Chicken died, another ill. Worms or something else???

[BBKT]

Hi,
I'm fairly new to chickens. I had three buff orpington pullets hatched in April. One died this morning and I think a second is sick. Not sure what is going on, but I suspect worms or some sort of internal issue. Two of the hens have always looked a little "different" than the other one. Two were always smaller, skinnier, kept their heads down and bodies short and squat, and their tales down. The other is tall and healthy-looking, tale and head up and isn't as friendly as the two squat birds. Now I'm thinking that squatness is a sign of sicness and I'm devastated that it's gone on this long without my catching on. I got the birds from a breeder in early July. I was told they had been on medicated feed for the first month, but I wasn't told anything about further medication or worming needed. Now the breeder isn't returning my calls and I'm not sure what to do.

I found the now-deceased bird early this morning. She was fine last night, but this morning she wouldn't leave her coop, couldn't get up or move, wouldn't open her mouth and barely opened her eyes. It's been hot the last few days, but I've been giving them plenty of ice cubes and fresh water. Her stools had been runny for several days, but I had not seen any worms. When I picked her up, I noticed she was very skinny but her crop seemed normal size. She died before I got home from the feed store.

First, I thought it was poisoning. My chickens have full run of my backyard and garden during the day and I fertilized my tomatoes last night. While I was fertilizing (organic fertilizer) and watering, the chickens were picking and scratching around the edges of the beds and containers. I thought maybe she was poisoned by the fertilizer runoff or spilled fertilizer. Still a possibility, but I'm more leaning towards worms.

Then I thought maybe she wasn't digesting her food right, because I had not given them any grit or oyster shell since I've had them. The breeder said not to worry about it until they were laying, because since they are in my backyard, they will eat dirt, gravel, and pebbles and won't need the grit right now, and won't need the oyster shell until they start laying. Based on the normal size of her crop area, I ran to the feed store to get a bag of oyster shell to offer her. She passed away before I could offer her any, but I now have a dish of it in their coop.

So now I'm thinking worms. I went back to the feed store and got a bottle of Wazine 17 and a one liter waterer. The label says 2 oz per 2 gallons of water per 100 chickens. Since I only have two chickens, I'm not sure how much to use or how long to give it to them. I'm going to take away their nipples and just use the Wazine water. So far, I've put 2 capfuls in the liter bottle and filled the rest with water and given it to them. They are drinking it just fine right now. Is that too much? Or not enough? Or could this be a totally different problem that I'm not aware of? I felt the other "squat" chicken and she feels skinny too. I felt the "tall" chicken and she feels much heavier, plumper, and healthier in general than the other two. Should I get another type of wormer? The feed store only had Wazine, and the employees didn't know anything how to use it.

I also have a dog, three cats, and two parrots. Is this something I should be worried about infecting my other animals? Is there anything else I can be doing for my two little girls? It's heartbreaking enough to lose one bird, but I'm kicking myself for not suspecting something sooner and I'm worried about this other chicken. Any help would be greatly appreciated!!!

 

[BBKT]

Here are some pictures for comparison. Last night, my now deceased bird looked just like the little squat bird.

 

[FlyHigher]

could it be coccidiosis?

 

[BBKT]

I have no idea! Do these sound like the symptoms? I'm doing the Wazine in their water for the rest of the day. Should I get some anitbiotics and start those tomorrow? Would that be too much too fast? What type of antibiotics should I look for and how should I use them? They are both still eating and drinking, as was my deceased bird up until the morning I found her not moving. She's just so darn skinny and I'm worried she will go downhill fast. She has yellow-brown diarrhea and a poopy butt. I'm not seeing any worms or anything in her poop though. HELP!!!

 

[BBKT]

UPDATE: Finished the wormer and will repeat next weekend. Is that enough time in between doses? Should I wait longer? Should I do a third dose after that? Both chickens are alive, but the only change is now they both have poopy butts. The poop of the smaller squat bird is a little more solid, but still has a lot of water to it. They got into one of my raised beds and ate two whole crookneck squash. They seemed to be enjoying themselves.

So does anyone else know what the problem is with my little squat bird? I don't want this one dying like the other one. HELP!!!

 

[leadwolf1]

I would treat immediately with Corid. That chicken is taking the 'Coccidia' stance. Deworming medications will not help. It may, in fact, hurt. They are already fighting intestinal stress and deworming is hard on chickens or, any animal, when they are healthy. You can find Corid at Tractor Supply and other feed stores. You will need to look in the cattle section. You put it in their water for 5 - 7 days. It will not harm them if they don't have Coccidiosis but, they will die if they do have it and you don't treat. For the sickest, I would dose orally with a syringe or eye dropper. Give them what you would think they would normally drink at one sitting...do this every two hours until they are drinking well on their own. Treat everyone.

 

[cafarmgirl]

Hard to say what is going on with them. But, at their age I wouldn't necessarily expect them to already have a big worm infestation, but it's not impossible. Wazine will only take care of round worms and there are other worms you need to take care of as well. In a week or 10 days I'd dose them with Valbazen. I use a small, needless syringe and dose them each orally, 1/2cc for standard size hens.

WIth their age, the runny poops and the general unthriftyness I'd certainly be concerned about coccidiosis. You would be wise to give them a round of Corid to take care of that possibility. It comes in liquid or powder at the feed store. Powder is 20% and labeled for calves. Dose for powder is 1/2 tsp. per gallon of water for 5 to 7 days, I'm not sure about dose for liquid. Make it up fresh every day. I would start that treatment asap. If they are indeed working on a buildup of cocci you don't want to wait, it goes fast and it's lethal. They won't show much sign until they are really sick and by then it's hard to save them. I would at least start there and do the worming again later. After you finish the Corid treatment it doesn't hurt to give them some probiotic's, yogurt etc.

Edited to add: Sorry, I see I've managed to pretty much repeat what Leadwolf1 said, I didn't preview before I posted!

 

[BBKT]

Another Update: No more diarrhea, so that's good. But the one chicken is still looking squatty. The comb on the bigger chicken is starting to grow and turn red. They are both eating well and seem healthy other than the posture and skinniness of the smaller chicken. My local feed store does not have any Corid, but they had some powders in the pountry section. I picked up a pack of "Sulfadimethoxine Soluble Powder" 3.77oz by Durvet. The package says it treats coccidiosis. I have NO IDEA how much of this I should use. I have a separate 1 liter waterer that I used for the wormer and would like to use for this stuff. Any idea how much I should use for that one little waterer? The package says "one package for 50 gallons of water".

Is there anything else I can do?

 

[leadwolf1]

I think that is the drug name for Sulmet. You will have to break it down from 50 gal to what your little waterer holds.

Sulmet only treats a couple strains of coccidia whereas, Corid treats many more. Hopefully, the one you are dealing with will be susceptible to Sulmet. Sulmet is also much harsher on their systems. Provide probiotics while treating to help with these effects.

 

[BBKT]

I make homemade greek yogurt and just gave them a spoonful. They seem to really like it. I googled some conversions and I think I need to use slightly less than 1/8 teaspoon of the antibiotic powder. Does that sound right? So I'll treat them with this for 6 days, along with the yogurt. Is this antibiotic at all dangerous to other animals? My dog likes to root around in whatever the chickens are eating/drinking, and I don't want to accidently poison him! Since I don't have an exact measurement, what does anyone know what the risks are of having too strong, or not strong enough medicated drinking water?