Help! Chicks are dying! Larthergic, gasping, seizures and then death. Possible coccidiosis?

[Haunted55]

Thank you, Haunted 55. I appreciate the input. I didn't have this little one for long, but it still got me right in the heart when she died. Am on the phone with my local TSupply to see if they have the suggested meds. I answered the question "what are you using it for" by saying "to vaccinate sick animals," because after hearing all of the stories about being steered 'in a more helpful direction', I'd probably lose it. Actually, my TSupply lady turned out to be very helpful (whew). They have the Duramycin-100 powder.

I read another thread last night where someone had been treating with SulfaMet & Tylan-200.
And someone else had used Durvet Duramycin-100 (powder) in their water + terramycin in/on their eyes with good success.

TS has Tylan-200 & one of the Sulfas, but in injectible form. I believe that giving thru water would be MUCH less stressful on everyone, especially since they like me & aren't too leary of my reaching down & picking them up. (I'm SURE that a couple of IM or SubQ sticks would change their view of me coming toward them, bribes in hand or not...)

So which is better do you think?

If you are using the Duramycin-100 make very sure of the dose you give her. The Duramycin-10 is 1/2 tbls. per gallon of water. I have no idea what the break down is for the 100 as my math skills quite frankly suck, lol. If it were me, I'd be using the Duramycin-10 and going with the 800mg dosing for 3-4 days which would be 1 tbls per gallon and then switching it down to the 400 mg dose for another 6 days. By the 4th day you should know if she is responding to the meds. If she isn't then it's time to look at the other forms of tetracycline or the Tylan. Thankfully, I have never had to open my Tylan. The Duramycin has always worked in the past.

 

[BarredRockMom]

Well, it's day 4 of the Duramycin-10 & the new babies seem to be responding well. I started them out on the 400mg/gallon, since they were coming off of the Di-Methox & I didn't want to have any additional problems from residual effects of that mixed with the new (who knows?). The little ones have no funky smell about them whatsoever now, and the older girls never did. So all continues to be well, except for the occasionally evil eyes thrown in the direction of the babies.

Fortunately, I think we're over the problem, but will (of course) continue their course of treatment for the full 10 days. Speaking of math skills, man those calculations put my brain to the test. Ounces to grams to milligrams per gallon translated into Teaspoons to get the correct dosage....Ay yay yay!! I'm retentive enough to want to do it right and was sufficiently freaked-at-the-potentially-BAD-consequences of calculating it wrong. Yeah no pressure!!

My husband kept saying they'll be fine, you've got it. I kept praying "oh please don't let me kill them, please don't let me kill them."
I'm SO glad to have this kind of a forum for help, and thank you for your advice.

 

[BarredRockMom]

All of the girls seem to have made a full recovery & there are no lingering problems. The little ones have even started laying eggs already!
Thanks for all of the info & help Haunted 55. I appreciate it every time I see my beautiful girls. Worrying is a normal part of responsible pet "ownership" (or with any kind of a caretaker situation, be it a pet or livestock scenario), but I wouldn't trade it for anything. I marvel out loud to my husband all of the time "WHAT did we ever do without chickens?" Life just seems a lot brighter with them around--or at least it's taken on more black & white & red tones over the last several years.

Thanks again.

 

[Haunted55]

I'm so glad....they can be a joy to watch and an escape from our every day grind. I have ducks and geese as well and between them all it's hard not to find a reason to smile.

 

[BarredRockMom]

I completely agree. I've found that without my "chicken cuddle time", I'm not nearly as relaxed. Even doing chicken chores is relaxing. I'd rather be washing & refilling water jugs, refilling food dispensers, getting more grit & calcium and turning over the dirt in the chicken yard than just about anything else. If not for my evening cuddle time with the girls, I wouldn't have noticed a problem with one of my older girls. As one was on my shoulder & another was on my lap, one moved from inside her box to the perch to my lap, walked across asked for a pet & a kiss and jumped down. I happened to notice that she didn't smell quite right so I grabbed her & took her inside for a closer look. Imagine my surprise to see squirming maggots on her bum! Finally got them out of her & got her sorted. She's healing up quite nicely. Honestly, talk about heart failure!! I imagine that if I live long enough, I'll have LOTS of experience with chickens and lots of their diseases and issues. And considering the stories I have now, I'm looking forward to the funny stories I'll have in 20 years!

 

[Haunted55]

Yeah...trial by fire seems to be the way for me as well. In the two years I've been at this I've learned that it's an interesting journey we're making with them. Some of it's great and some, well, not so much. Still all we can do is learn and love them, so when they get to the other side, they tell good stories about us as well. May the memories be wonderful for all of you!

