Huge bloody poop. Help!

[Tahlia95]

Walked out onto the front porch and came across this. A bit freaked out because I'm worried for my chooks. Is this coccidiosis? We (my family) have had 3 die (one euthanised) recently from what the vet told us was likely a viral respiratory infection - possibly infectious laryngotracheitis. We made the difficult decision to sacrifice a beloved old silver spangled hamburg hen and have her sent off for a necropsy which we still have not got the results back for. A fourth hen had the same illness but has recovered after about two weeks of TLC.
Can a viral respiratory disease cause blood in droppings like this or is it less likely the case? We have another hen with a prolapsed vent (recurring) and wondered if that could possibly be the cause, although we don't know which hen the poop is from. I have looked up images of cocci poop but none look quite as severe as this. It is about 4cm wide for extra info. We have amprolium so we could treat the whole flock for cocci but it would be difficult as they free range and it has rained a lot in the past few days leaving lots of alternative sources of water. Any help and suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

 

[Ravynscroft]

Wow, that looks really bad... I don't know if I have seen one quite like that either...

Best one to ask would be @casportpony hopefully Kathy can shed some light on this issue...

I don't think it's related to the respiratory issue, though when they have issues it can usually end up being a couple together if not more... considering how freshly bloody that looks, I'd think it's either digestive or reproductive area related...

Kathy, could that be a worm I see, maybe???

 

[Tahlia95]

Thanks for your opinion. Its just really strange that these issues have all shown up in such a short time when we have gone so long without any chickens getting sick at all. That is what led me to wonder if they might all be caused by a common illness. I observed another hen this morning repeatedly shaking and extending her neck and gaping for a number of minutes. Ive heard that this can be a symptom of gapeworm although a few other young pullets and cockerels were doing it occasionally a couple of weeks ago. We checked down their throats for any signs of worms but didn't see anything. They soon just seemed to stop. The sick hen who has recovered now also exhibited this behaviour but only occasionally and we'd go days without seeing it.

 

[Ravynscroft]

Ok, from that I highly suggest getting a fecal float done by a vet if possible... if not, then I would go ahead with a good broad spectrum dewormer... I don't know what you have available there, but fenbendazole or albendazole would be good ones to use... Kathy will know more kinds if those aren't available to you...

You most likely aren't going to see the gapeworms, if that's what the have... nor will swabbing the trachea always show any either...

Chickens hide illnesses and issues for as long as they can... by the time they are showing symptoms it's usually very advanced... my flock seemed healthy and happy too, until several went downhill fast... I almost lost many if not most to an unrealized high wormload... Kathy helped me immensely and now my flock is recovered and better than ever...

I hope she responds soon to the tag, she can advise much better than I can...

 

[Tahlia95]

I will try to see if I can get a fecal float test done. I know what they are but have never had it done before and I don't know which or if all vets do it or the cost. If it is too hard or expensive I guess we should just wait for the results of the necropsy. We use a wormer called avitrol which is in tablet form. It is for ornamental birds and is one tablet per kilo of weight. So most will need at least 2. It is hard to worm them this way but it will have to be done tomorrow. This brand of wormer is very popular here.

 

[Tahlia95]

This is a photo of a piece of something that has come out in the droppings. This was found very close to the one in the first photo. I thought it might help identify or narrow down the possibilities. It almost looks like a piece of liver. Just wish I knew which hen it belongs to.

 

[Ravynscroft]

That's levamisole/praziquantel... should work as long as the worms haven't built up resistance, don't know if that's an issue with that kind or not...

I know how difficult it is to dose a flock individually, I had to treat over 150 Call ducks and over 100 chickens... for 3 days in a row, lol...

If you can get the weights of your birds and post them, one of us can help get the proper dosages for them if you need help... you want to make sure you don't over OR under dose them...

 

[Ravynscroft]

That poor hen...

Please do keep posting any pics of off things... are there any foamy, yellow or runny poops? Different pics of any abnormal poops may help as well...

 

[Tahlia95]

I have one more picture. I haven't seen any of those, no. When the other three hens and rooster were sick they all had watery white and green diarrhoea.

 

[Ravynscroft]

White and green diarrhea is common for many illnesses, issue, infections...

I'm off to get some sleep, but if Kathy hasn't popped in when I check back in, I'll try and see if she has a few minutes to check out your pics... great pics, btw... and I got my for you and your flock...