Help! Second Dead Buff Orpington -- UPDATE GOOD NEWS!!!!

[Judy]

Even though the vet suggested worms, it sure sounds like cocci to me. When you have time, read speckledhen's posts on cocci; she has a bad time with it, and lots of experience. Evidently she just has a lot of it in her soil. Most of what I said is just what I remember of what she said, and she certainly has more knowledge on the subject than I do. It seems to me that this age is just about right, but don't take my word for it.

Best of luck.

 

[Pine Grove]

I'd say worms more so than cocci, thirsty is a good sign of worms.. also 4-5 months is when worms do the most damage and most often they have the biggest worm loads at this age

 

[SkyWarrior]

Well, I picked up Corid and mixed up a batch. The BO isn't doing well and is huddled under the heat lamp. I'm not sure if she'll survive the night.

Tomorrow, the entire pen where she was at gets Corid as well. If she dies overnight, I'm not sure what my next step is other than to put the body in the freezer (I feel like a chicken morgue) and contact the vets when I get back from the convention.

Nobody else is acting badly, but I want to make darn sure they are okay. The corid will be a precaution.

I did clean out the pen today and put down new litter. Sigh.

 

[SkyWarrior]

The third BO didn't make it.

I'm putting the rest of the birds in that pen on Corid today, but no one looks ill. The last BO looks really well and she/he is bigger than the others. The other bird out of that group is a cross -- BO x PR. I have 6 EEs in with them that show no signs of sickness. The EEs are older and have pretty good weight on them, but I'm taking precautions at this point. 5 days on Corid. They've all been wormed on wazine, so that's good. I'm showing DH how to mix the meds and put it in the waterer so we can continue the treatment while I'm out of town.

At this point, I realize my ignorance probably killed those birds. I haven't had a sick bird except some Cornish Xs who suffered from ascites. I assumed that they were having problems with the cold because it had turned cold so rapidly, and they acted cold, when I should've looked for illness. Stupid me.

The younger chicks in the brooder and in the dog crate are doing far better in this cold than the BOs. I should've seen it.

OTOH, I did buy those birds from a woman who obviously had a hatchery. Maybe they had internal problems that made them more susceptible?

 

[SkyWarrior]

Good news!

Got a handle on the problem. Thank you so much for your advice!

It was coccidia. The corid cleaned it right up and in spite having two more buffs that showed signs of it, they got better and survived. I treated everyone in that pen and I am now waiting for the corid to get through their systems before using the eggs.

Which reminds me: how long before I can use their eggs after treating them with corid? A week?

 

[Aj1911]

i would wait 2 weeks

wormers like wazine also have a 2 week withdrawal.