Loss of Appetite + bloody poo + empty crop

[t8rtot]

Hi All,

I think that one of our ladies might have caecal coccidiosis... but I was hoping to get some others' feed back.

- Ginger is a Rhode Island Red, approximately 23 weeks old.
- She's been noticeably not eating much, even "treats" - I've maybe noticed her disinterest for a week, but didn't think much of it, until yesterday.
- she's been hanging out apart from other birds for about a week: she'll sit in the lilac bush, while the others are free range dining all over the yard.
- Her crop was empty feeling yesterday - when all of the other girls' were full.
- I picked her up yesterday and she was noticeably lighter than the other RIR of the same age, when only a few weeks ago, she was bigger. (this is when I realized something was wrong, because I was able to pick her up, instead of her running off).
- We have noticed blood (copper colored) in the droppings in the coop, not sure for how long - being novices at this, we thought it was from our first layer, that maybe she had torn something (how dumb are we).
- She'll drink some, and she'll peck at a few things, but doesn't seem to be eating.
- I'm getting some Corid from a friend today, and hoping that will help, and that it's not too late.
- Our run has been damp after a lot of rain the last few weeks. We have straw on the ground in the run (about 300 sq ft) and it hasn't dried out well. The chicks are housed in a chicken coop that we've been trying to keep clean, but the poo will build up sometimes. When we're at home, they're allowed to free range throughout the yard.
- I intend to treat this myself, but can take fecal samples to my Veterinarian if necessary... Could Coccidiosis be diagnosed through feces?

Could this be something else? Halp!

 

[rosco]

you are probably on the right track. i'd use Corid at this point for sure.

the other possibility is usually limited to broilers while you have a pullet. it is Necrotic enteritis if corrid doesn't work in a day.

 

[ChickensAreSweet]

When my chicks had coccidiosis (twice, mind you) the bloody poo went away within 24 hours after starting them on Corid. How is she doing?

Also, here is the "poo page." It is for normal poo vs. abnormal poo.
http://chat.allotment.org.uk/index.php?topic=17568.0

 

[Brahma Mamma]

Make sure all your chickens get Corrid. Usually adult chickens are immune to Cocci but better to be safe than sorry. We were raising 100 Rhode Island Reds and they got Cocci. It's extremely contagious. We lost about 40 of them. Posting here was the only thing that saved our flock! Cocci can also be spread to puppies (not adult dogs). So, if you're going in the coop, keep your boots away from the dogs or sanitize them (use a small tub with vinegar water or bleach water to dip them in). If it is Cocci, after your chicken(s) have recovered, clean the coop and sanitize with vinegar water (not bleach). If you're freaked out about recurrances like me, I just cleaned everything out and then sprayed a whole bottle of straight vinegar on all the surfaces. We haven't had a recurrence since.

Hope your baby gets better!!

 

[IroquoisEgg]

Make sure you don't give too little of the Corid as some do, I've found with Corid it is better to give a bitmore than the recommended dose (for the 1st day) and give it to her by hand with a syringe from infant tylenol or something. The Corid is a Thiamine blocker so it won't hurt to give some extra. I have done this several times and see results in a matter of hours. For the next 4 days dose as directed on package. Also, try and put some Apple Cider Vinegar (ACV) in her waterer it is sposed to help with parasites and other issues. Good luck and make sure she's eating, make some scrambled egg mixed with yogurt for probiotic to help her digestion get on track. She should pull through fine.

 

[t8rtot]

Little Ginger is still not doing well.

The entire flock had Corid for 5 days, and Wazine one day. The entire flock was put on Tetracycline.

Now, I'm concerned she's been overmedicated, and maybe that's why she's not improving.

Her appetite is still not back, and she's so light.

Hoping that taking them off of everything, except electrolytes & Vitamins will help.

Plagued with not enough knowledge. We have an appointment with a veterinarian on Thursday morning.

 

[ChickensAreSweet]

Try giving her some scrambled egg and/or yogurt if you want- those are usually "sick chicken" recommended foods on here.

I hope she gets better soon!!!

 

[IroquoisEgg]

What happened at the vet? I hope she is doing better..my thoughts are with you.

 

[t8rtot]

Thank You!

I learned online that the poo wasn't bloody, it was coral colored eurates - as seen on http://chat.allotment.org.uk/index.php?topic=17568.0
So there wasn't blood. Which is good. I feel really naive about that now.

We went to the veterinarian on Tuesday, because Little Ginger as not even interested in moving around the run. The vet listened to her lungs - they sounded infected. Like maybe she has pneumonia or worms, or a bacterial or viral infection

She was also incredibly dehydrated.

They gave her fluids and took some blood, and checked her poo.

He prescribed Baytril, which she gets twice a day, orally. It's sort of a pain, but I mixed it up with some baby bird hand feeding formula - and she eats that right up. I'm going to ask him today if that's "okay"... He also prescribed a syringe of Ben-A-Bac, and she gets 1/2 gram every other day. And he compounded a little mixture of aspirin for her.

The Vet, Dr. Rauch in Lawrence, KS, said that she had some signs of worms in her stool, and an elevated somethingarother count in her blood that would also indicate worms of some sort. He said otherwise the blood and poo were unremarkable. He asked that I worm her with Wazine, so I did that yesterday.

She seemed much better on Tuesday evening and Wednesday - then yesterday she had a lot of diarrhea and didn't eat as much (this was before the dewormer). She's still drinking though. I'm sort of an overbearing mother right now, because I want her better NOW. I haven't had as much time at home as I would like to check in on her and encourage her to eat.

Yesterday she did some gaping, and it through me into a research frenzy about gapeworm. She did that about 6-8 times - the wide yawning mouth, stretching out her neck. But then I haven't noticed her do it since. But she also shakes her head a lot. Now that I've treated her with Wazine, I have to wait to treat her with another wormer.

I also want to avoid over taxing her system with medicines... I'm sure the Good Doctor will be tired of hearing from me by the time this is over.

 

[t8rtot]

Just an update: The veterinarian had me worm Little Ginger with Panacur the day after her Wazine dose. I think it really kicked whatever she had. She's been doing *great*. She is still on antibiotics and probiotics. I don't think doing the worm treatments so close together is not normally a good thing, but she was getting worse and not better - she's been eating and drinking like a little Piglet.

Thank You everybody, for your help.

Susan