chickens dying please help

[ChickensAreSweet]

"get a messy bottom, and look lethargic, the cuckoo maran was a small bird in the first place but i guess she did loose a little weight"


If I saw this in my flock I would assume it could be worms. I have had flock deaths to worms before.

 

[TeamChaos]

ChickensAreSweet- you suspect worms even with the once a month worming schedule they were on? I'm not familiar w/ the product the OP cited, if it leaves a class of worms out or has a high immunity rate amongst the worms, then maybe worming w/ a different product would be in order. I'm not well versed in chicken worms, so I default to ChickensAreSweet's experience w/ them!

 

[speckledhen]

Vermex is Piperazine (Wazine), which kills only roundworms, not any other types. Unless you mean Verm-X, which is herbal. Could be they do have another type of worm, but you should never worm them every single month. Maybe a broad spectrum wormer would be a better choice, but much less often, maybe once a year.


There are other causes for messy bottoms than worms, though.




Quote: Vaccinated for what, though? There are many different possible vaccinations, for coccidiosis, for Mareks Disease, for Newcastle Disease, etc, etc. Mine are not vaccinated against anything and I don't plan to start, but they are healthy. I don't purchase started birds at all, not even chicks. Even so, I would never take in a bird without at least a month long quarantine to check for any symptoms that might come to the surface-this is to protect the flock I already have. If the bird showed respiratory illness during that time, the protocol would be to euthanize rather than treat or add to your flock. Saves tons of heartache; you'll see that if you read Emergencies for a day or two.

 

[leadwolf1]

The only advice that I would like to add is if you lose another, have a necropsy done. That way, you would have your answer as to what it is and be able to treat it or prevent it from spreading to the rest of your flock.

 

[latus74]

Thanks again to you all for your continued help, all remaining 5 hens look and act healthy, i think at the first sign of anything wrong i will take them straight to the vet. yes sorry it is Verm-X herbal i have been using, i was only worming monthly as this was what was advised on the bottle, but i will discontinue this procedure. regarding the vacinations below is a copy and paste from the website of the local lady where i purchsed my chickens.

Vaccination Programme
Day 1 MAREKS HATCHERY INJECTION
Day 1 or 2 SALMONELLA LOHMANN TAD VacE*
Day 5-7 COCCIDIOSIS PARACOX
Day 20 INFECTIOUS BURSAL INTERVET GUMBORO D78*
Day 28 INFECTIOUS BURSAL - GUMBORO INTERVET GUMBORO D78*
Week 5 CLASSICAL INFECTIOUS BRONCHITIS/NEWCASTLE DISEASE MA5/CLONE*
Week 6 SALMONELLA ENTERITIDIS LOHMAN TAD VacEweek *6
Week 7 VARIANT INFECTIOUS BRONCHITIS INTERVET IB4/91*
Week 8 AVIAN RHINOTRACHEITIS MERIAL NEMOVAC*
Week 10 CLASSICAL INFECTIOUS BRONCHITIS/NEWCASTLE DISEASE MA5/CLONE 30*
Week 11 VARIANT INFECTIOUS BRONCHITIS FORT DODGE IB PRIMER (D274)
Week 13 AVIAN ENCEPHALOMYELITIS INTERVET NOBILIS AE*
Weeks 15 SALMONELLA ENTERITIDIS LOHMANN TAD VacE*
Before delivery INAC NEWCASTLE/INFECTIOUS BRONCHITIS/EGG DROP SYNDRONE 76 INTERVET IBmulti+ND+ED(INAC)

In anycase regardless of this i will isolate any new birds i buy in the furture.

hopefully with the help of your pointers i will have a little more luck.
regards

 

[speckledhen]

She really does all of those? Or did she just give you a suggested schedule of vaccinations?

Two things I do not see on her list of vaccinations are 1) Mycoplasmosis/Chronic Respiratory Disease and 2) Infectious Coryza

Those are probably the most common diseases in backyard flocks in the United States. They leave birds carriers, so they stay in the body forever. CRD can be passed down through the egg to the chick from infected parents, etc.

Contagious diseases are not the only reasons for quarantine. If the new birds have lice/mites, you don't want them infesting your coop so you can dust them at that time. Also, you can worm brand new birds coming in so they don't deposit worms in their droppings. There are also fungal things like favus, a fungal infection of comb, wattles and face that must be treated with meds like you would use for athlete's foot, etc. So, quarantine is a good time to catch all that stuff.


Some folks say that herbal wormers don't work at all. It's possible that your birds do need worming with a true wormer. You could have a vet do a fecal float to see if they do have worms and what type and get a wormer that will kill those, if that is the case. I have never used Verm-X personally and rarely worm my flocks at all since mine free range in the woods so they get natural wormers out and about in what they find. Birds penned 24/7 have a greater need for regular worming.

 

[seminolewind]

Since you mentioned wet weather, I would treat for coccidiosis like shoyinck suggested. That would be the most common illness aside from heavy infestations of worms or bugs. I would treat them all together . They all get it from the ground.

 

[latus74]

Hi yes apparantly that is the full vacination programe they go through, though i have no way of proving or disproving this, but she is highly recomended by everyone and has what seems a very profesional set up, so i take it that all vacinations are carried out.

I do know her chickens are more expensive than others that do not vacinate, I dont know what the going rate is in the USA and other countries but she charges anywhere between £12.50 ($19.50) and £17.50 ($21.00) per hen dependant on breed yet others charge around £7.50 ($11.60) to £12.50 ($19.50) while the cattle market charges around £2.50 ($3.80) - £7.50 ($11.60) again breed dependant. She offers a free holiday pen for each bird for 2 weeks every year for life. and a 6 month guarantee, so i guess this is why she charges more to cover the vaccines ect.

i have heard of some horror stories from people who have purchased from the cattle market but i guess i would probably be just as well getting them from another breeder, in all honesty the cost is not really an issue.

I think i will get them checked for worms by the vet as you say, and get their opinion also.

 

[speckledhen]

Do let us know what you find out. Good luck!