extremely sick chickens please help

[JensChickies]

It might be some type of vitamin deficiency. I forget what kind of deficiency it is, but it might be worth googling it and giving them some vitamins. Worming and vitamins would be a good start. Can't hurt to try.

Just curious....do they smell awful around their head?? You mentioned yellow diarrhea. The green is probably bile from not eating, mine had that when she was sick too.

 

[GarnerZoo]

They don't smell to me (other than the poopy butts) but I will definitely look up the vitamin thing. Thanks all such for the help, and any help to come.

 

[JensChickies]

They don't smell to me (other than the poopy butts) but I will definitely look up the vitamin thing. Thanks all such for the help, and any help to come.

Yes, give it a try, it can't hurt...FYI when you worm you will want to give probiotics and vitamins to help replenish their gut. Has it been really hot where you are? If so make sure they are drinking and give them electrolytes.

 

[GarnerZoo]

Its been in the 80's here lately and at first I thought they had overheated but when more symptoms showed up I came here. I have been giving probiotics since doing the treatment for cocci because the medicine i used took out all good and bad bacteria (aka the plain yogurt, is that a good one to use? I heard it was and have been mixing it with their favorite fruits and veggies). Will go to the feed store tomorrow and see what she has or if I need to make a trip into the next town for different stuff. Thanks for the help/advice it's all really helpful and I hope it is just a vitamin thing and not a death thing..Thanks again

 

[JensChickies]

Its been in the 80's here lately and at first I thought they had overheated but when more symptoms showed up I came here. I have been giving probiotics since doing the treatment for cocci because the medicine i used took out all good and bad bacteria (aka the plain yogurt, is that a good one to use? I heard it was and have been mixing it with their favorite fruits and veggies). Will go to the feed store tomorrow and see what she has or if I need to make a trip into the next town for different stuff. Thanks for the help/advice it's all really helpful and I hope it is just a vitamin thing and not a death thing..Thanks again 

No problem, I hope it works out, keep us posted.

 

[GarnerZoo]

Because I leave no stone un-turned in my search for answers I have been checking for red fowl mites regularly and that questionable bug I found this morning I can almost certainty say was not a mite, it was an ant. Upon further inspection I have identified them as acrobat ants, tiny ants that live in wood (like carpenter ants but much much smaller, less than 5.4 mm in length.) I realize that this is probably not the problem with my chickens but I was reading on the ants and they eat other bugs and are territorial, they live in the roost area of my coop and under the hay in the roost, same spots the red mites would live if I had any, so since these ants eat bugs and are territorial I could probably take mites off my list of reasons my chickens are sick, right? '
My questions are,
would the ants be causing them to be sick? I don't think they would but i'm no expert, and that may also cause the head shaking (an ant could easily crawl on them if they are in the same spots)
How do I safely get rid of these ants, I don't want them to be the thing harming my chickens and I don't want to harm them with poisons (the chickens, not the ants)
Would the ants actually get rid of mites (my earlier statement on diet and behavior stands?)
Is it possible that I got them from where I get my bedding (from a mill, I use pine shaving stuff on the floor and hay from my barn in the roost)
One step closer to finding an answer to the illness hopefully. Thanks in advance!

 

[dawg53]

W

 

[GarnerZoo]

I have been checking them for mites and such. Thanks for the more detailed information on how to and what to look for. It means a lot to me that everybody on here is willing to give me such great advice for nothing but a thank you in return. So, thanks all for the help

 

[GarnerZoo]

So, what I think I will do is clean out their whole coops, ever nook and cranny, put some Sevin dust down for the ants and something for possible mites, was reading on the link you gave me that red mites (which I now see looks kinda like that questionable bug I found this morning) are the vector to Avian Spirochetes and the symptoms for that added to the symptoms of red mites add up. Covering all my bases here and will treat for mites even if they aren't actually there, will also talk more to the lady at the feed store (she's super knowledge able as well) about something for the mites and the Avian Spirochetes and if what I think is wrong is correct thinking.
I'm also going to take out their roosting area where I saw the questionable bug and ants to see if the ants live in the coop or just "hang out" there and also to look for mites under there.
Are there any lice with wings? Saw a few weird bugs on me after I was done holding one of the chickens, a sick one, it kinda looked like a lice bug but it had wings and was a little big looking? Not an expert so I don't know if it was just a regular bug or not (not taking any chances though, these are my babies!)

 

[skjoller97]

Two of my hens had kind of the same thing. Both different cases. Buy sulmet and start treating her with that it's an antibiotic, and give her a warm bath. One of my hens was very lethargic and I thought it was a bacterial infection but when I gave her a bath out came hundreds of worms. So I'd give her a bath to make sure that isn't an option. Also have you given her a dewormer