NellieChick
In the Brooder
- Aug 7, 2019
- 4
- 14
- 19
Returned from vacation on Sunday evening. Had our neighbor watching coop as she has done before. She called Sunday morning letting me know that she had found one of the chickens dead and another hiding under coop and wouldn't come out. No other concerns. Got home, found chicken still under coop and a completely different chicken dead in nesting box. No evidence of predators. However, the one under the coop would not move and seemed to occasionally pant with dripping beak. Some very reddish droppings all over coop and run. Went back out and gently forced her out from under coop. She almost immediately passed away, head hung and cloudy, stinky fluid just drained from her beak for several seconds. Next day another chicken started not wanting to come out of coop and diarrhea below her overnight roost. I immediately isolated her and cleaned out entire coop. Replaced fresh water for the coop and all bedding.
In my concern and search for what was going on, I'm afraid I've become so confused with all I've read. I'm not sure if there is one thing or more than one thing going on. I initially thought it was a respiratory illness. Then the reddish poop continued and thought it was cocci. I could not get to Corid until today, but placed probiotics in all water sources yesterday. I'm debating whether to start Corid. The isolated chick still has very watery diarrhea but no signs of dripping beak. She prefers to lay around but eating/drinking less and her comb goes back and forth between more pale to bright red. Egg production in flock went from 12 daily to 2 daily in a flock of 11 that is now down to only 8 chicks. I have not changed anything in their habitat or food since I have had them. The only thing they have had extra would be scraps or meal worms but I am careful with what I give them. Over the summer we have started letting them free range and forage during the day. But again that has been going on several months long before this illness. My older 4 are 1.5 years old and my newer 4 are 7 months old. I have a mixed flock of my older group which are Maran, Silver Wyandotte, Dominique, and Buff Orpington (my fav). My younger group are 2 Brahmas and 2 Speckled Sussex.
In my concern and search for what was going on, I'm afraid I've become so confused with all I've read. I'm not sure if there is one thing or more than one thing going on. I initially thought it was a respiratory illness. Then the reddish poop continued and thought it was cocci. I could not get to Corid until today, but placed probiotics in all water sources yesterday. I'm debating whether to start Corid. The isolated chick still has very watery diarrhea but no signs of dripping beak. She prefers to lay around but eating/drinking less and her comb goes back and forth between more pale to bright red. Egg production in flock went from 12 daily to 2 daily in a flock of 11 that is now down to only 8 chicks. I have not changed anything in their habitat or food since I have had them. The only thing they have had extra would be scraps or meal worms but I am careful with what I give them. Over the summer we have started letting them free range and forage during the day. But again that has been going on several months long before this illness. My older 4 are 1.5 years old and my newer 4 are 7 months old. I have a mixed flock of my older group which are Maran, Silver Wyandotte, Dominique, and Buff Orpington (my fav). My younger group are 2 Brahmas and 2 Speckled Sussex.
