Help? ANOTHER one died!

[AuburnChickenNewbies]

Well, we don't know what to think. She's not getting worse I don't think, but she's not getting better either. The Corid treatment is done and she's still eating really well. But she's still hiding in the nesting boxes and her backside was really dirty. I did clean her up this evening and dried her off and she went right in and helped herself to a handful of scratch once I put her in the coop. She's had really lousy eggs for quite some time too, but then she's never really had great looking shells on her eggs. From her early days her shells were also really rough and then since she moulted this last early Spring her eggs have been very soft or almost not shelled at all. Her backend looked a bit like egg yolk to me combined with chicken poo. So perhaps all of this is related to eggs in some way. She's not egg bound and while I've never seen her actually eat the oyster shells that are in the bowl in the coop, she does eat yogurt and cottage cheese and broccoli and whatever else every few days. They're fed a good quality commercial organic food along with Layena Scratch combined with sunflower seeds. And kitchen scraps that are usually egg shells and greens, veggies or fruit of some sort.

I'm really stumped. We've wormed them, now done Corid (and I'm really praying we haven't hurt our egg supply for good now that they've been on antibiotics). They get good foods, they have a 5000 sq ft run, a clean coop, fresh water daily. I don't know what we're doing wrong with this being the third girl to be affected in the last six weeks or so. I would think it might be stress from introducing the new birds into the flock a month ago, but one of the other birds died before then, another very shortly afterwards and now Dizzy, who's eggs weren't all that great before.

 

[Reurra]

I think she may have a yeast infection. It can be fatal if given time.

I would also dust her for mites, use permethrin. Its strong, so dont use too much, wear a mask when you use it. Get it under her wings, behind her shoulders, behind her hips too. Red mites can be very tiny and hard to see and sometimes you cant see them. If she does not have them, it wont hurt her to get dusted. DE does not work. I talk from experience. Use an old salt shaker to apply it.

As for a yeast infection or poopy butt.

Give her probiotics. I bought acidophilus pills. Crush one up and mix it with about 1 tsp yogurt. Plain unsweetened yogurt, if you can get some that has bifidus in it too. I spread the mix over plain bread because my girls would not eat it out of a bowl. After a few days, my girl, Dragon, perked up, started eating normal and is now feeling much better. It would not hurt to put a little calcium in the mix either. Soft eggs can eventually break inside and cause complications.

 

[Reurra]

Yeast infections ARE contagious in chickens!!

It can be spread through water or through the rooster when he crossed over the girls or eating feces of an infected bird.

You can use a crushed clove of garlic in the water bucket. Clean your water bucket really really well before adding in the garlic clove. Change the water every day, add in some apple cider vinegar with the "mother" in it, about 1 tbls per gallon.

The idea behind killing the infection is to acidify the digestive tract to balance the PH levels in your bird*.

* Balance acidic & alkaline foods and medicines for an acidic optimal low pH level, which will help good bacteria grow and fight fungi. However, there is debate about whether feeding acidic foods (tomatoes, citrus, etc.) or liquids (apple cider vinegar, etc.) may help, or may hurt & cause pain in damaged guts, so research on factors involved is recommended.

Bath the poop from your girl's bum. They can develop painful sores and blisters on the soft tissues around the anus, which can also affect their behavior. When my girl, Dragon had poopy bum, I cut away the caked feathers and washed her thoroughly. After a good drying off in the sun, you could tell she was much happier.

If its humid out, they food the birds have may have gotten moldy. Humidity can creep into almost anything. I would throw out any questionable food, clean the coop completely, all shavings and dust and replace the bedding with new stuff. Check the outside run for old old food under things or tucked away.

