Lethargic Chicken with Diarrhea

[Urchin]

Thunderhead is a nine-week-old silkie we've been battling illness with since Sunday evening. He appeared fine Sunday morning when we left to take my oldest daughter to camp. When we got back about four hours later, he was just lying in the covered portion of the chicken yard when I went in to look at everyone. This is a chicken who would rather not be close to humans just in case that human decides to pick him up. I scooped him up easily, put him in a milk crate and tried to figure out what was wrong with him.

A couple of vet visits later, including one up to the veterinary teaching hospital about a hour and a half away from us, he still is getting diarrhea, won't eat, but has been observed drinking, and mostly just sits, although he did move himself this morning from the middle of the cage to behind the waterer. There has been improvement, as he went from a chicken who lay on his side with his beak in the woodchips to a chicken who is at least sitting up with his head in the air. He acts alert, responds to sounds, his eyes look much brighter --they were dull for a few days -- and fights the tube feeding we are doing something terrible. He's on a special high-protein bird recovery mix given to us by the vet teaching hospital. He gets 60mL of that mix per day, spread over several feedings. He is also on Baytril injections, but doesn't fight those as much. We flip him over and inject into his breast. He kicks a bit, but then just shuts his eyes and lets it happen. But even with tube feeding and antibiotics he doesn't seem to be gaining any strength, is painfully thin, has green poop that isn't as watery as before, but still is not normal chicken droppings, nor does he seem to have any desire to eat on his own.


Also, they checked his stool up at the teaching hospital and found no signs of parasites, but the second vet gave me a wormer anyway and said to use it in a few days if I felt Thunderhead was strong enough to handle it, then do a second dose a week later. I have not used the wormer because I don't want to end up killing him off if he's not strong enough for it.

Where do I go from here? Since I'm seeing small improvements, I'm holding out hope that I can save him. What do I need to do to put weight back on him and get him to eat on his own again so he gains weight and has strength to do more than just sit there? I think that's the main problem now. At least I hope it is and that the antibiotic is working. I also have some amoxocylin given to me at the first vet visit. At the second visit I was told not to use it because it's just going to add to the diarrhea problem. I also have an unopened packet of neomycin sulfate that could be used. That was given to us by a neighbor who stopped keeping chickens. I have no clue how to mix it to dose a single chicken, but I'll figure that out if I need to. I just need to know what to do to bring this chicken back to health if that's possible. Thanks!

 

[Eggcessive]

Wow, that is a tough one. You said no parasites--did they check for coccidiosis? I didn't think baytril was used on chickens anymore. Unless you have an idea what the silkie has, I don't know if I would give another antibiotic. If they did test for cocci I would treat him with Corid. We have all had chickens die and not know what is wrong, I'm afraid. Some things to think of would be eating moldy food or litter (aspergillosis), eating old paint chips (lead poisoning), eating dead carcasses or maggots (botulism), or something else.

 

[Urchin]

It has been a very wet spring here. There might be a chance he ate some moldy food. We keep the bag of food in a dry shed, but it's possible he got a hold of something moldy off the ground. It's been rare the covered portion of the chicken yard has been anything but soggy since April. What needs to be done for him if this is a possibility?

 

[ten chicks]

It has been a very wet spring here. There might be a chance he ate some moldy food. We keep the bag of food in a dry shed, but it's possible he got a hold of something moldy off the ground. It's been rare the covered portion of the chicken yard has been anything but soggy since April. What needs to be done for him if this is a possibility?

In my opinion he is showing signs of Coccidiosis. Coccidiosis is a parasitic infection of the intestinal tract,and thrives in damp conditions,very common for chicks to have an overload of it. The vet checked for parasites,but did they check for Coccidiosis,like Eggcessive said, i would treat for cocci. It was a vet teaching school,perhaps they are not familiar with diseases in chickens(seen this many times). Some symptoms of cocci are runny/watery poop(may or MAY NOT contain blood),fluffed feathers,lethargic,not eating/drinking properly. If you feel symptoms match,purchase Corid(amprolium) Dosage for Corid powder is 1/2 tsp per gallon of water,Dosage for Corid liquid is 2 tsp per gallon of water,treat all chicks for 5 days,do not give vitamins during treatment(interferes with medication)give vitamins after treatment. Do not worm chick yet,worming can be hard on them,and chick is still not well. Do not give neomycin sulfate,it is an antibiotic, chick is already on antibiotics.

