Disease going around in my flock? PLEASE HELP!

[Sunnycitygarden]

First off, one of my chickens got sick last week. I saw her one day sitting on the floor of the run in the corner and breathing heavy. Her comb was very purple. When I picked her she has light as a feather. I brought her inside and she wasn’t eating at all or drinking any water, she wasn’t interested in anything. I started syringe feeding her poultry cell and egg yolk. She slowly got better and seemed a little more lively, her comb wasn’t purple anymore and she was willing to eat and drink by herself. The only thing is that she has still been pooping watery/yellowish/green poop. I put amoxicillin in her water in case it was an infection but she’s still pooping that way. Now another one of hens is getting the same exact symptoms!! Lethargic, breathing heavy, not drinking or eating, poop watery/yellow/green, dark purple comb… what could it be? I put my first sick hen outside in a small coop away from my other girls because she’s acting better, still pooping weird. Brought my newest sick girl inside to give her the same treatment. But what could it be?? Obviously is viral but I don’t know what to treat them for. Worms? Coccidiosis? Avian flu? Stomach infection? PLEASE HELP!

 

[Tonyroo]

@Eggcessive , @Wyorp Rock , opinions please. Maybe the symptoms sound familiar?

 

[Wyorp Rock]

First off, one of my chickens got sick last week. I saw her one day sitting on the floor of the run in the corner and breathing heavy. Her comb was very purple. When I picked her she has light as a feather. I brought her inside and she wasn’t eating at all or drinking any water, she wasn’t interested in anything. I started syringe feeding her poultry cell and egg yolk. She slowly got better and seemed a little more lively, her comb wasn’t purple anymore and she was willing to eat and drink by herself. The only thing is that she has still been pooping watery/yellowish/green poop. I put amoxicillin in her water in case it was an infection but she’s still pooping that way. Now another one of hens is getting the same exact symptoms!! Lethargic, breathing heavy, not drinking or eating, poop watery/yellow/green, dark purple comb… what could it be? I put my first sick hen outside in a small coop away from my other girls because she’s acting better, still pooping weird. Brought my newest sick girl inside to give her the same treatment. But what could it be?? Obviously is viral but I don’t know what to treat them for. Worms? Coccidiosis? Avian flu? Stomach infection? PLEASE HELP!

Welcome To BYC

How old are they?
What are you feeding, including treats?

Photos of the hens and poop may be helpful.

Have you added new birds recently?
Any access to compost, moldy or spilled feed, toxins (fertilizers, sprays, etc.)?

You put Amoxicillin in her water - dose and duration? You have the powder or?

Have you ever wormed your girls?

Crop emptying?

 

[Sunnycitygarden]

Welcome To BYC

How old are they?
What are you feeding, including treats?

Photos of the hens and poop may be helpful.

Have you added new birds recently?
Any access to compost, moldy or spilled feed, toxins (fertilizers, sprays, etc.)?

You put Amoxicillin in her water - dose and duration? You have the powder or?

Have you ever wormed your girls?

Crop emptying?

The first girl that got sick is 8 months. Second girl is about 6 months. They still haven’t laid eggs.
I’m feeding Nature’s best Organic grower feed. Oyster shell on the side. Mealworms and black soldier fly larvae and Bok Choy greens from garden as treats.
I will post a poop as soon as she poops again. I just cleaned up the last one as she’s in our restroom.
No new birds. No access to any of that. They have a run with construction sand and I use hemp as their coop bedding.
Given 250mg of amoxicillin in water once a day for the last 6 days for my first sick chicken.
I have wormed them with safeguard about a month ago, was waiting to repeat in another 2 months.

 

[Wyorp Rock]

Given 250mg of amoxicillin in water once a day for the last 6 days for my first sick chicken.

Did she seem to improve after you gave the antibiotic?

If so, then I'd consider treating the other hen that is declining to see if that helps.

If you have Amoxicillin in pill form, dose is 57mg per pound of weight given orally 2X a day for 7-10 days.

If you have the water soluble packets that go in water, then follow the directions on the packaging.

I'm going to tag in @Eggcessive and @coach723 as well.

To me, it just doesn't sound like a virus - respiratory infections (viral, bacterial or bacteria-like) present with coughing, sneezing, wheezing, mucous, facial swelling, bubbles or pus in the eyes, lethargy, etc.

