Lethargy, yellow diarrhea, progressing to death

[dawg53]

Looks like it could be an ecoli infection to me. Baytril and probios in combination with poultry nutri drench may help if it isnt too late...IF that's what it is.

 

[emilysrad]

Is she losing weight?

I'm not sure, i've been spending as little time dealing with her as possible since she hasn't laid an egg in almost a year. I've invested enough! But would weight loss lead you to believe it would be something else? Why do you ask?

 

[emilysrad]

@casportpony, When the UCD info you posted is talking about "lesions," they mean lesions on the liver, correct? If so, then I couldn't look for this, but could possibly send her out for a necropsy. If it is blackhead, it seems like cleaning the coop, run, and accessories will be sufficient, but if another bird becomes ill I may try to find

"Small

groups of birds not being raised for consumption can be effectively treated individually with metronidazole
at a dose of 30 mg/kg orally SID for 5 days. Antihelmentic treatment may help suppress the population of​

cecal worms."

Or does "consumption" also include consumption of eggs?

Still a bit confused...

 

[casportpony]

@casportpony, When the UCD info you posted is talking about "lesions," they mean lesions on the liver, correct?
Yes.

If so, then I couldn't look for this, but could possibly send her out for a necropsy.
Other disease can look like blackhead, so I would a necropsy.

If it is blackhead, it seems like cleaning the coop, run, and accessories will be sufficient, but if another bird becomes ill I may try to find.
Blackhead is not as common in chickens as it is in turkeys and peafowl. I have several hundred chickens, 14 peafowl and five turkeys. Even with medication, my younger turkeys and peafowl keep getting sick, but I've only seen it in one chicken.

"Small

groups of birds not being raised for consumption can be effectively treated individually with metronidazole
at a dose of 30 mg/kg orally SID for 5 days. Antihelmentic treatment may help suppress the population of​

cecal worms."
This means worming with a wormer that gets cecal worms.

Or does "consumption" also include consumption of eggs?
A little history on metronizazole... What a UC Davis pathologist told me was that the swine industry abused it to control/prevent/treat something (can't remember), so the FDA put it on their "banned for food animals" list, so yes, that means meat and/or eggs.

Still a bit confused...
Hope that helped.

 

[casportpony]

I'm not sure, i've been spending as little time dealing with her as possible since she hasn't laid an egg in almost a year. I've invested enough! But would weight loss lead you to believe it would be something else? Why do you ask?

I can't remember why I asked. However, weight loss is often one of the first signs that you'll see, so keep a very close eye on the hens that are still producing for you.

 

[casportpony]

How to Send a Bird for a Necropsy​

They need the whole bird, not frozen. If you live in CA, there are four labs that do necropsies on poultry (chickens, turkeys, waterfowl) for free. I know that they do out of state necropsies, but I think they charge for those. You could call them and ask what they charge for out of state "backyard poultry". The lab I use is the one in Tulare, CA. If you are in CA, let me know and I'll get the FedEx number for you.

CAHFS
Attn: Dr. Shivaprasad
18830 Road 112
Tulare, CA 93274-9042
(559) 688-7543
(559) 686-4231 (FAX)
[email protected]


The other labs are listed here:
http://www.cahfs.ucdavis.edu/services/lab_locations.cfm

If it's Friday, unless you want to overnight for Saturday delivery, I would suggest shipping on Monday for Tuesday delivery. What you need to do, if you haven't already done so, is put your hen in your refrigerator, NOT the freezer! Then you need to find a box, line it with styrofoam (I use the 4'x8'x1" stuff from Home Depot. You can also get smaller pieces at an art store like Michael's, but is way more expensive. Click here to see foam options. You'll also need at least one ice pack. Here are some pictures that I took of the last bird that I sent:

Box lined with foam on four sides and bottom. Seams of foam taped sealed.


Box, sides, bottom and and top.


Frozen ice pack in ziplock baggie.


Brown paper on top of ice pack.


Hen in ziplock baggie on top of brown paper.


Brown paper on top of hen.


Ice pack on top of brown paper.


Lid on top of brown paper.
​

Inside the box you should also include a submission form in a ziplock baggie. Do not tell anyone at FedEx that you're shipping a dead animal... that seems to really worry them. Just make sure that nothing will leak.

 

[emilysrad]

Hope that helped.

Yes it did, thank you! Also the photos of the bird shipment, that's exactly what I was wondering about and couldn't find any instructions online (I wasn't sure if I should send the whole bird or just samples and how I should get them etc.)

 

[casportpony]

I'll PM you the FedEx number. The box pictured would have been over $50 without the number and with the number is supposed to be $11, but they haven't sent me the bill yet.

 

[emilysrad]

Here's an update:

The chicken who passed away was 4 years old, in an urban environment, and hadn't laid since at least May 2012. So it's possible it was just a protozoa that got to her, and on top of all the other stressors is what did her in. If i had known about the UC Davis program it would have been a huge benefit to send her for a necropsy. Well, you live (and die) and learn.

The chicken who was quarantined and set up to slaughter (the one whose poo was pictured above) has been reintegrated into the flock today. She's been very perky for a few days, is eating with enthusiasm, and her poo changed from yellow almost back to white. We had a slaughter planned but then decided to give her some immune and digestive support and see how it went. The only symptom she has currently is the white part of her poo is slightly pinkish instead of bright white. I assume this has to do with blood but that's just a guess. I put her back with the flock because another one of my chickens, one of the youngest, had pinkish poo last night while roosting.

So there is still the question about what causes pinkish poo (the green part is green but the white part is pinkish) which is now affecting 2 of my birds. Any thoughts?

For support i gave the chicken some slightly saline water (stirred in about a pinch of salt per quart), and probiotic capsule mixed in with food mash i know she loves. I gave her 2 capsules the first day (Tuesday), 1/2 capsule yesterday and today. Also today i gave her some vitamins A, D, and E, a few drops of goldenseal, and a little bit of kelp powder and nutritional yeast all mixed in. This is what i normally give my cats a few times a week (minus the goldenseal) so i just had it around. She didn't eat it all this morning, probably more for flavor than appetite.

Thanks to everyone for their help so far!

edit: i found the poo page! http://chat.allotment.org.uk/index.php?topic=17568.0

 

[Bogtown Chick]

My SLW, is a free ranging hen surrounded by lower wet areas. It's been rainy and warm early this summer and now she's developed runny stools. No sign of mites. She started hanging back in the coop in the nest box 2 days ago. Standing, eyes sleepy before it was roosting time. Saw a yellow hanging mucousy stuff hanging from wet fluff feathers yesterday...I thought broken egg so performed cloaca exam. She was empty. I'm thinking Histomoniasis or black head with all our wet low ground right now. She sat in a nest box all day yesterday...but not acting broody. Called the vet and asked if he'd sell me a few flagyl tabs. Waiting to hear back. What do you all think? Poop linoleum beneath her this AM showed runny yellow liquid stools. IDK. This diagnosis made the most sense...because I think they're getting lots of earthworms this summer as we're super wet around here. They're drinking out of the puddles and such...and not so much their waterer with the ACV.