Help! 5 month old pullet lethargic and not eating nor drinking

[coach723]

Yes, lice are gross! When treating for coccidiosis I have seen others recommend treating again some weeks later, I have never done that. If everyone bounces back quickly I just do the one week, if they are slow to recover I do the second week at the lower dose. Any that are not drinking well I would continue to give them orally until they are since the meds can't work if they don't take them in. Corid is pretty darn safe and overdosing is not really a worry. Once birds recover they will have some resistance to whatever strain(s) of coccidia they have been exposed to and should not get sick again unless exposed to a new strain or if they have a compromised immune system from something else. Some strains are more virulent than others and more damage more quickly, so starting treatment as soon as symptoms appear can prevent more severe damage. There are some strains that have become resistant to amprolium (corid), I've never dealt with one. Since your birds have improved some I would think it's working. For strains that don't respond to amprolium then either a sulfa med. (sulfadimethoxine, brand name Albon) or toltrazuril (Baycox) are often used. Amprolium (Corid) is the most common treatment and the easiest to get.
You can give probiotics any time, including during treatment as long as they are just probiotics and don't contain vitamins. The vitamins should be done once treatment is complete.

 

[FoxySonia]

Yes, lice are gross! When treating for coccidiosis I have seen others recommend treating again some weeks later, I have never done that. If everyone bounces back quickly I just do the one week, if they are slow to recover I do the second week at the lower dose. Any that are not drinking well I would continue to give them orally until they are since the meds can't work if they don't take them in. Corid is pretty darn safe and overdosing is not really a worry. Once birds recover they will have some resistance to whatever strain(s) of coccidia they have been exposed to and should not get sick again unless exposed to a new strain or if they have a compromised immune system from something else. Some strains are more virulent than others and more damage more quickly, so starting treatment as soon as symptoms appear can prevent more severe damage. There are some strains that have become resistant to amprolium (corid), I've never dealt with one. Since your birds have improved some I would think it's working. For strains that don't respond to amprolium then either a sulfa med. (sulfadimethoxine, brand name Albon) or toltrazuril (Baycox) are often used. Amprolium (Corid) is the most common treatment and the easiest to get.
You can give probiotics any time, including during treatment as long as they are just probiotics and don't contain vitamins. The vitamins should be done once treatment is complete.

Great, thank you. I'll start giving them probiatics.as soon as I can get it. Can I give them yogurt?

This morning found both pullets near the food bowls instead of on the roosting bar, and all the poop on the paper towels looked normal, no loose dark green poop. I gave water to the 2nd pullet as she still looks more sleepy than the 1st pullet. The 1st pullet was wearing the crumbles before I brought them fresh mash. 2nd pullet didn't start eating until after I gave her water and I put a bit of fresh corn on top of the mash. Pullet 1, which I think is the one I had named Tina (for Tina Turner) is definitely better. Pullet 2 is a day behind in recovery, so she'll probably feel much better in tomorrow, I hope.

The Appenzeller Spitzhauben pullet seems to be feeling better after just 2 doses given to her in last 2 days. Will give her another one today. The rest of the flock are also drinking the water with Corid, I'll give it to them for a week, unless any other chick gets sick.

I live in the city, so don't have a large yard, where they are in side yard the space they have is about 30' x 30', and because of all the trees, there are a lot of wild birds and squirrels. I feed 4 feral cats that live in my backyard and they keep the rodent population down. In 1 week they've killed 4 rats, which they leave near the stairs for me to dispose of. I do my best to not leave any chicken feed out at night, but during the day the birds help themselves to the feed that the chicks spill on the ground. The wildlife also pool on the soil where the chicks peck, dig and dust bath in, so it's nearly impossible to keep them from getting cossi or some other parasite, like lice or mites. I just hope I can keep them as healthy as possible by providing them with clean living area, clean (sand) bedding, healthy food and clean water, and giving them the correct treatment when they need it. But sometimes it can feel a bit overwhelming the number of problems that chickens can develop, and all the precautions, maintenance and medical care required to keep them well. I think if I had REALLY known all of this, and how expensive it is to feed, house and keep chickens healthy, I may not have gotten them, or may have gotten a lot less. I've had cats my whole life, chickens are not as easy to care for as cats are. Maybe if I had a large property with at least an acre of land, then I could have a lot of chickens and they wouldn't get sick as easily as they would have a much bigger area to free range and live in. Maybe. But I've read posts from people that have that, the large land where their chickens have a big area to free range, and some still get sick, plus they have to deal with a lot more predators than raccoons.

 

[coach723]

I think we all have times that we feel overwhelmed. Sometimes it seems like everything that could go wrong does, and all at the same time. Things will calm down and get better.

