chocolate orpingtons dying HELP PLESE

[louandneil]

Please help. I have lost 3 orpingtons in the last month. They all seem fine and then go very sleepy and lethargic and then die. O have seen 3 vets and they all say different things. Please help I don't want to loose any more. They are all youngsters around 16 weeks.

 

[jeremy]

Where did you get them?

Have you sent the dead birds off for a necropsy?

 

[louandneil]

I got 2 hens form a hobby breeder 1 is still alive, another I got from somewhere else and she has fallen ill tonight. I found her gasping, this has now stopped and she is sleepy. The Cockerals was from a breeder, he was dead in his house. I don't know what to do

 

[louandneil]

Oh and no o haven't I thought it was just coincidence until tonight. If this one dies I will send it off

 

[ChooksChick]

Please get som Corid asap. It's not going to hurt them if it's not coccidiosis, but those symptoms soooooo frequently link to coccidiosis, I feel you need to dose them with it immediately.

 

[louandneil]

That is exactly what I was thinking after reading on the internet. It is 9.30pm here in UK so I can't get any until tomorrow but I will go straight away and get some. Do I need to treat the ground with anything?

 

[ChooksChick]

Quote:
No, you don't need to treat the ground, as it is present everywhere and there's no way to prevent reinfection. You simply have to give their digestive system a break so that their immune system can learn to recognize the oocysts and defend them in the future.

To buy some time, old farmers here recommend giving them a mix of 50% dry milk and 50% feed. This helps to block some of the damage and purge the oocysts until you can get them the Amprolium (several brands are available) and that is just a Thiamin blocker- but it incapacitates the coccidia without hurting them or weakening them the way other drugs might. If you can't find any Amprolium (Corid, Amprol, or even some other form of coccidiostat) you can use Sulmet, a Sulfa-based antibiotic. No other antibiotic will work, as we aren't dealing with a bacteria, but rather, an amoeba. It is, however susceptible to sulfa, so that will often work, but it weakens the bird and destroys the colonies of beneficial bacteria within their intestines, so you MUST feed them probiotics or live-culture yogurt during their treatment and for a week following. You must run a full course of whatever treatment you choose, even if they appear better. Keep their litter dry and clean, and feel free to use a preventive dose of Amprolium for the next month (1/2 dose after a week of full-dose treatment) to help them develop immunity.

Good luck!!

 

[ChooksChick]

If you haven't any dry milk, you might be able to get the survivors to drink canned milk- that is also effective from what I've read as a bit of a delay in damage- it may get you through tomorrow when you can get the right drugs.

 

[louandneil]

Thank u so much. I know this sound stupid but is cows milk from a carton ok?

 

[ChooksChick]

Quote:
If that's all you have, it's better than nothing. Something about the protein or fat seems to help, and concentrated works better, but 'do what you can' is my feeling on this!

Best of luck!