Multiple hens with diarrhea

[uisceros]

Hi all,

I currently have three hens with diarrhea, and I’m just trying to figure out if what I’m doing is helping or not.

Originally I only had one with mustard yellow liquid poop. I gave her aquamox 250mg daily, and added corrid to her water.

Then a second one got diarrhea. Not yellow, but definitely liquid-ey. Now a third has come down with it. The third seems the worst off.

This is a bantam Brahma. She is about to 10 months old, and did lay in the fall, but hasn’t all winter.

Her entire backside is wet. She’s constantly picking at it, so it must be bothering her. The poop is whitish, but mostly clear liquid. Any ideas??

I’ve been giving the three of them aquamox 250mg, corrid, and probiotics/electrolytes in their water. All are eating, but definitely seem less than happy about life. The second hen has stopped laying (despite being a prolific layer).

Is this worms? Coccidiosis? Something else? I’m at a loss. This is my first flock, and while I can bring them to a vet, I am not in a an area where there are a lot of vets knowledgeable in farm animals.

I bought some pour on Ivermectin last night so I’ll try that as well tomorrow.

Thanks in advance!

 

[Wyorp Rock]

Can you post photos of the poop, then hens and their vents?

What do you feed, including treats?
How old are they?

A photo of the label of your probiotics/electrolytes would be good - does this contain any B1(Thiamine)? If so, then omit these while giving the Corid.
Corid liquid dose is 2tsp or Corid Powder dose is 1 1/2 tsp per gallon of drinking water given for 5-7 days.

Any lice or mites? Ivermectin can be helpful for external parasites like mites, but if you are wanting to deworm then use a dewormer like Fenbendazole (Safeguard) or Albendazole (Valbazen). Ivermectin is useful, but it's not that effective as a dewormer as it used to be.

 

[uisceros]

Can you post photos of the poop, then hens and their vents?

What do you feed, including treats?
How old are they?

A photo of the label of your probiotics/electrolytes would be good - does this contain any B1(Thiamine)? If so, then omit these while giving the Corid.
Corid liquid dose is 2tsp or Corid Powder dose is 1 1/2 tsp per gallon of drinking water given for 5-7 days.

Any lice or mites? Ivermectin can be helpful for external parasites like mites, but if you are wanting to deworm then use a dewormer like Fenbendazole (Safeguard) or Albendazole (Valbazen). Ivermectin is useful, but it's not that effective as a dewormer as it used to be.

Absolutely! I’ll take a picture tomorrow of their vents and poop.

I feed them Purina Layena pellets. Right now they’re on a high protein one (due to feather pecking), but previously they were on omega plus. I also give them Purina scratch grains as a treat, and a mix of mealworms and black soldier fly larvae as a treat as well. They get fresh veggies occasionally too - zucchini, yellow squash, and cauliflower most often. I don’t feed them leftovers or anything I don’t vet first to make sure it’s okay for chickens.

I give them Sav-a-chick probiotics and electrolytes. I don’t believe those contain any B1.

I’ll look into getting them the Safeguard - I actually tried looking for it at my tractor supply but they didn’t have it. I’m also dealing with random bald spots on them so I suspect mites as well. I figured the ivermectin couldn’t hurt in general.

 

[uisceros]

Here’s the picture of Lily’s vent:

Lily is the one who had a wet backside and was picking at it.

This is new - it wasn’t swollen before. She’s also crying out today whenever she’s trying to poop.

I am currently worried she is egg bound. She hasn’t laid an egg in months (both of my Brahma bantams stopped laying for the winter).

I gave her a warm water bath, and applied Vaseline on/in her vent. I didn’t feel an egg, but it almost seemed like she had scabs or dried poop inside her vent.

Right now I have her in a dark room to see if she’ll pass anything. Her crop is full, so at least I know she’s eating.

 

[texsuze]

I would hold off on doing multiple interventions--only try one thing at a time, else you won't know which de-wormer/drug/procedure had the positive impact. Can you send the photo to your vet for some input?

 

[uisceros]

I would hold off on doing multiple interventions--only try one thing at a time, else you won't know which de-wormer/drug/procedure had the positive impact. Can you send the photo to your vet for some input?

Thanks!! I know I’m panicking, but I recently lost my rooster to Marek’s (different flock, Lily has been vaccinated, and not showing the same symptoms), so I’m just worried.

As of now the only different thing I’ve done is bathe her and applied Vaseline and a mixture of hydrocortisone and preparation H to her vent to see if that helps the swelling. Otherwise she’s only been treated with corid and aquamox like the other two chickens I have with diarrhea.

If she’s still having issues tomorrow morning I’m going to bring her to an emergency vet that sees birds. I’m in the suburbs of Massachusetts, so not a lot of chicken vets here (otherwise I would send a picture to my vet).

 

[Eggcessive]

Can you check her try to remove any of the fecal material each day? Do you provide grit for them to help with digestion? I would stop any food other than layer feed and water. Give some chilled coconut oil cut into small pieces for her to peck. That or a few other oils can help soften the poop if she is constipated. Does her vent smell particularly bad? Is her crop emptying overnight?

 

[uisceros]

Can you check her try to remove any of the fecal material each day? Do you provide grit for them to help with digestion? I would stop any food other than layer feed and water. Give some chilled coconut oil cut into small pieces for her to peck. That or a few other oils can help soften the poop if she is constipated. Does her vent smell particularly bad? Is her crop emptying overnight?

I can definitely try removing the fecal matter daily, that’s no problem!

Yes, they have grit and oyster shells in separate little containers if they want any.

I’ll do that - just water and layer feed. I have an all-flock crumble I use for my Seramas, so I’ll see if I can make her a mash. I’ll give her coconut oil as well.

No, her vent doesn’t smell particularly bad, but I’ll keep an eye on that.

I’ll check her crop tomorrow to see if it empties.

Thanks for the advice!

 

[Wyorp Rock]

Can you check her try to remove any of the fecal material each day? Do you provide grit for them to help with digestion? I would stop any food other than layer feed and water. Give some chilled coconut oil cut into small pieces for her to peck. That or a few other oils can help soften the poop if she is constipated. Does her vent smell particularly bad? Is her crop emptying overnight?

I agree, I'd try to remove the fecal material daily and see how that goes.

 

[uisceros]

Quick update on Lily - I took her to an avian vet and she is massively constipated (luckily not egg bound). What looked like diarrhea was actually just her trying to poop.

She’s on three meds and is currently hating life, but hopefully will get better soon!

The other two girls with diarrhea seem okay for now, but I’ll keep watching them.