Think - is there a common environmental denominator - is the bag of feed new - did symptoms start after you opened a new bag, after you added new bedding, did you close up ventilation in your coop for winter, did you source any treats/supplements that are new or open a new bag of something...

Work on hydration. If the other responded to the amoxicillin, I'd try that again. Check your dosing, just to be sure.

 

[Tonyroo]

Since you mentioned sand in the run. Don't feed the chickens over sand. Any feed that falls onto the sand and gets buried will cause mold to grow. It just take a bit of moisture to have mold growth. And mold exposure will definitely make chickens sick.

 

[Sunnycitygarden]

Did she seem to improve after you gave the antibiotic?

If so, then I'd consider treating the other hen that is declining to see if that helps.

If you have Amoxicillin in pill form, dose is 57mg per pound of weight given orally 2X a day for 7-10 days.

If you have the water soluble packets that go in water, then follow the directions on the packaging.

I'm going to tag in @Eggcessive and @coach723 as well.

To me, it just doesn't sound like a virus - respiratory infections (viral, bacterial or bacteria-like) present with coughing, sneezing, wheezing, mucous, facial swelling, bubbles or pus in the eyes, lethargy, etc.

Think - is there a common environmental denominator - is the bag of feed new - did symptoms start after you opened a new bag, after you added new bedding, did you close up ventilation in your coop for winter, did you source any treats/supplements that are new or open a new bag of something...

Work on hydration. If the other responded to the amoxicillin, I'd try that again. Check your dosing, just to be sure.

Well with my first girl, I didn’t have the antibiotic the first 3 days. So I just syringe fed her egg yolk with poultry cell and kept her inside with a small heater, within the next day she seemed to get better and wanted to eat and drink by herself and her got nice a red again. Her poop was just/is weird.

So I wouldn’t say the antibiotics did anything really because she started to get better after the antibiotics.

The amoxicillin (500mg/pill) I have is fishbiotics, it’s the only one I could get without going to the vet.

I haven’t really changed anything. Feed/worms have been the same, same with bedding in run and coop since i first put them outside. I guess the closest thing I’ve changed is their feeder and started giving them Bok Choy greens. I DIY’d one so maybe they were the two a little confused on how to get food? Or they don’t like it? My other three girls seem fine though and seem a healthy weight. The Bok Choy greens I gave maybe once every 2-3 days.

Thank you so much btw for your advice and help!

 

[BigBlueHen53]

Welcome to BYC! Best wishes for a speedy recovery for your hens!

 

[Sunnycitygarden]

Since you mentioned sand in the run. Don't feed the chickens over sand. Any feed that falls onto the sand and gets buried will cause mold to grow. It just take a bit of moisture to have mold growth. And mold exposure will definitely make chickens sick.

Hmmm that makes me wonder. Their feed does fall into the sand sometimes as they drop it often with their beak and it has been raining a bit and a side of their coop did get wet and they seemed to run over there and start pecking at the wet sand/ whatever else was in the sand.

Where should I feed them over? If feed gets wet, can I leave it out to dry so mold doesn’t grow?

 

[Wyorp Rock]

The amoxicillin (500mg/pill) I have is fishbiotics, it’s the only one I could get without going to the vet.

I guess the closest thing I’ve changed is their feeder and started giving them Bok Choy greens. I DIY’d one so maybe they were the two a little confused on how to get food?

If you have Fish Mox, then give a direct oral dose instead of dissolving it in water.

Dose is 57mg per pound of weight given orally twice a day for 7-10 days. If I had 500mg capsules, I'd mix it with 1tsp coconut oil, mix well, then divide it in 1/2. Roll each 1/2 into a pill form, then pop them into the freezer. Give 1 coconut pill in the a.m., then the other at night - there's your dosing and pills for the day.

Any feed that spills and gets wet will mold fairly quickly, especially in mild to warm temperatures. It's usually best to have feeders where any spillage stays dry or some put a tray under feeders to help catch spills.
If you see any wet feed spills, shovel them out, moldy feed can make the birds sick.

You mentioned you changed up their feeder, take some time and observe to see if these 2 know how to get to the feed and are eating from the feeder. Some birds are dingy or they just don't like change.
Do provide grit (crushed granite) free choice as well, so they can process feed, veggies, etc.