My chicken just died! Can you help me figure out why?

[dtress]

My healthy 3 month old chicken just got very tame, lethargic, fluffed up and then died suddenly in a 24 hour period. I only noticed symptoms for an hour before she died.
I am so worried that whatever caused this might lead to more deaths in the flock. I am new at this and have come up with a few possibilities:

1. Weed killer and lawn fertilizer applied to lawn (where chickens graze) in June and Sept respectively. We've had a heavy rain and a lot of sprinkler use since then.
2. Hydrangea and jasmine accessible to birds about 30 min/day.
3. Didn't wash water and food containers with soap/hot water for a few weeks. Just scrubbed well with cold water.
4. They are sleeping in a coop with 100 watt infared bulb with outside temps at 35-40 at night. I leave the window open about 2 inches for ventilation. (4x4' coop with 6 hens)

Could any of these have caused her death? Anything I should do for the other chickens to keep them safe?

Any advice from the veterans out there would be great.
Thank you!

 

[dawg53]

Quote:
Did you notice what her poop looked like, any blood in it? Fluffed up could be cocci.

 

[dtress]

I just cleaned out the coop and didn't notice any blood. They've been eating medicated feed for 12 weeks. I would hope that would prevent Cocci...
Is this contagious? Thanks for your reply.

 

[dawg53]

Quote:
Medicated feed doesnt guarantee that your birds will be free from one of the 9 types of cocci that chickens can get. It is contageous. Corid will treat cocci, all 9 types. It can be found in the cattle section at your feed store.
BTW, did you see any worms in the poop? Check your birds for lice/mites as well.

 

[dtress]

OK. Thanks for the tips.

 

[ChickensAreSweet]

I agree with dawg53. I'd be on the way to the store to treat them all for coccidiosis at that age. Those are the very symptoms of coccidiosis. They might not all die or show symptoms but it does affect their health because the damage done to the intestines affects future egglaying and health.

You can search BYC for Corid or Sulmet dosages and recommendations...or just ask more questions, or start another thread for dosage if you need help.

In addition, the intestinal cramping they feel hurts. They are very brave and try to hide all pain they feel.

 

[dtress]

The other symptoms she (Amelia, beautiful barred plymouth rock) had was diarrhea and what seemed like severe dehydration ( white sticky mouth/dry skin flakes all over the chair after the seizure that ended it all). If I treat my flock with this antibiotic, and they don't have Coccy, will it affect them negatively? Do you think she could have eaten a toxic plant, or a screw or something? If you are all that sure about the symptoms, then I better take your advice. My poor little kids couldn't take another death that soon. It has been 3 full days since she died and the other birds are showing no symptoms. But from the last post, it seems as if they could still be affected.

This site is great - very helpful. Thank you!

 

[dawg53]

Quote:
Corid isnt an antibiotic, it's a thiamine blocker to kill cocci protozoa. It wouldnt hurt to dose your other birds with it and it wont affect them negatively. As far as plants that are poisonous to chickens, the odds are that she didnt eat any. Chickens instinctively know what to eat and what not to eat.
Corid 9.6% liquid solution dosage is 9.5cc per gallon of water for 5 days.
Corid 20% soluable powder dosage is 1/2 teaspoon per gallon of water for 5 days, make a fresh mixture daily.

 

[ChickensAreSweet]

Corid is used off label and is in the cattle section of the feed store. Here is a link with the label instructions for cattle:
http://www.drugs.com/vet/corid-9-6-oral-solution.html

It is not an antibiotic. It starves the cocci of thiamine (so don't give vitamins in the water when you are giving it). It is amprolium, which is often given in chick starter feed to prevent coccidiosis, but is in such minute quantities that it doesn't always prevent it.

Sulmet is sold in the poultry section of the feed store, and is marketed for chickens. It has the dosage on the bottle. It will also work, but is harder on the systems of the chickens I have read. I have both in my chicken emergency kit. Sulmet will also treat another condition, but I don't remember what.

So if you don't want to use a cattle medication (but it is used in chick feed, so not really just a cattle medication), you can try the sulmet. I haven't given sulmet, but have given corid four times at least, maybe more. We have damp soil here.

Edited to add- no amprolium (Corid) won't negatively affect your chickens. There would be a negative effect if you had them live on it at high doses for a long period of time...thiamine deficiency.

 

[dtress]

Very helpful, thanks. Since my hens won't be laying for several more weeks, I don't see any reason not to treat them with the Corid. I'm sure I can find it as I live in Marin, CA. Lots of cattle around here.

You mentioned wet soil. How is coccy transmitted? Fecal matter? How is this best prevented?

I will get on this tomorrow. And thanks for mentioning the vitamins, as I added those to the water a couple of days ago to boost their immune system.

Thanks for your help.