 

[FoxySonia]

It's so weird that I posted here last night and got a replied from coach723, I received an email notifying me of her reply to my latest comment on this thread. I clicked on the link on the email to come here to reply to her but can't find my last comment nor her response to it. I deleted my browser's cache, but still don't see my last comment nor reply. I checked coach723's latest activity and there I'm able to see her reply to my last comment on this thread, but when I click on it to take me to this thread it still won't show my last comment and her reply. So don't know if my comment and her reply has been eremoved/deleted for some reason, or for some weird reason they haven't posted yet, but if the later is true, then how did coach723 read and replied to my last comment, which is now gone along with her response?

Anyway, I just wanted to thank coach723 for her response.

This morning the 2 pullets appear same as they were yesterday. The 1st pullet, Tina, is eating and drinking on her own, though still not eating much. The 2nd pullet is still not eating much nor drinking on her own, and still seems lethargic, wanting to sleep most of the day. If I put a little fresh corn on top of their mash, she eats some. Their poop looks normal now. I will keep the sisters together until they are both recovered and can join the flock.

 

[coach723]

Sometimes glitches happen, sometimes alerts don't go out. It's usually rectified before too long. The internet gremlins at work.

 

[Swbertrand1]

This morning I noticed that one of my 5 month old pullets, a white crested black Polish bantam, is lethargic, not eating nor drinking, and when I touch her she gets up and move away a little. Don't seem to have any foot or leg unjury. She hasn't started laying yet and isn't walking as she would if she was egg bound. When I pick her up she closes her eyes as if too tired to keep them open. Her crop feels empty. She just pooped (at around 3:30pm today) a greenish wet poop. I have 37 other juveniles that are between 4 and 5 month old, and none of the others are acting lethargic nor pooping green, though one of my cockerels was acting lethargic for a couple of days, but though he ate less, he still ate and drank and went to roost with a mostly full crop, so I didn't worry too much about him, he's much better now, acting normal and eating his fill.

Over 2 months ago, before I had moved the chicks from their indoor brooder tent to their outdoor coop and pen, when one of my Appenzeller Spitzhauben pullets pooped blood twice, I started all the chicks on Corid 20% soluble powder, first in the outbreak dose for 10 days, then the moderate dose for 2 weeks, then the maintenance dose for 3 weeks. Can they still get coccidiosis? Should I treat her/them again? Or does the green poop and lethargy be caused by something else?

Across my yard there's a wild apple tree and many of its small apples have fallen into my yard and the chicks have been eating them. I worried that they might get sick eating the seeds and hoped they wouldn't. Could that be what's made the pullet sick?

Here's a photo of her next to my molting rooster:
View attachment 2850479

Here's a photo of her most recent poop:
View attachment 2850480

I've glanced through this thread only, so this may have been covered, not to mention you have some of the most knowledgeable folks on the forum chiming in.

With that said, my understanding is that apple seeds are toxic to chickens. A quick search of the net says they contain cyanide. You can find more in

this link:
https://www.omlet.co.uk/guide/chickens/chicken_care/poisonous_plants_and_food/

this link:
https://www.backyardchickens.com/threads/warning-apple-seeds-are-poisonous.606016/

and this link:
https://www.heritageacresmarket.com/what-chickens-can-and-cant-eat/

 

[coach723]

Yes, apple seeds contain cyanide and should be avoided when possible. Having said that, my reading suggests it would take about 3/4 tsp ingested for an adult bird to get enough to poison them. And sources also say that death would occur within 15 to 30 minutes. I have lost one bird to suspected cyanide poisoning, he ate a peach pit. He was gone within 1/2 an hour, he was very sick by the time I knew what had happened. Since this has been going on for over a week, I would suspect that it's something else. But for peace of mind and future safety, maybe fence off the apple tree, or get rid of it so it's not an issue.

 

[FoxySonia]

My missing post (comment #12) is now showing up.

 

[FoxySonia]

Here's another update:
Both bantam Polish pullets hace completely recovered and returned with their flock a few days ago.

Have another pullet, a 5 1/2 month Old English Game bantam, that's been acting a bit lethargic and not eating a lot. For about a week now I've been giving the flock the maintenance dose, which is 1/2 tsp. in 1 gallon of water, and I'm pretty much out of that bag of Corid 20% powder, have enough for 2 gallons of water.

So I purchased another pack of Corid 20% Powder from Ebay because it was in stock, the estimated shipping date was 2 days and the price was 1-3 dollars cheaper than from Amazon, Chewy and other vendors. It arrived yesterday and it's expired, it has an expiration date of August 2021. I was livid to say the least. I opened a dispute on Ebay and requested a refund and return shipping postage label so I could return it. The seller refunded my money right away, said I don't need to return it, and he apologized.

So I have a question: can I still use the expired Corid powder to treat the sick pullet? I want to give her the drench dose. I know that most medications that expired can still be used if it's been expired for not a long time. This batch of Corid been expired 2 months, would it still be okay to give it to the sick pullet, or should I dispose of it, buy a new pack from Amazon or Chewy and wait another few days to receive it before treating the sick pullet?

 

[Eggcessive]

If the expiration was in August, it should still be good to use.