I need help figuring out what happened to my chicken to save my others.

[Tami Mann]

Ok...i have 2 old & everyone else young. Not good. So this seems the best answer. All this rain may have done it. I'm in Texas & we have been getting a couple weeks of it. Thank you.

 

[Tiana's chickens]

I recently had an outbreak of coccidiosis in my own flock, I saw one hen laying down not looking too happy, then noticed she wouldn't eat or drink, the next morning her crop hadn't emptied over night (coccidiosis slows the digestion) I thought she had sour crop and then on the same morning a second chicken wouldn't eat or drink, we rushed them to the vet straight away, they got tested and they were absolutely over run with coccidia. The whole flock had to be treated for it even though they weren't showing symptoms yet.
We also wormed the chickens and they had a ton of worms too

 

[EggSighted4Life]

Also still unclear how they get it with out new chickens coming in my flock. I read they get it from poo.

Cocci is in every single chicken poo from the day they are born. I've seen chickens take a direct taste or a dropping in their water. They have some natural immunity and it's *more* of in issue in warm humid conditions or during over crowding, sometimes weather related. There are 9 strains, only 1 of which will present as blood in the stool. (did I already say this?)

I think it's been too cold for her to have cocci.. but learn something new everyday.

Cocci BLOOM (or coccidiosis) is often indicated by puffed up looking and sleeping or eyes closed while standing. But yes all can present slightly differently and with not ALL of the symptoms. That's what makes it really hard sometimes.

A vet, any vet.. can run a fecal float which will test for coccidia and worm load and give you a species count. It cost me $25 today, but it seems like that is a recent increase. The typical treatment for cocci is Corid (I prefer over the Sulfa drugs offered at the vet as it is fairly effective and affordable), sold at feed stores or amazon, which works by blocking the thiamine to starve out the cocci and SLOW their growth... not eliminate them.

Sorry for the loss of your rooster. How old was old? And how recent is just lost?

Sorry, just making sure there is no tie in to the most recent loss.

It won't hurt to treat yourself if you think it's cocci. Corid is safe to use and over the counter, though I don't know if it requires egg withdrawal. Just don't supplement vitamins at the same time. It will only treat cocci and not worms if you happen to have any load of that. Certain intestinal worms are hatched in the gut when their eggs were swallowed that had been laid on standard earth worms. They stay living in the intestine and only their microscopic eggs will pass in the chicken droppings. Round worms and tape worm are the only ones that may be visible under heavy load. For informational purposes... I never knew chickens needed to be wormed, nor have I done it yet. But I did get a sample tested and waiting anxiously to see results! No symptoms among my flock, just for good practice... and because I wanna know!

One quick note... when I had chicks with cocci, not every single dropping was bloody or abnormal even from the same chick.

 

[EggSighted4Life]

We also wormed the chickens and they had a ton of worms too

Did the vet tell you which worms to treat for with your cocci float? Mind sharing how much it cost at your vet to have the float done? Thank you

 

[Tiana's chickens]

Did the vet tell you which worms to treat for with your cocci float? Mind sharing how much it cost at your vet to have the float done? Thank you

I don't think my vet did a cocci float. I'm just looking at the receipt, whatever they did was called a "faecal wet prep" but basically the lady took a sample of the poo and looked at it under the microscope. This costed 35 Australian dollars, I'm not sure what that would be for others.
This test was specifically for coccidia, but the vet advised we worm them as well. A week later we hadn't gotten around to worming yet but then I found round worms in the chickens poop so I got right onto it. Apparently chooks are supposed to be wormed every 3 months but I'd never done it and had them for 2 years, oops my bad lol.
We bought an allround wormer that would get rid of all types.

 

[Tami Mann]

As for my rooster..he was about 3 & 1/2 years old a Rhode Island Red. Died roughly 3 weeks ago with no symptoms. Just sat down in the corner one morning & died. He could be 4. Where we got him they weren't sure.

 

[Tami Mann]

I have bought Corid to treat them. I hear I have to bleach the coop & put agricultural lime out in the yard for the worms in the poop.

 

[EggSighted4Life]

I have bought Corid to treat them. I hear I have to bleach the coop & put agricultural lime out in the yard for the worms in the poop.

