Chickens are dumpy and have yellowish runny poop

[DeniseWatson]

I have had several chickens go downhill and pass on. The common theme has been dumpiness and yellowish runny poop. The poop smells worse than normal. No poop smells great but this was sickly smelling. I've tried probiotics and supportive care but not much helped. I tried to treat one with penicillin and she had a bad reaction and passed shortly after. I was treating another one with Tylan as it is a broad spectrum antibiotic because she felt feverish. I was afraid to use penicillin again. She seemed to rally but then wasn't interested in eating and drinking much. She passed as well. I have another one that is showing similar symptoms. We are thinking of worming them with ivermectin. Maybe that is what is causing the problems. Any help would be appreciated. Thanks.

 

[MGG]

I have had several chickens go downhill and pass on. The common theme has been dumpiness and yellowish runny poop. The poop smells worse than normal. No poop smells great but this was sickly smelling. I've tried probiotics and supportive care but not much helped. I tried to treat one with penicillin and she had a bad reaction and passed shortly after. I was treating another one with Tylan as it is a broad spectrum antibiotic because she felt feverish. I was afraid to use penicillin again. She seemed to rally but then wasn't interested in eating and drinking much. She passed as well. I have another one that is showing similar symptoms. We are thinking of worming them with ivermectin. Maybe that is what is causing the problems. Any help would be appreciated. Thanks.

Sorry you're having issues!
Do you have a few pics of the affected birds and poop?
What do you feed your birds? I agree, coccidiosis or internal parasites are possible. I'd try treating them with corid first to see if that helps. You could also take a sample of the poop in for a fecal float, most vets will do it and they usually aren't very expensive. Then you'll have a better idea of what you're dealing with.

 

[DeniseWatson]

Sorry you're having issues!
Do you have a few pics of the affected birds and poop?
What do you feed your birds? I agree, coccidiosis or internal parasites are possible. I'd try treating them with corid first to see if that helps. You could also take a sample of the poop in for a fecal float, most vets will do it and they usually aren't very expensive. Then you'll have a better idea of what you're dealing with.

We treated with ivermectin topical and the next day she started pigging out when i took a snack out to them. But today she wasn't interested. We feed them 18% layer feed and some snacks - mostly sunflower seeds, scratch, veggies, & fruits. Maybe we should also treat the flock with Corid. In 10 days we are going to worm them again with Safeguard. I'll call our vet to see if they will do a fecal test if we can't get her turned around quickly. I appreciate your advice. Here is a picture of the poop from one that passed away.

 

[Eggcessive]

How old we’re the chickens that you have lost? Did they lay eggs regularly? Are there crops filling up during the day and emptying by the next early morning? What do they feel like? I wonder about ascites, reproductive infection, or liver disease. If you lose another chicken, Imwould either have your state vet do a necropsy, or open up the belly yourself at home and take pictures of the major organs to post here. I would feed their regular balanced chicken feed to them and you can set a small amount to make it more attractive, but I would cut out most of the extras. Valbazen or SafeGuard are very good for worming them, and treats most chicken worms. Sorry that you are losing birds.

 

[DeniseWatson]

How old we’re the chickens that you have lost? Did they lay eggs regularly? Are there crops filling up during the day and emptying by the next early morning? What do they feel like? I wonder about ascites, reproductive infection, or liver disease. If you lose another chicken, Imwould either have your state vet do a necropsy, or open up the belly yourself at home and take pictures of the major organs to post here. I would feed their regular balanced chicken feed to them and you can set a small amount to make it more attractive, but I would cut out most of the extras. Valbazen or SafeGuard are very good for worming them, and treats most chicken worms. Sorry that you are losing birds.

The girls are almost 3 years old. Their egg production has gone down quite a bit but that seems normal for their age from what I've read. Sweetie had sour crop really bad but I nursed her through that. But she didn't fully recover. Ducky didn't have crop problems but smelled sickly and had strange poop. I'll look up the issues you listed to get more information. I'll try to open up the next one that passes - that will be hard. They seem to be fine and then they are down. I know they hide illness until they can't. So very sad. We only give them a little bit of extras in the evening after they have had their other feed during the day. Thanks for your advice. I appreciate it.