 

[CrazyCosmo]

I am facing a similar problem. I have 4 chicks, about 4 weeks old. Last week, I found bloody poops. I got them on Corid. Today would be day 5. Their poops were looking a little better, but some were very stinky, soft poops. My local feed store suggested probiotics and taking them Corid. I tried it for about 4 hours today - and now I have another bloody stool. I put them back on Corid, but am worried if they don't improve. I now plan to keep them on Corid for 2 more days. But, if they still have signs of Coccidiosis, do I then try Sulmet (which doesn't seem to be in stock in any Alaska stores)? Can their bodies take it? The one who pooped a bloody poop today has really stopped growing. Thanks for any advice! and good luck to Urchin.

 

[War Chicken]

With regards to the OP's bird, it sounds like it could be an atypical presentation of chlamydophila. If infected via inhalation, you'll get the familiar respiratory symptoms but if by ingestion, it will infect the liver, spleen, and digestive tract first before moving on to the respiratory tract or eyes (if the animal survives that long). The green diarrhea suggests hepatitis.

Enrofloxacin is effective in vitro but can't clear a chlamydophila infection in vivo. You could get a PCR test done by a vet but taking antibiotics might result in a false negative.

Edit: the cachexia is also a symptom of Chlamydophila psitacci infection.

 

[Urchin]

I'll try treating for cocci as it seems to be a more common problem than chlamydophila. Can I do that while he's still on antibiotics or do I need to stop giving those to prevent overloading his sick little body with too much medication?

 

[ten chicks]

I am facing a similar problem. I have 4 chicks, about 4 weeks old. Last week, I found bloody poops. I got them on Corid. Today would be day 5. Their poops were looking a little better, but some were very stinky, soft poops. My local feed store suggested probiotics and taking them Corid. I tried it for about 4 hours today - and now I have another bloody stool. I put them back on Corid, but am worried if they don't improve. I now plan to keep them on Corid for 2 more days. But, if they still have signs of Coccidiosis, do I then try Sulmet (which doesn't seem to be in stock in any Alaska stores)? Can their bodies take it? The one who pooped a bloody poop today has really stopped growing. Thanks for any advice! and good luck to Urchin.

What is the dosage of Corid(amprolium)that you are using? Dosage for Corid powder is 1/2 tsp per gallon of water, Dosage for Corid liquid is 2 tsp per gallon of water. Corid normally works very fast. Do not use vitamins during treatment,(interferes with medication)give vitamins after treatment. Sulmet only kills 2 strains of Cocidiosis,Corid(amprolium) kills all 9 strains of cocci. Smelly poop is probably cecal poop(light in color,runny,and stinky)chickens pass this poop approx. every 8-10 droppings,this is normal.

 

[ten chicks]

It has been a very wet spring here. There might be a chance he ate some moldy food. We keep the bag of food in a dry shed, but it's possible he got a hold of something moldy off the ground. It's been rare the covered portion of the chicken yard has been anything but soggy since April. What needs to be done for him if this is a possibility?

I'll try treating for cocci as it seems to be a more common problem than chlamydophila. Can I do that while he's still on antibiotics or do I need to stop giving those to prevent overloading his sick little body with too much medication?

If he is not improving on antibiotics,i would treat for Coccidiosis. Green poop usually means they are not eating/getting enough food(other than eating grass clippings). Baytril(Enrofloxacin)is a very strong drug,surprised your chick is taking it(usually given for respiratory and systematic infections). Watch for soreness in breast muscles from injections. I would stop antibiotics while using Corid,only reason i say this is because Baytril is among the most powerful antibiotics known,and your chick seems frail,i would not mix the two drugs. This is what i would do,you decide what is comfortable for you to do.

Side note: I am getting conflicting reports on the use of Baytril in poultry,it was banned in 2005 for the use in poultry(due to bacteria becoming resistant to medications). It is not normally used in young animals as in kittens,puppies,etc,this is why i was surprised vet is using it on a 9 week chick. If your vet prescribed it then he/she must feel it is safe.

 

[Urchin]

The vet stressed that if Thunderhead turns out to be a hen we could not eat eggs from it. So maybe baytril is banned in productiom chickens. But he is getting the slicked back top knot of a male silkie and has a huge comb. Not too worried if he really is female. We have full sized chickens for eggs.

Thunderhead was walking around a bit this morning. His poop is still green but doesn't look as watery. I am going to feed him more for sure. See if I can't get him to eat some scrambledd egg or mealworms. He loves mealworms. I am going to give the baytril through today because I was told I should see improvement on the 3rd day. If by tomorrow he is still ot attempting to eat by then I will start Corid. Thanks guys. He still has me stumped but I have a plan of action. Hopefully I can save this bird.