 

[BarredRockMom]

Thanks, and may yours share happy memories about you on the other side, too. We've been doing this going on 4 years now & have been extremely grateful for the overall health of our girls. When someone isn't feeling well, sometimes it's a little easier to notice, despite that the little buggers hide it, but not always. If the problem is more established before we catch on, sometimes it costs them their life. That's the most heartbreaking thing about having a feathered family. The only thing we can do is try to be a better Chicken Parent tomorrow than we were today. This site helps SOOO much! Even reading about things that don't pertain to my flock prepares me for the possibility. Forewarned is DEFINITELY forearmed.

No disrespect to anyone who raises their chickens for eggs, then food but I just couldn't. When we originally got our girls, we did a lot of planning (building their coop, securing their adjacent yard, acquiring supplies) because that was our plan, too. And I was totally on board & ready. Until I met them. Yeah, it took less than a week for our carefully crafted plan to evaporate into "you're going to live to be a ripe old age, don't worry, I love you." And it took another week to work up the nerve to tell my husband that "the plan" had changed. To his credit, he just shook his head, laughed & said he wondered how long it was going to take me. I asked him why, if he knew I wasn't going to be able to kill them, did we get them? He said he figured we'd have fun & at least get some fresh eggs. What a guy! And what a bunch of fabulous girls we have!

 

[Amy Cole]

Hi all, so I had something very similar happen to my ~4 month old frizzle last night. 2 days ago they were all fine..eating and drinking etc.. Then yesterday morning I went to change water and saw my one frizzle laying in the corner of the coop and it really wouldn't move.

I picked it up visual checked it and all I could notice was it was lethargic.. Do I isolated it, gave it Tylan 50 by mouth, and put some electrolyte and vitamins in it's water. Tried to get it too drink and eat but wouldn't.

Had to leave for around 2 yesterday.. Came home around 1130 pm. Went to check on my frizzle and still in the same spot.. Picked it up and noticed still lethargic..head dropping.. Then all of a sudden he starting to kinda shake in my hands. So I put it back in it's cage still shaking like it's having a seizure and there's like a brown mucus or liquid coming out of it's mouth..continued for like 1 or 2 minutes then died!!!!

Any ideas??????

 

[Haunted55]

Hi all, so I had something very similar happen to my ~4 month old frizzle last night. 2 days ago they were all fine..eating and drinking etc.. Then yesterday morning I went to change water and saw my one frizzle laying in the corner of the coop and it really wouldn't move.

I picked it up visual checked it and all I could notice was it was lethargic.. Do I isolated it, gave it Tylan 50 by mouth, and put some electrolyte and vitamins in it's water. Tried to get it too drink and eat but wouldn't.

Had to leave for around 2 yesterday.. Came home around 1130 pm. Went to check on my frizzle and still in the same spot.. Picked it up and noticed still lethargic..head dropping.. Then all of a sudden he starting to kinda shake in my hands. So I put it back in it's cage still shaking like it's having a seizure and there's like a brown mucus or liquid coming out of it's mouth..continued for like 1 or 2 minutes then died!!!!

Any ideas??????

I'm no expert on this and have never had this happen to me but it does sound like something with the crop, either sour or impaction. Just guessing. Another thing it could be is Botulism. The time frame is about right too. With the rotten weather and heat we've been having, it's no wonder. It's in the ground and with the heat, moisture and then dry it makes it prime. If you don't already have it in your medical kit, get some activated charcoal. Be careful of the kind you get as well. They are selling stuff now that is for gas alone and isn't strong enough to do a good job clearing toxins. Ask the pharmacist if what they sell is for poison removal. Tell them it is for your medical kit and not just for getting rid of excess gas. This is important.

At the first sign of something like this take one or two pills or capsules and crush or open them, mix with a small amount of water to make a thin slurry and using a syringe, open the beak and to the far right side of the mouth slowly squirt the stuff in. SLOWLY! Pay attention to whether or not the bird is swallowing or if it is choking.

 

[BarredRockMom]

I'm no expert on this and have never had this happen to me but it does sound like something with the crop, either sour or impaction. Just guessing. Another thing it could be is Botulism. The time frame is about right too. With the rotten weather and heat we've been having, it's no wonder. It's in the ground and with the heat, moisture and then dry it makes it prime. If you don't already have it in your medical kit, get some activated charcoal. Be careful of the kind you get as well. They are selling stuff now that is for gas alone and isn't strong enough to do a good job clearing toxins. Ask the pharmacist if what they sell is for poison removal. Tell them it is for your medical kit and not just for getting rid of excess gas. This is important.

At the first sign of something like this take one or two pills or capsules and crush or open them, mix with a small amount of water to make a thin slurry and using a syringe, open the beak and to the far right side of the mouth slowly squirt the stuff in. SLOWLY! Pay attention to whether or not the bird is swallowing or if it is choking.

Wow, that's great info, thanks Haunted55! I never thought of that, sadly. How often should one do this in the case of this problem, any idea? Anybody know about how long it'd take to see results? I'd imagine a few hours, kind of like people (but with feathers).