That's BS.

Though if your pasture is super over loaded with cocci the lime will help. I've NEVER bleached anything in 8 years... or wormed. As far as I know most wormers in fact WON'T treat ALL worm, and round worms just happen to be the most common. Do you mind sharing what wormer you used? I'm just learning here too, seeing what other vets say and such.. so I don't mean to sound ugly or judgmental. When I get my results, I may have to start looking at the different wormers.

I would NEVER EVER worm 3 times per year (without a species load count) as it may simply be a waste of your time and money in addition to being VERY hard on the system of the chooks, it is poison after all. At MOST (if I wasn't having a float done) 1 time per year, during my slowest egg season is what I would do. However, you can have the float done for 3 times the first year and see if you have a heavier load season and it WOULD benefit you to treat that often or at a specific time of year the most.. In MOST instances, I believe that will be excessive. And a MAJOR part of the issue with suggesting worming if you don't need it... is that they build resistance. The more often you treat and don't actually need to, especially using the SAME drug... the sooner that drug won't work for you when you need it to. I would think ANY vet would realize that. But when I heard someone at the feed store say their vet told them to stick their chicken into a giant bag of DE a "shake and bake" them to get rid of lice... I was seriously appalled and can't believe that came out of the mouth of an educated professional! There are so MANY safe and EFFECTIVE alternatives. I'm all for natural if it works and IS SAFE. Not all vets are created equally, is what I realized. And that single piece of information is enough to know that I would NEVER take ANY of my animals to that quack. My point being, just because they have DVM (doctor of veterinary medicine) behind their name doesn't always make them right and we still have to use our own judgement sometimes. If you do need to treat 3 times per year, I suggest finding a couple of different drugs to alternate and help lessen the resistance issue..

I honestly don't know if the lime will lessen worms in your pasture. That may require some research for you. I would think the worms in the poo after treatment are already dead. I live in the pacific northwest of the US. We got 100 inches of rain last year. Temps between 45-65 here on the coast... had 82 birds on 1 acre... haven't NEEDED to treat with lime YET (yes, I pick up a lot of the poo everyday, to reduce impact on the land).... But I know some people who it has benefited. I wouldn't just jump to it automatically unless I was having recurring issues on a REGULAR basis. I guess you might be catching that I'm not a jump to conclusions type person and I like to know ALL the details so I can make an INFORMED decision.

So, just thinking out loud here... bleach is pretty caustic. I would be more likely to harm my birds with inhalation or accidental ingestion from a spill somewhere. For ME, not worth the risk for something as benign as cocci or worms truly are.

3 or 4 years old is actually pretty young for a rooster. I don't truly suspect old age as the issue... but it is possible, as not all genetics even from the same parents, will be equal. Most chickens won't show any symptoms until it is too late, again it's the prey animal thing. How long have you actually had him for? 3 weeks is a pretty short time frame to lose two chickens from unknown cause. If you have another... I highly recommend a necropsy... though none of the info I gave will be too valid for Au except maybe how to store the body in preparation.

So am I understanding correctly that your gal who just passed was also recently wormed? When I asked at my vet yesterday if I needed to request what for them test during the float regarding worm or cocci, they said it was all inclusive. But also, they will just tell you treat or don't treat in general and maybe suggest a drug type... not actual species unless they are asked. Most individuals simply don't have that kind of curiosity.

This test was specifically for coccidia, but the vet advised we worm them as well.

So they advised worming but didn't suggest cocci as an issue that should be treated at that time? Somehow, I can't figure out how long ago this was.. Sorry... do you know? Thank you for baring with all my questions!

 

[Tami Mann]

First..I have no vet that treats chickens. I did figure out my rooster wasn't old. We got mixed up with how long hens lay. It is actually possible he got bitten by a spider. That was the other thing I had been thinking when he died. Like I said he was very healthy. My chickens hadn't been wormed in about 4 months. I worm only if there is a problem. We had gotten some hens that I was pretty sure had them. Now it looks like our Buff Orpington hens my have had the coccidia all along. I have seen the runs off & on but thought it was from too much fruit. I did go out yesterday to worm them for ...I think round worms but that was after the one hen had died that was when I saw a second acting a bit lazy. Also most of the 12 aren't laying & it's not cold here. 70s during the day

 

[Tiana's chickens]

That's BS.

