Is this a sick gal?

[casportpony]

If you're looking to save money on wormer, you can buy a tube of Safeguard horse wormer at TSC for $10. They also sell the liquid for $20.

http://www.tractorsupply.com/safeguard-equine-dewormer-25-g-5003451
http://www.tractorsupply.com/livestock-wormers/safe-guard-reg-goat-dewormer-125-ml-2226898

 

[casportpony]

Here are two of my threads about worming:

https://www.backyardchickens.com/t/744734/worming-with-horse-wormer
https://www.backyardchickens.com/t/745210/how-to-safely-worm-your-peafowl-orally

 

[Michael Apple]

I was able to get the Corid but the Valbazen was out of my price range. (45 bucks for the bottle!). Gonna do a 5 day treatment of the corid, then starting day 3 give them probiotics (either in the water or yogurt or both).

I didn't see green in their poo, it was the lumpy red splotches I've seen in so many coccidiosis pictures, so hopefully this will do the trick. Thanks so much for all your help Michael. I will keep you updated.

You're welcome, Kim. I just hope the Corid does the trick. Do a Teaspoon per gallon of water of the Corid for 5 days. If you don't see results in that time, I highly recommend that you give Vitamins-Electrolytes Plus in the water for 2-3 days, then give Sulfadimethoxine powder at 1/2 tsp. per gallon for 3 days only. Much will depend on the condition of your bird during the treatment. So you'll have to let us know what's going on. If you don't want to pay $45 for Valbazen, you can order some Wormazole liquid dropper (1 oz treats 120 birds) for $18. It kills all the worms.

 

[kimchick621]

Just a quick update. Here is a picture I took this afternoon. I haven't caught her puffed up since I started treatment, but I can't tell if the color in her comb and wattles is getting darker just yet. I kinda don't think so, but I posted another picture next to her bestie who's comb and wattles are pretty and red. They all seem to be tolerating the medicine well, and I'm glad they all really love yogurt.

What do you think, too soon for improvement?

 

[Michael Apple]

What treatment did you decide to use? 2 days of treatment isn't enough for coccidiosis. Breathing sounds good? How are the stools?

 

[kimchick621]

They've been doing Corid now since Sunday. Breathing sounds good, and some of the stools have been darker than usual, but otherwise ok.

 

[Michael Apple]

Okay. I suppose it has been one teaspoon of Corid per gallon of water? Finish to the end of Thursday, then give some good Vitamins-Electrolytes-Plus, or something comparable like Sav-A-Chick, in the water for 3 days after that. Mine get dark stools too when they forage on grasses and bugs. You know, out of 9 coccidia strains, only a couple show blood in the stool. If the bird seems healthy after a bit of a break, you might worm them if you never have.

 

[kimchick621]

Here's a picture of them today. My gold girl still hasn't started laying, still kinda pale in her comb and wattles. I grabbed a picture of her next to her favorite buddy so you can compare. Oddly enough, the brown americauna mix next to her just redded up (I just made up that word) and I hope that means she'll start laying soon. She's about 21 weeks old now. I'm a little surprised, as I didn't think they started laying until around 24-28 weeks.

Anyway, I can't tell if she's better, worse, or what. Her tail feathers are still a mess, but she seems to be acting normal. She was about to take a dust bath in that picture.

 

[Michael Apple]

I thought I'd mention that feathers dry up and start curling at the ends prior to molt. The weather is starting to warm. You could start giving a little extra protein to their feed. Lots of people provide scratch to chickens. I think many forget that if they mix half scratch and half 16% layer pellets, the birds are only receiving around 12% protein. Scratch is usually only 8-10%. You could try something like Gamebird pellets mixed with your layer pellets/crumbles and some dry crimped oats. Oats are a good source of protein and the hulls are good for feather sheen. I'd use a good vitamin-probiotic in the water a couple times a week as well. Is the bird energetic and otherwise acting normal?

 

[kimchick621]

She does seem energetic. Not too much today of course, since it's snowing and yucky out. They've been getting yogurt and oatmeal about every other day for breakfast. Is that good enough for a probiotic or do you think I should get something more?