Hen with never-ending case of diarrhea

[Jemma Rider]

I have a three year old easter egger hen named Freya who has had diarrhea for about six months now. I've wormed the whole flock twice so i don't think it's parasites. I'll see the occasional solid poo and then a moment later her poo is liquid again, it just looks like chicken poop but with extra water in it, there's no blood or anything out of the ordinary.
She acts completely healthy otherwise, she also has these really bad feet, like leg mites but i treated her for leg mites in September (soaked her and the rest of the flocks legs in vegetable oil every day for two weeks), and I've been rubbing Vaseline into her scales every day for over a month now and nothing has changed.
Her legs are the only other thing that seems wrong with her, she eats and drinks normally and holds the second highest spot on the pecking order. She and the rest of the flock are on layers pellets and get occasional treats, they get a few egg yolks every week, the scraps from my baking, and oatmeal very rarely, sometimes stale bread but they only get bread once maybe every few months.
At one point i eliminated the egg yolks for a few months to see if that was causing it but when nothing changed i continued giving them. I've had probiotics in their water for a few days now as well, to try and help a bit.
She's a healthy weight, her feathers are smooth and shiny, her little comb is a nice pink and she is laying eggs. She's very active, her and the rest of the flock free range daily and don't come back to the coop until just before dark.
So i don't really know what to do, she acts healthy and happy, her legs and the diarrhea are the only unhealthy things about her. I've read about treating her with antibiotics and some other things but i don't feel like i should medicate her without knowing, or at least having an idea of what is wrong. None of the other chickens are affected, just Freya.
Thanks in advance, here is a picture of her feet and her, it's not a very good picture but she's the hen with the black head on the left.

 

[EggSighted4Life]

What did you worm with? Not all wormers treat all worms or parasites.

If you did get the scaly leg mites taken care of... the scales will still look cruddy until they fall off and new ones under neath are exposed. Some people do extended soaks and scrubbing to assist.

Super glad you have decided not to treat with anti bitotics for what you don't know... I feel the same way about worming.

So she is getting a little older... sounds like personal digestion issues maybe.

I saw another case... where the bird always had diarrhea and after a bunch of testing and such at the vet... the end cause determined by necropsy was liver issues.


I had one gal with diarrhea every since she was little. After testing and confirming no parasites... and tired of mud bumm effecting her eggs... I decided to cull instead of dealing with or passing the issue onto another keeper.

Please note, no supplement should be given more than 10 days in a row.

 

[Jemma Rider]

What did you worm with? Not all wormers treat all worms or parasites.

If you did get the scaly leg mites taken care of... the scales will still look cruddy until they fall off and new ones under neath are exposed. Some people do extended soaks and scrubbing to assist.

Super glad you have decided not to treat with anti bitotics for what you don't know... I feel the same way about worming.

So she is getting a little older... sounds like personal digestion issues maybe.

I saw another case... where the bird always had diarrhea and after a bunch of testing and such at the vet... the end cause determined by necropsy was liver issues.


I had one gal with diarrhea every since she was little. After testing and confirming no parasites... and tired of mud bumm effecting her eggs... I decided to cull instead of dealing with or passing the issue onto another keeper.

Please note, no supplement should be given more than 10 days in a row.

Sorry, i worm them three times a year with Wazine (sorry if i spelled that wrong), i haven't had them for a year yet so that's more my plan just to prevent any big problems. And yeah i don't give probiotics all of the time, i just tried them for seven days to see if it would help at all, it didn't.

 

[EggSighted4Life]

Sorry, i worm them three times a year with Wazine (sorry if i spelled that wrong), i haven't had them for a year yet so that's more my plan just to prevent any big problems.

Using the SAME wormer over and over again... when you may NOT even have worms... is actually ASKING for a big problem IMO... resistance so that when you do need it... it won't work. Just like anti biotics... I won't treat my birds with a poison that I don't even KNOW they need... I suggest getting a fecal float to determine IF you even need to worm.. Some environments will have a heavier load than others.... 9 years... haven't wormed a single chicken... and float test comes back negative from the vet. 2 weeks withholding eggs. 3 times per year is a LOT of withholding!

If you are going to treat no matter what... I suggest mixing up your schedule with another drug... to help prevent resistance of said parasites.

It is my understanding that wazine will only kill large adult round worms, which aside from tape worms are actually the ONLY ones that can be seen in droppings under heavy load. All others will stay in the intestines and only their microscopic oocysts (eggs) will pass. So if that IS true... a fecal float MIGHT still be beneficial to you.

