Corid? VetRx? Sulmet?! Please Help!!

[juliebrown]

Three weeks ago we adopted 4 hens that are 1.5years old and laying. About a week later they all got really runny white/yellow poops with some blood in them and I saw worms in one poop. One of them was also passing shell-less eggs in the night. The lady at the feed store said it was cocci and gave me Pig Swig/piperazine to treat them. They just got their second dose yesterday and while they still run around and eat and drink (free range for an hour+ each day), the last two nights three of them haven't pooped at ALL on the roost/poop board and the one that did was super runny and I could see whole grains from their feed in it.

One has had runny poops that matte in her butt feathers (we have bathed her twice and cut off the really bad feathers that almost looked moldy at their base (???) and she doesn't seem to mind). She has a VERY wide stance/gait and seems to have mushy abdomen, and has lost lots of weight despite eating, and is laying down a lot. Tonight she couldn't jump up to the roost with the others. She tried three times, falling down each time. I walked her up the ramp and she settled in real slowly. I am sad for her.

All four have definitely lost weight, I can feel their sharp breast bone. Someone at another feed store said to use Sulmet now, but I need some BYC help before adding more meds! Anyone have opinions??

I have been feeding them scratch/peck layer feed, ACV in their water, garlic water, occasional cottage cheese/yogurt, garden greens, and lots of love. I appreciate any and all help!!

 

[Eggcessive]

Please don't ask feed store clearks unless you double check their information. PigSwig is piperazine, similar to Wazine, that will treat only round worms. Coccidiosis is treated with Corid (amprollium) or sulfa drugs (Sulmet, sulfadimethoxine.) Your hens may have cocci, but they also could have capillary worms. They also sound like they could have lice, with your description of their feathers. That could be lice eggs at the base of the feather, and lice or mites is best treated with permethrin garden dust or spray, or Sevin dust 5%. Stop the ACV and garlic, and treat them for cocci with Corid 2 tsp of the liquid or 1.5 tsp of the powder, in a gallon of water, changed daily, for 5 days. Then give them some buttermilk, plain yogurt, or probiotics for a few days, and get some Valbazen and treat each chicken with 1/2 ml orally, and repeat in 10 days. If you can't find Valbazen, then purchase SafeGuard Liquid Goat wormer or Equine Paste, and give each hen 1 ml orally for 5 days in a row. Worming twice a year may be a good practice. After dusting or spraying for lice and mites, you will need to clean out the bedding, spray the coop, and replace bedding with clean pine shavings. Then in 10 days repeat for the lice eggs. They can be a little difficult to treat so keep checking their skin for tiny bugs around the vents, neck, or under wings. There are 3 types of lice, and they inhabit different areas of the body.Here is some information with pictures to make sure that what you see are lice eggs and not mites:
http://www.the-chicken-chick.com/2012/08/poultry-lice-and-mites-identification.html
http://anrcatalog.ucdavis.edu/pdf/8162.pdf

 

[casportpony]

If you have a cat or dog vet? If so, call them and ask if they can do a fecal float and gram stain for you. If they will, gather up a bunch of fresh poop, place in zip lock bag, stir well and take to vet.

-Kathy

 

[juliebrown]

Thank you Eggcesive!! They totally have lice eggs on the base of the feathers. Sad and gross. Picked up some Sevin dust to treat today and should get Corid started as soon as it arrives, hoping tomorrow. It is so nice to have help here!!

Kathy, I don't have a vet unfortunately. But for sure the lice is what is happening. They seemed to have responded to the wormer's second dose. I will maybe wait a few days before Corid just in case the PigSwig worked. I appreciate all the help!!