Droopy tail and wings. The slow decline

[Castlewood]

I have a flock of pullets that seem to all be healthy and doing well. Out of the blue, one of them is slow to move one morning. Her tail is down, droopy wings, and an all around lethargy. There's no eye goop, no discharge from her nose. Nothing that leads to me to think that she has something viral or in her lungs. I don't sequester her against my better judgement. I add additional waterers to their run that have sav-a-chik or apple cider vinegar mixed in. So all of the birds can go to a source that is clear water or water with some kind of electrolyte mix in it. I've checked her crop each day and it doesn't seem to be puffy. She has an appetite and eats when I had feed her. Over the next few days, she continues to lose strength. After 3-4 days, I found her dead in the run.

None of the other birds seem affected. A good month or two passes and now I'm finding another bird with the same symptoms. This girl is normally a VERY active bird.

I've contemplated taking her out and giving her a round of antibiotics to see if that will knock out whatever ails her. I'm just doubtful since the symptoms just don't seem to match up with anything that I've read merit a drug treatment. I thought for sure it would just be dehydration issue.

Any suggestions?

 

[azygous]

You've left out the age of these pullets. That's crucial info.

How has your weather been? Wet and humid? Were there any signs of imbalance with the sick pullet? What does the poop look like?

Two possibilities come to mind. If the pullets are at least ten weeks old, Marek's is a good candidate. The other would be coccidiosis. The first is untreatable. The second, Corid will knock it out if you do two rounds a week apart.

 

[Castlewood]

You've left out the age of these pullets. That's crucial info.

How has your weather been? Wet and humid? Were there any signs of imbalance with the sick pullet? What does the poop look like?

Two possibilities come to mind. If the pullets are at least ten weeks old, Marek's is a good candidate. The other would be coccidiosis. The first is untreatable. The second, Corid will knock it out if you do two rounds a week apart.

These girls are 4 months old. I'm in Central Texas. We had a very wet spring but weather has dried out. Their run dry. It's been hot but they're in a lot of shade throughout the day. Her droppings are normal.

Are Marek's or Coccidiosis contagious? None of the other birds show any symptoms and the last bird that showed similar signs passed a month ago.

 

[azygous]

Yes, they both are contagious. If you have Marek's in your flock, all the chickens have it, although not all may be showing symptoms at the same time.

Coccidiosis is transmitted in the feces, so all chickens pecking at the ground where an infected chicken has pooped, may be infected, also. It's why we treat all the flock, not just the sick chicken.

Another possibility is a compost pile where anaerobic bacteria is present, or contaminated puddles. This can account for one chicken getting sick, dying, and later, another picking up the bacteria from the same source and dying. This bacteria usually moves at lightening speed and can kill within 24 hours of exposure. The only way to save a chicken with this issue is to recognize the symptoms very early and start an oral antibiotic immediately.

I've had a chicken die from this compost bacteria, but learned to notice the symptoms early enough to save others. Meanwhile, I no longer dispose of moldy veggies and fruits in my compost. Another way chickens can get this bacterial illness, called Clostridium perfringes, is by eating insects that have resided at the anaerobic levels. Those may crawl out of the compost and the chickens don't even need to dig for them.

 

[Castlewood]

Yes, they both are contagious. If you have Marek's in your flock, all the chickens have it, although not all may be showing symptoms at the same time.

The birds have been raised on medicated crumble. Does this do anything to deter either of these?

Another possibility is a compost pile where anaerobic bacteria is present, or contaminated puddles. This can account for one chicken getting sick, dying, and later, another picking up the bacteria from the same source and dying. This bacteria usually moves at lightening speed and can kill within 24 hours of exposure. The only way to save a chicken with this issue is to recognize the symptoms very early and start an oral antibiotic immediately.

They don't have a compost pile available to them, however they do eat grubs that come from a compost bin once a week. When I spoon out the grubs for them, there is some compost as part of the serving. I'll back off on that.

In the meantime, I'll see if I can get some antibiotic into this bird.

Thanks for the feedback!

 

[hellotrixie]

they do eat grubs that come from a compost bin once a week

This is off-topic, but if you are raising grubs I'd love to know about your setup and I'm sure others would too. If you have time consider making a post about it on a new thread.

Good luck with your pullets. I had some losses recently and it is tough trying to figure out what is wrong. I know the medicated feed can help prevent cocci, but not Marek's.

 

[azygous]

Medicated feed has a very low dose of amprolium (Corid) in it, but it's meant to encourage resistance, not prevent coccidiosis. If there's an overload of coccidia due to warm, humid conditions, it will overwhelm young immune systems in spite of the medicated feed.

By the way, "medicated" feed is misleading as it only contains a thiamine blocker, not antibiotics. And no, Corid and medicated feed are useless against Marek's which is a virus. Chicks can be vaccinated for Marek's at time of hatch, but even it isn't 100% protection against Marek's if it's a different strain than what's in the vaccine.

If you suspect Marek's in your flock, it's best to budget for a necropsy to find out for sure. Unfortunately, only a dead chicken can be tested effectively for Marek's, so refrigerate the next chicken that dies and locate a lab through your state agricultural office.

As for your grubs, they won't be contaminated unless they live at the lower portions of the material where oxygen is scarce. I doubt they are the source of the illness you've seen. Compost piles can be fine as long as they are regularly aerated to prevent anaerobic bacteria. And never dispose of moldy or spoiled food where chickens are present.

 

[Castlewood]

As for your grubs, they won't be contaminated unless they live at the lower portions of the material where oxygen is scarce. I doubt they are the source of the illness you've seen. Compost piles can be fine as long as they are regularly aerated to prevent anaerobic bacteria. And never dispose of moldy or spoiled food where chickens are present.

Well, you have me a little nervous about the grubs they've been fed. I can certainly say that I've dug through the compost to get to them. I'm going to hold off on any more grubs in the diet until I can hopefully figure out the current culprit.

Would the grubs introduce coccidia? Or would they just be of risk for introducing some bad bacteria?

 

[azygous]

Coccidia are protozoa, not bacteria. They are present in the upper layer of soil. They are omnipresent. They aren't a problem until they explode in population due to warm, moist weather or different species are brought in on borrowed garden equipment or on visitors' shoes from another locale. Chickens will develop resistance to their local coccidia, but may not have resistance to outside strains. There are nine that target chickens.

I've had grubs in my compost, and my chickens have never been made sick by them. They are not anaerobic life forms. If you have doubts about your compost, move it to a very sunny spot, and turn it over well to oxygenate it. That will kill anaerobic bacteria. Sort of like Dracula.

 

[Castlewood]

UPDATE:
Sadly, as expected, my pullet only went 4 days before passing. So now - I'm desperate to learn from this situation.

Reading over everyone's posts and taking into consideration that we have had heavy rains in Texas that have resulted in a musty chicken run - I'm thinking that coccidiosis may very well be the culprit. I did get some Corid-20 and mix it into the water supply for my sick pullet, but I think she was just too far gone at that point for a chance at recovery. Here are my questions though:

1. Should Corid-20 become part of a cycle each month/quarter/seasonally to help kill off any coccidiosis that gets into the flock?
2. Should I use hydrated lyme on the run floor to deter the coccidia?
3. What is the most effective way to treat a sick bird like this girl? I probably let her go 4-5 days before I did anything which I think was her downfall. Would an immediate sequester accompanied by corid be the path to recovery?