we move it once a week so the run is clean fresh ground. I clean out overnight droppings each morning, the bedding is dry in the coop, and its well ventilated. Egg supply is normal, I have not noticed lethargy. They do free range during the day so I don't know if they got into something and ate something they shouldn't have.

It seems like I just cant get the diarrhea under control. Does this sound like I should treat with Safeguard for worms? Any Suggestions?

 

[MarlaMac]

Did you test for cocci and/or other internal parasites? Vets will usually do a fecal float for a nominal fee even if they don't see chickens.

The theraputic dosage for corid is 5 days on, 7 days off, 5 days on. Corid will not treat worms.

If you can get a fecal float done, that would tell you if either cord and/or safeguard is necessary.

 

[BlindLemonChicken]

Then I have a 5 day dose of CORID. It resolved the diarrhea in a couple of days. I did notice that while on the CORID that one hen had a very pale colored comb, however she was still eating and laying like normal. Also during this period one of the hens had a very soft egg although they have free access to calcium.
-Following the CORID, I gave a week of nutridench because I thought that would help them rebound. It did seem to help the girl with the pale comb.

You need to follow up with a second week of corid for it to be effective. Giving them B vitamins right after half a corid treatment would just feed the remaining cocci. I would do another round of corid at max dose (2 tsp powder per gallon and NO b vitamins during treatment) followed by another full week at a lower dose (1.5 tsps per gallon).

 

[ErinJones0810]

Is it normal that during the period when giving CORID to the hens that they experience pale comb and soft egg shells as a side effect? I gave the nutridrench following the 5 days of CORID because I knew they needed the thiamine to rebound, but maybe you are correct that all the cocci wasn't killed off first.

 

[ErinJones0810]

Did you test for cocci and/or other internal parasites? Vets will usually do a fecal float for a nominal fee even if they don't see chickens.

The theraputic dosage for corid is 5 days on, 7 days off, 5 days on. Corid will not treat worms.

If you can get a fecal float done, that would tell you if either cord and/or safeguard is necessary.

I did not do a fecal float test. Is that something can be purchased and done at home?

Is there any way to tell if diarrhea is caused by worms or coccidiosis?

 

[BlindLemonChicken]

Is it normal that during the period when giving CORID to the hens that they experience pale comb and soft egg shells as a side effect?

I have not seen that personally, no. I have never seen any side effects from corid. I have seen side effects from coccidiosis that resulted in a hiatus in egg production which results in a pale comb.

If you do the treatment again (I think @MarlaMac is correct that there should be some time between treatments) and then repeat it at the lower dose and their symptoms disappear you are good but if not at least you have ruled it out as the cause. I haven’t given B vitamins post-corid but I will tag an educator to see if that is recommended @Eggcessive

 

[Eggcessive]

You only need to avoid thiamine (vitamin B 1) during Corid. What exactly are your birds eating including treats? Have you wormed them? Albendazole 0.5 ml orally given once and repeated after 10 days is a good wormer. Or you can use fenbendazole 10% (SafeGuard liquid goat wormer or the horse paste) 1.25 ml orally for 5 consecutive days. Keep their vents cleaned up as needed. If possible take in some droppings in a ziplock bag to your vet for a fecal float.

 

[ErinJones0810]

Today is 7 days from when I stopped the CORID. If I re-start it today, should I give the full dose again (2tsp/gallon) or should I just give a half dose since it would be the second time they are getting it?

 

[ErinJones0810]

You only need to avoid thiamine (vitamin B 1) during Corid. What exactly are your birds eating including treats? Have you wormed them? Albendazole 0.5 ml orally given once and repeated after 10 days is a good wormer. Or you can use fenbendazole 10% (SafeGuard liquid goat wormer or the horse paste) 1.25 ml orally for 5 consecutive days. Keep their vents cleaned up as needed. If possible take in some droppings in a ziplock bag to your vet for a fecal float.

ok good to know. I did not give the vitamins during their 5 day CORID dose because I was aware that wouldnt make the medication as effective, but I thought giving some extra vitamins following their 5 days was a good idea.

I have not treated for worms and I am debating right now if I should give the second dose of CORID as suggested in the thread, or if I should switch and give a worm medication since the diarrhea has returned.

 

[MarlaMac]

Best coarse of action is to get a fecal float test done. I don't think you can an "at home" testing. Besides, waiting for that to arrive may lose you critical time. If you call around to local vets someone will usually help you out. Last time I did this it cost me $18 to get it done. Great cost for a peice of mind.

If you can't get this done, you can administer both together. I would also use the full dose of corid, not the reduced dose for the second round.

Also, if you are giving a good quality feed, it should have the b vitamins needed for a full rebound after the corid rounds are completed, just don't dilute it with treats, etc while they recover. You can give the vitamins if you feel it is necessary.