My Chickens are dying! Please Help!

[chickenlittle32]

Its ok about the spelling..coccidiosis isn't a respiratory disease...it is a intestinal issue called by a parasite that causes bloody stools, fluffed out feathers and wings to droop....what are the symptoms of the respiratory disease?

 

[Bigg Red]

Hcammack, i have been using the cedar since day 1. Does cedar hold disease? or will the effects build up in the birds killing them?

 

[77horses]

Quote:
If they have no bloody poops, then this is an indication that they don't have coccidiosis. I don't have much experience with this disease, but I know that bloody poops is one big indication when a chicken has it. So if they appear to not have coccidioisis, then there's no reason why you should be giving them the tetracycline. I don't know if by you giving them this is killing them, but it possibly could be.

Good luck and I'm sorry for your losses.

 

[Bigg Red]

Its ok about the spelling..coccidiosis isn't a respiratory disease...it is a intestinal issue called by a parasite that causes bloody stools, fluffed out feathers and wings to droop....what are the symptoms of the respiratory disease?





???? I just told the guy at the feed store that my girls had swollen chests, appeared to have labored beathing and were dying. He thought it sounded like coccidiosis (cut and paste) and recommended the antibiotic.

 

[wjallen05]

He thought it sounded like coccidiosis (cut and paste) and recommended the antibiotic.

Why would you give them an antibiotic for coccidiosis? Shouldn't Sulmet be used?

I don't have any suggestions except I would go with the person that said it might be that they need more GRIT in their diet. Sorry for your losses, and I hope you find out what is going on. (you might want to think about having a necropsy done?)​

 

[chickenlittle32]

Honestly, you can't believe what most of the employees say from feed stores...they are just there to make money....and yes, cedar is known to cause breathing problems....and I have read that used for chicken litter it harbors more bacteria then any other litter....

 

[smith2]

I have heard some people say that chickens will eat cedar shavings and they cannot digest them so they die of impacted crops. You need to disect or do a necropsy on one of the dead chickens and see what is inside. Does the chest swelling go down after they have died or not? Sorry to ask such gruesome questions, but I am like you in that I would want to know what was killing them. Check their crops and chests for tumors, etc. Are they really skinny when they die?

I do not ever give my birds drugs of any kind unless I am sure what I am treating. No offense, but some feed store folks know just enough to be dangerous. You might want to find a more reliable source of information before giving your birds drugs, especially if you or others are eating the eggs. Some drugs should not be used in laying chickens.

 

[azygous]

Correct me if I'm wrong, but aren't cedar shavings toxic? I've been told to use pine shavings because of this.

This could be the source of your problem, if it's true.

 

[chickenjim64]

Yes Cedar is toxic. that might be the problem, i have heard on a lot of post's that cedar in a no no

 

[PaulaJoAnne]

Umm, crushed shells are not grit, and cannot act as grit. Its for calcium.
You need to actually get them crushed rock.