Diarrhoea - not worms

[Bamabexchicks]

Another day....

Both Scarlett and Betty have much cleaner backsides. Betty was all fluffy and clean again with just a small trace of poop around her vent. Both of them seemed to have less irritated skin. Betty also a lot happier. So it is looking quite positive at the moment.

Flick on the other hand (who does not have vent gleet - or at least any signs of it) is not eating again. Have even tempted her with blueberries and she turned her nose up. Don't know what to do, so gave her a shot of chicken vitamins and will do so for another two days to see if she picks up. 2 days ago she was eating and had a fairly full crop. Today it is basically empty at the end of the day. This is one area I am stumped.

Poor Flick! In a previous post you mentioned that your vet said she was producing cells that defend against something. If these cells were eosinophils it could indicate parasites. Also as I mentioned earlier its possible that the parasites may not be undergoing the reproductive stage at the time your fecal test was run. I might consider worming her.

 

[MandS]

Thanks. It is odd. Just so down and losing weight. I did de-worm all of them in January with Flubenvet. Are you suggesting doing it again?

We had a different dewormer last year, a liquid (panacur) that we had to give individually. Worked well. This time I used Flubenvet in ready mixed feed.

 

[Bamabexchicks]

Thanks. It is odd. Just so down and losing weight. I did de-worm all of them in January with Flubenvet. Are you suggesting doing it again?

We had a different dewormer last year, a liquid (panacur) that we had to give individually. Worked well. This time I used Flubenvet in ready mixed feed.

I didn't realize you had already wormed them. Panacur usually takes care of all types of worms. I will study on the Flubenvet to see what it covers.

 

[cottagecheese]

People are reading this, and it is important that no confusion remains, especially when dealing with the focal point of how to treat. So apologizing to @Tycine1 I must mention that she meant miconazole(=antifungal) and not metronidazole(=antibiotic). The confusion arised because of the notorious article being posted. This one:
https://www.birdhealth.com.au/vent-gleet
Whenever this confusing article is being linked, it should always be explained that it is excellent in the first part and a total train-wreck in the second part. It goes off the rails by recommending 'blanket antibiotics'.

And now for something completely different (I'm afraid I'm betraying my age ).

When I read in the introductory post here 'I have given flubenvet back in early Jan as part of our normal 6 month de-worming regime' , my heart sank, because I'm of the 'less is more philosophy', and the OP was asking direct questions about something else, and really... why open a can of worms? But now that this can of worms has been opened... Routine worming is a matter of personal choice for every owner and here is why I don't routinely worm:

1. I trust their immune system to protect them and make sure I support it with nutrition, the elimination of stress and cleanliness.
2. I want to 'keep my powder dry' for when I really need it and am worried about creating anthelmintic resistance.
3. Side effects. I looked up Flubenvet = flubendazole = similar molecular structure to fenbendazole (Panacur). PoultryDVM says about fenbendazole, rather cryptically, ' toxicity has been reported, particularly in birds.' Well, it's liver toxicity, and who wants that?

 

[MandS]

Very interesting. Thanks. We've done the regular deworm because that was the advice we got. If it hurts them, then I agree it is not something sensible. Another thing I read was about layers pellets and non laying birds. Both Flick and Betty are not laying and haven't for about 3 months now. Don't know if this is a "thing" or not, but I did read that giving a non laying bird layers pellets is harmful. Never thought anything of it and don't know how I would keep their food separate even if I did provide an alternative.

We've just ordered a load of berry and herb pecking blocks. We'll see how that works out as a treat that is supposedly loaded with goodness.

Update: Betty has a clear backside. We have bathed both her and Scarlett daily and applied Canestan. It has worked well on Betty and she seems a whole lot better and more active. Scarlett is as normal, very active and laying every day, however her backside is still crusty. It is white again each day with urates but cleaner with no sticking poop. Will keep this up for another day longer on her but Betty is, as far as I can tell, cured of vent gleet.

Flick however is still not eating a great deal and stands around, neck in and tail down. Not all the day, sometimes she picks her tail up and scratches around but she's not very interested in treats. Even grass isn't off too much interest. So we have given her a daily shot of vitamins directly down her throat. Not much difference if any, so tomorrow will be a mashed up egg with natural live yoghurt to see if we can sort her out. She does poop but it is very thin little worm-like poop, slightly thinner than a pencil.

She looks tired. Normally she is the dominant chicken and is very active, so this is quite unlike her. Again, any suggestions about her and Betty will be gratefully received.

 

[cottagecheese]

Only those actively laying should get "layer's feed', so in order not to 'overdose' on calcium whoever is not laying, everyone gets 'all flock' and oyster shell in a separate container. Those who need the extra calcium are going to help themselves to the oyster shell, the others will just ignore it. So you need to change the feed and with any feed change, the new feed should be introduced gradually, so to not upset their oh-so-easy to upset digestive systems. (Unless it's the same brand and absolutely identical except for calcium percentage, but not even then, paranoia is good here and the layers maybe won't dig into the oyster shell right away). Gradually means let's say 25% new for a few days, then 50% a few days etc

Congratulations for Betty and Scarlet.

Could you post poop pics for Flick? You could also start a new thread for Flick only.

 

[MandS]

Thanks again. Will start another thread for Flick.

I thought we were all done with Scarlett, however she has her parsons nose and around the bottom covered in white. Seems to be the way she is. No poop stuck and not horribly smelly but it is all white. IS this still vent gleet or something else. Should I continue with Canestan (which I stopped 2 days ago)?