I'm not suggesting it... but, Ivomec will treat many worms in addition to scaly leg mites, lice, and other external parasites.

Hope you get some answers and she thrives for years to come!

 

[Jemma Rider]

Using the SAME wormer over and over again... when you may NOT even have worms... is actually ASKING for a big problem IMO... resistance so that when you do need it... it won't work. Just like anti biotics... I won't treat my birds with a poison that I don't even KNOW they need... I suggest getting a fecal float to determine IF you even need to worm.. Some environments will have a heavier load than others.... 9 years... haven't wormed a single chicken... and float test comes back negative from the vet. 2 weeks withholding eggs. 3 times per year is a LOT of withholding!

If you are going to treat no matter what... I suggest mixing up your schedule with another drug... to help prevent resistance of said parasites.

It is my understanding that wazine will only kill large adult round worms, which aside from tape worms are actually the ONLY ones that can be seen in droppings under heavy load. All others will stay in the intestines and only their microscopic oocysts (eggs) will pass. So if that IS true... a fecal float MIGHT still be beneficial to you.

I'm not suggesting it... but, Ivomec will treat many worms in addition to scaly leg mites, lice, and other external parasites.

Hope you get some answers and she thrives for years to come!

Okay good to know, i just read o should worm them tree times a year I'm glad i know better now, so what do i do now to help Freya? Sorry if I'm being kinda repetitive but i don't know what else to do other then what i have done.

 

[EggSighted4Life]

No need to apologize!

I wish I knew how you could help her better. Only thing I could suggest is maybe having a fecal float to check for other parasites or even bacteria. It cost $25 at my vet.

 

[Birdsong 82]

No need to apologize!

I wish I knew how you could help her better. Only thing I could suggest is maybe having a fecal float to check for other parasites or even bacteria. It cost $25 at my vet.

If you live in an area like me where I have called every vet in the area and not one of them will do a fecal float for a chicken. I have read there are places you can actually mail it to you to get it done. Sometimes it’s the only thing you can do when you’ve tried all other options

 

[lazy gardener]

Crazy, that a vet won't accept your money for a fecal float on a chicken. Totally insane. I would not ever worm a flock unless I had a confirmed parasite load that was clinically significant enough to WARRANT treatment. All warm blooded animals (including you and I) have intestinal parasites of one sort or an other. It's only when they become clinically significant that medication is indicated.

What is their run? If it is bare soil, I urge you to immediately convert to deep litter. A thread search will turn up lots of info. on the topic. Deep litter will inoculate the soil and the chicken's gut with healthy bacteria and fungi to help combat pathogens.

I would also try putting her on fermented feed. Also check the mill date of your feed. Is it 6 weeks or less? Nutrients start to oxidize right after milling, and after they have reached the 6 week mark, there is a notable reduction in nutrient levels. So, I would ferment her feed, add some extra vitamin D as well as a good multi vit. It won't hurt to continue with the foot soaks. I would try olive oil. Or you might try wiping the feet and legs with castor oil.

How does her belly feel? Any bloating? Are her vent feathers often wet with feces? If so, you may be dealing with Vent gleet.

 

[Jemma Rider]

Crazy, that a vet won't accept your money for a fecal float on a chicken. Totally insane. I would not ever worm a flock unless I had a confirmed parasite load that was clinically significant enough to WARRANT treatment. All warm blooded animals (including you and I) have intestinal parasites of one sort or an other. It's only when they become clinically significant that medication is indicated.

What is their run? If it is bare soil, I urge you to immediately convert to deep litter. A thread search will turn up lots of info. on the topic. Deep litter will inoculate the soil and the chicken's gut with healthy bacteria and fungi to help combat pathogens.

I would also try putting her on fermented feed. Also check the mill date of your feed. Is it 6 weeks or less? Nutrients start to oxidize right after milling, and after they have reached the 6 week mark, there is a notable reduction in nutrient levels. So, I would ferment her feed, add some extra vitamin D as well as a good multi vit. It won't hurt to continue with the foot soaks. I would try olive oil. Or you might try wiping the feet and legs with castor oil.

How does her belly feel? Any bloating? Are her vent feathers often wet with feces? If so, you may be dealing with Vent gleet.

Nope, no dirty feathers. Her belly is normal, no bloating. I use deep litter in the run. She acts healthy, i read that chickens hide illnesses to prevent the flock from forcing them out but if that's what she's doing she hides it very very well.

 

[EggSighted4Life]

If you live in an area like me where I have called every vet in the area and not one of them will do a fecal float for a chicken.

Another option would be don't tell them it is a sample from chicken.