Listless laying pullet - Good news! **Last Update **

[ZooMummzy]

Well now we have runny, slightly foamy light yellow poo. From what I've read this could be worms? It could also be a lot of serious things I know but I like to start with the best case scenario first. I use DE in their food all the time so I'm really surprised she might have worm. Is there a quicker way to get her wormed in case this is it? She is still not eating. I couldn't even force her to eat scrambled eggs, but she is still drinking.

 

[speckledhen]

Foamy yellow poop can be a severe cocci outbreak. Here is part of a good article that mentions it:

Birds faced with an overwhelming infection of coccidia will look dirty and unkempt. They will be weak and listless, hunkered down in a corner and not moving much. They do not look healthy one day and just drop dead the next. You can tell several days ahead which ones are on the way out. They can have bloody manure from the bleeding of the intestine caused by the irritation of the coccidia on the papillae. Severe infections will have foamy, yellow, mustard like manure. If you have birds in this condition you have already experienced significant losses in the productivity of the rest of the flock. Left untreated coccidia can lead to necrotic enteritis (followed by death) which is the sloughing off of the inner lining of the intestine which is where the coccidia take up residence and cause intestinal bleeding. Birds suffering to this degree should be put down as recovery is not likely.​

 

[ZooMummzy]

Quote:

thank you! That is the best article I have read yet. That fits her to a tee. She does not have bloody droppings, yet. I guess I need to read up, right now, what to do and try and get the treatment started tomorrow. Thank you Speckledhen for all your help today!

If this is cocci, did I catch it soon enough? How long can chickens last with it?

edited to say I am heading out to the feed store in the morning to get everything I need and am going to treat the whole flock. I will never be naive again to think it couldn't happen to me!

 

[speckledhen]

There may be other things it could be, but that part of the article seared into my brain and when you said it, I went to retrieve it for you. Here is the link to the rest of the article.
http://www.cornerstone-farm.com/dealing_with_coccidiosis.htm

 

[dlhunicorn]

cocci occurs mainly in younger birds or those after the stress of rehousing etc. ... neither of which are applicable in this situation as I understand it.
My info says yellow foamy poo is typically indicative of WORMS (not cocci)... worms do not always show in the poo and often faecals will give a false negative (I have an article somewhere from a reknowned avian vet venting on the false negatives of the faecals).
Give a broad spectrum wormer like ivomec Eprinex >see here for info on that:
http://shilala.homestead.com/ivomec.html

...my collected articles on POO:
http://dlhunicorn.conforums.com/index.cgi?board=poos&action=display&num=1158478320

 

[speckledhen]

Worms do seem more likely, although it never hurts to have cocci meds on hand. From reading the article I posted, seems like its saying that if it's to the point of foamy yellow poop, the cocci infestation is very advanced and the bird would be showing more extreme signs of illness.
I have had cocci in older youngsters, especially in wet warm weather, up to almost laying age, though. Depends on what is in your soil, I suppose.
You will find that several illnesses have similar symptoms, so sometimes you have to eliminate things one by one. For example, worm your girl and see if she improves. If not, and she is still quite ill, then you may want to go with cocci.

 

[dlhunicorn]

up-to-laying age is what I meant when I said "young" birds... I was under the impression that this bird has been laying for some time?
If you have not recently wormed your birds and they are laying then the usual cause associated with yellow foamy poo is worms... (a general supplement would always be indicated with any illness also. ) if it were me I would worm all my birds if you have not done so in a while...after free-ranging all summer it is quite common for birds to have worms in the fall which is why I automatically worm mine this time of year.

 

[MissPrissy]

I have to disagree.

My chickens have been free ranging and on dirt for a year and a half. I have had fecals done and there is no sign of worms whatsoever.

I think living conditions in the US are vastly different from those in Holland and the same care and worming policy does not apply.

I do not routinely treat any of my livestock unless there is a need for it. Routinely treating for a parasite when there may not be a need for it is incredibly stressful on the chicken body.

Anything I plan to eat or any product from which I plan to eat I do not use routine chemical worming on them.

 

[dlhunicorn]

When your livestock shows no signs of illness I would agree particularly if they are livestock and turnover of stock is common. You are lucky that your environment is such that worms are no problem... most are not >>>I will try and refind the research showing over 80 percent of free range poultry suffer from worms.

 

[cmom]

Quote:
I agree with MissPrissy.