Help! My chickens are getting sick left and right

[Kindlnoel3]

Hello! This is going to be a little bit of a long one. On October 25th I found one of my little baby silkies laying unable to move (I’d say she was about 3 months old) she was lethargic and not eating or drinking. A few hours later she passed away. I didn’t think much of it because it was October and it was getting chilly, she could have eaten something and overall silkies are just really delicate birds. Fast forward a month and last week I found one of my favorite chickens acting lethargic. Her wings were drooping and she didn’t want to eat. However she was drinking a ton of water. Her crop was moderately hard at first but got squishy over time. This entire thing was very sudden. She progressively got worse over the course of 48 hours, and eventually passed. Right before she passed she threw up some yellow liquid, not sure if that has any significance. Now today I went outside and found 2 of my Batams a rooster and hen pair, that were perfectly fine yesterday. Now They are
. lethargic
. Sneezing
. There’s a slight wheeze I think I hear
. Falling asleep
. There feathers are all puffed up
. They are only pooping clear liquid

And my little rooster had an eye infection when he was a very young chick that has suddenly come back.

Thankyou to anyone who takes the time to read this it would be greatly appreciated

I do have pictures as well

 

[Kindlnoel3]

Also I forgot to mention a very important detail. My chickens had worms. I just finished deworming them actually. But not these little ones because they were to small and in a separate coop. They had not yet lived with the bigger hens.

At the time my hen died last week she had not yet been dewormed. But I’m Not sure if this is something worms could cause.

 

[MROO]

It could be several things, but my first thought, as always, is coccidiosis. It's an easy treatment and if that's not the issue, it won't hurt them. Treat with Corid (amprolium) in their water. Follow the directions on the package, as dosages may be different from different manufacturers. Remove untreated water sources so you know everyone is getting the meds. As a jump-start, use an eyedropper to lay a drop or two of undiluted Corid along each bird's beak. They should swallow reflexively.
If it's coccidiosis, you should see an improvement within a day or so. Regardless, continue the full treatment, much like you would finish an antibiotic for yourself. When the treatment course is over, usually about 5 days, be sure to give them a poultry vitamin to restore their vitamin balance. That should keep them from crashing - a lesson I learned the hard way!

Just saw your "worm" post. That could be the issue, too. A simple fecal float should show them - check with your vet or Ag Extension Service.
Good Luck!

 

[Kindlnoel3]

Thankyou so much for responding! I will definitely be treating all my chicken for coccidisois just as precaution because they have been up and down lately and I can’t seem to find what’s wrong, they are definitely getting hit with everything, and I take good care of them to so it’s a little shocking. They also had a cold last month, a respiratory virus that they all got better from.

Out of the 2 little ones I have right now (the ones from the pictures) the rooster is sneezing and wheezing, and his eye infection has come back. And the hen has her feathers puffed on her head and is just a little down looking. Both are still eating and drinking. I think my little rooster has the cold the rest of my chickens had and the hen might have that or coccidiosis. Do you have a preferred brand of amprolium ? I’m looking at what to buy and there’s a lot of different options. I should be buying the liquid right?

 

[Debbie292d]

Thankyou so much for responding! I will definitely be treating all my chicken for coccidisois just as precaution because they have been up and down lately and I can’t seem to find what’s wrong, they are definitely getting hit with everything, and I take good care of them to so it’s a little shocking. They also had a cold last month, a respiratory virus that they all got better from.

Out of the 2 little ones I have right now (the ones from the pictures) the rooster is sneezing and wheezing, and his eye infection has come back. And the hen has her feathers puffed on her head and is just a little down looking. Both are still eating and drinking. I think my little rooster has the cold the rest of my chickens had and the hen might have that or coccidiosis. Do you have a preferred brand of amprolium ? I’m looking at what to buy and there’s a lot of different options. I should be buying the liquid right?

We had used the powdered Corid, and then a few years later needed it again and saw that was expired. We went to buy some more and the liquid was on sale at Tractor Supply so bought that. Either one is fine.

It would be so awesome if you could get their poop tested though.

 

[dawg53]

You arnt dealing with coccidiosis, corid wont do anything in this instance. You are dealing with a contagious respiratory disease and the worms didnt help. Worms weaken the immune system, however in this situation, I suspect your birds were infected with a respiratory disease prior to having worms.

I suspect you are dealing with Mycoplasma Gallisepticum (MG). It is contagious to other birds. Birds remain carriers for life. If you decide to treat your birds, times of stress will bring out symptoms again.
You must maintain a closed flock. No new birds in, and no birds out to be sold or given away.
MG can be passed through eggs as well. No hatching of eggs, nor giving or selling eggs to be hatched.
Tylan or Denagard/Tiagard will treat MG; however birds will still be carriers of the disease.

If you decide not to treat your flock and cull them, bury them deep away from your coop/pens or incinerate them.
Then thoroughly sanitize your coop inside and out with bleachwater including sanitizing roosts, feeders and waterers, nest boxes.
Sunlight will take care of the soil in the pen.
Then let everything set, and repopulate in 30 days. I also recommend purchasing chicks from a reputable hatchery, and not from breeders nor farms.

 

[Wordslikeacharm]

From what you describe I too think it might be Mycoplasma Gallisepticum (my flock is MG+).
Do the eyes look foamy (bubbles)? Do their head smell funky (a sort of disturbing sweet smell)?

I've had an outbreak of MG after getting new hens from another flock and unfortunately it brought a lot of deaths (I was not well experienced, that was on me), but we went into management of the MG. We decided not to cull, we're having just pet chickens, we don't sell eggs or have any commercial intent so it is fine to keep them.

With my avian Vet we have been giving cordyceps militaris extract and we treat appropriately when there are signs of active symptoms, but normally MG it's just not "active".

If it is MG, please remember what dawg53 said: it can also be vertically transmitted (hen to egg) so even if you hatch your eggs away from your flock they will have MG.