Though if your pasture is super over loaded with cocci the lime will help. I've NEVER bleached anything in 8 years... or wormed. As far as I know most wormers in fact WON'T treat ALL worm, and round worms just happen to be the most common. Do you mind sharing what wormer you used? I'm just learning here too, seeing what other vets say and such.. so I don't mean to sound ugly or judgmental. When I get my results, I may have to start looking at the different wormers.

I would NEVER EVER worm 3 times per year (without a species load count) as it may simply be a waste of your time and money in addition to being VERY hard on the system of the chooks, it is poison after all. At MOST (if I wasn't having a float done) 1 time per year, during my slowest egg season is what I would do. However, you can have the float done for 3 times the first year and see if you have a heavier load season and it WOULD benefit you to treat that often or at a specific time of year the most.. In MOST instances, I believe that will be excessive. And a MAJOR part of the issue with suggesting worming if you don't need it... is that they build resistance. The more often you treat and don't actually need to, especially using the SAME drug... the sooner that drug won't work for you when you need it to. I would think ANY vet would realize that. But when I heard someone at the feed store say their vet told them to stick their chicken into a giant bag of DE a "shake and bake" them to get rid of lice... I was seriously appalled and can't believe that came out of the mouth of an educated professional! There are so MANY safe and EFFECTIVE alternatives. I'm all for natural if it works and IS SAFE. Not all vets are created equally, is what I realized. And that single piece of information is enough to know that I would NEVER take ANY of my animals to that quack. My point being, just because they have DVM (doctor of veterinary medicine) behind their name doesn't always make them right and we still have to use our own judgement sometimes. If you do need to treat 3 times per year, I suggest finding a couple of different drugs to alternate and help lessen the resistance issue..

I honestly don't know if the lime will lessen worms in your pasture. That may require some research for you. I would think the worms in the poo after treatment are already dead. I live in the pacific northwest of the US. We got 100 inches of rain last year. Temps between 45-65 here on the coast... had 82 birds on 1 acre... haven't NEEDED to treat with lime YET (yes, I pick up a lot of the poo everyday, to reduce impact on the land).... But I know some people who it has benefited. I wouldn't just jump to it automatically unless I was having recurring issues on a REGULAR basis. I guess you might be catching that I'm not a jump to conclusions type person and I like to know ALL the details so I can make an INFORMED decision.

So, just thinking out loud here... bleach is pretty caustic. I would be more likely to harm my birds with inhalation or accidental ingestion from a spill somewhere. For ME, not worth the risk for something as benign as cocci or worms truly are.

3 or 4 years old is actually pretty young for a rooster. I don't truly suspect old age as the issue... but it is possible, as not all genetics even from the same parents, will be equal. Most chickens won't show any symptoms until it is too late, again it's the prey animal thing. How long have you actually had him for? 3 weeks is a pretty short time frame to lose two chickens from unknown cause. If you have another... I highly recommend a necropsy... though none of the info I gave will be too valid for Au except maybe how to store the body in preparation.

So am I understanding correctly that your gal who just passed was also recently wormed? When I asked at my vet yesterday if I needed to request what for them test during the float regarding worm or cocci, they said it was all inclusive. But also, they will just tell you treat or don't treat in general and maybe suggest a drug type... not actual species unless they are asked. Most individuals simply don't have that kind of curiosity.

So they advised worming but didn't suggest cocci as an issue that should be treated at that time? Somehow, I can't figure out how long ago this was.. Sorry... do you know? Thank you for baring with all my questions!

Cocci was the issue and the vet gave me treatment for it and the treatment worked fantastic. She suggested I buy a bird wormer as well, so I did but I didn't use it straight away. I've heard worms are only an issue if you start finding them in the poop, which is what happened a week or so after the vet check, so then I wormed them. I think worming every 3 months isn't necessary, maybe once every year or two because yes it is poison and can't be great for the chickens bodies. The wormer I used is called levamisole