Here are some further reading materials to help you understand possible fungal infections in birds.

https://sites.google.com/a/poultrypedia.com/poultrypedia/chicken-fungal-infections



Various SYMPTOMS of some Internal Fungal infections (including Respiratory)

• Weakness: Intestinal fungi eat some of bird's food & damage organs that digest food.
• Overall Incoordination
• Labored Breathing / Gurgling / Respiratory Illness: Air passages are restricted by fungi.
• Fatigue
• Poor Appetite: Bird not very interested in eating because not feeling well, in some cases. Some medicines may also make birds temporarily feel worse & eat even less.
• Emaciation / Starving: Breast muscle may shrink so much that breastbone feels like a sharp ridge sticking out of chest. Eyes will look sunken in, also.
• Some bright green & watery droppings: Too little food is going through bird's system, and more green bile gets concentrated in each poop.
• Anemia: Blood becomes thin & pale, and bone marrow is pale yellow.
• Infertility / Egg Laying stopped
• Overheating & Panting: Respiratory system may be restricted & bird isn't able to use panting to cool down as well as normal.
• Internal bleeding: Especially in the breast & leg muscles, and intestines.
• Death: May occur from prolonged, severe infection.

Contributing causes may include:

• Moldy food (especially processed poultry feeds or corn)
• Spores in air or on surfaces
• Wet weather, high humidity & heat
• Bedding materials that mold especially easily, such as some kinds of hay
• Flooring or bedding that was damp long enough to foster mold
  • Even after the bedding dries out, dangerous spores (mold "seeds") can remain
• Inadequate sanitation
• Direct contact with fungus on another infected bird
• Weak immune system (esp. in young or aged birds)

 

[War Chicken]

I also think yeast is a possibility after treating for coccidia with no improvement. However, I think it may be limited to just the digestive tract. It could be candida or even macrorhabdus ornithogaster (aka avian gastric yeast aka megabacteria). Candida can cause diarrhea but it's a hallmark of Macrorhabdus. Birds will be malnourished despite eating sufficient quantities.

If you need a fast and/or cheap solution, chlorhexidine gluconate in drinking water can control the infection until you can find something better. Nystatin may work and people here have treated yeast infections with Monistat (miconazole). Amphotericin B is the drug of choice for Macrorhabdus though.

One interesting recent development was a study where the preservative sodium benzoate was used in pet birds with Macrorhabdus. They were cured though the ones rearing chicks consumed much more of the water and overdosed.

 

[ten chicks]

Well, we don't know what to think. She's not getting worse I don't think, but she's not getting better either. The Corid treatment is done and she's still eating really well. But she's still hiding in the nesting boxes and her backside was really dirty. I did clean her up this evening and dried her off and she went right in and helped herself to a handful of scratch once I put her in the coop. She's had really lousy eggs for quite some time too, but then she's never really had great looking shells on her eggs. From her early days her shells were also really rough and then since she moulted this last early Spring her eggs have been very soft or almost not shelled at all. Her backend looked a bit like egg yolk to me combined with chicken poo. So perhaps all of this is related to eggs in some way. She's not egg bound and while I've never seen her actually eat the oyster shells that are in the bowl in the coop, she does eat yogurt and cottage cheese and broccoli and whatever else every few days. They're fed a good quality commercial organic food along with Layena Scratch combined with sunflower seeds. And kitchen scraps that are usually egg shells and greens, veggies or fruit of some sort.

I'm really stumped. We've wormed them, now done Corid (and I'm really praying we haven't hurt our egg supply for good now that they've been on antibiotics). They get good foods, they have a 5000 sq ft run, a clean coop, fresh water daily. I don't know what we're doing wrong with this being the third girl to be affected in the last six weeks or so. I would think it might be stress from introducing the new birds into the flock a month ago, but one of the other birds died before then, another very shortly afterwards and now Dizzy, who's eggs weren't all that great before.

What exactly is the issue? Does she have poop/whitish discharge on her backside? If yes,she may have vent gleet.

 

[Reurra]

Quote:
Vent gleet is a yeast infection or thrush infection.

http://ultimatefowl.atwiki.com/page/Vent Gleet