My hen is skinny and smells!

[chixndux]

Merry Christmas everybody! I know everyone is busy but I would greatly appreciate if somebody would take time out of their day to tell me what is wrong with one of my chickens. She is a red sex link, not yet a year old. She has not been laying and her cloaca looks very pale. She looks to be very skinny and has lost a few feathers. Her breast bone is very pointy and there is hardly any meat there compared to my other hens. She does not act lethargic, but she has not cleaned herself off after rolling in the dirt and is filthy and smells very bad. Her comb is still red and she seems to be in pretty good spirits. However she is usually skittish but allowed me to hold her without a complaint, and actually relaxed and fell asleep. Her poop is fairly solid, but I have noticed dark brown goopy poo in the coop. Her fluffy butt feathers are covered in feces. What could this be? None of my other birds look like this. She is pretty high up on the pecking order so I don't think she is being bullied. Help!! Thank you!

 

[Eggcessive]

If possible, I would take several fresh droppings in to your regular local vet to test for worms and coccidiosis. Coccidiosis is best treated with Corid (amprollium) 1 1/2 tsp per gallon of the powder in a gallon of water for 5 days. Valbazen, Safeguard liquid goat wormer, or Panacur equine paste are good for worms, and you can ask me for dosages. Clean off her vent area with trimming extra dirty feathers or give her a quick butt bath, keeping her warm and dried off afterward. Put some poultry vitamins in her water and add a bit of plain yogurt in her food for probiotics. Merry Christmas to you as well.

 

[csaylorchickens]

I'm having this problem as well. My hen looks like crap. Pale comb, loosing weight, not very energetic as usual and isn't laying. Im.betting it's coccidosis. Treating the whole.flock k is a good idea. Even though the rest look great. I have had this problem now twice in the past 2 years. Simple treatment in their wafter for 5 days helps with corrid. With more rainy weather it seems to happen.

 

[Isaac 0]

Cocci loves to live in Muddy Environments.So i would try to control the Muddy coop.

 

[csaylorchickens]

Cocci loves to live in Muddy Environments.So i would try to control the Muddy coop.

I put River sand in my coop and run it has helped a lot. Mabye bigger pebbled sand

 

[Isaac 0]

How big is the run?

Sand increases the chance of a cocci outbreak.

 

[azygous]

How big is the run?

Sand increases the chance of a cocci outbreak.

Do you want to explain how sand encourages cocci? Maybe post links to scientific articles on how sand links to cocci? Or did you just hear this from an acquaintance?

 

[Isaac 0]

"SAND IN YOUR RUN/COOP/BROODER? (click HERE to listen) Peter Brown, aka The Chicken Doctor just explained how having sand in your run may increase the chance of having a coccidiosis breakout!!! Great show today about managing litter, bedding, and runs to control coccidiosis!"



http://fresheggsdaily.com/2013/07/the-real-scoop-on-using-sand-in-your.html




Another long-time chicken keeper said "Sand is known to harbor e.Coli and coccidiosis. The combination in a brooder of sand, feces and the warm, moist environment under a heat lamp is a disaster waiting to happen. It's the perfect climate for all types of bacteria and pathogens to grow very rapidly and sicken chicks."

In some cases, the pathogen will multiply out of control for the reasons stated above. In other cases, the sharp edges of the sand actually kill all the coccidia microbes, which can be just as bad since that prevents the chicks from being exposed to even small amounts, which they need in order to build an immunity.

 

[chickens really]

I use sand in my Coop and Run.....It stays dry.......Their are opinions from A TO Z on this site.....As long as you keep things clean and dry, Coccoid will not thrive.......



Cheers!

 

[azygous]

"SAND IN YOUR RUN/COOP/BROODER? (click HERE to listen) Peter Brown, aka The Chicken Doctor just explained how having sand in your run may increase the chance of having a coccidiosis breakout!!! Great show today about managing litter, bedding, and runs to control coccidiosis!"



http://fresheggsdaily.com/2013/07/the-real-scoop-on-using-sand-in-your.html




Another long-time chicken keeper said "Sand is known to harbor e.Coli and coccidiosis. The combination in a brooder of sand, feces and the warm, moist environment under a heat lamp is a disaster waiting to happen. It's the perfect climate for all types of bacteria and pathogens to grow very rapidly and sicken chicks."

In some cases, the pathogen will multiply out of control for the reasons stated above. In other cases, the sharp edges of the sand actually kill all the coccidia microbes, which can be just as bad since that prevents the chicks from being exposed to even small amounts, which they need in order to build an immunity.

Thank you for posting that, although it's far from being a scientific research article backed by studies conducted under the scientific method. Reading through it, the arguments are one-sided, only backed up by very scanty anecdotal evidence. Many of us have been using sand in coops, runs and brooders for close to a decade or longer, and have seen no evidence of sand harboring cocci. I personally have never had a case of cocci in my decade of chicken keeping and I've had a number of fecal tests performed by an agricultural lab to confirm this.

Chicks have thrived on sand, and common sense would dictate to anyone with half a brain cell to provide shade in the form of a covered run in summer and cover the run against moisture buildup from snow and rain during those seasons. I can't see how sand in coops can get so wet as to freeze to the hardness of concrete. By the way, as much as I hate heat lamps, sand at 95 F isn't going to burn. It would need to be much, much hotter.

As with anything, it would depend on the quality of individual management practices, no matter what medium one uses in coop, run, and brooder, whether disease will flourish.

The author refutes their own statement that sand does not absorb heat by dwelling on how hot sand can get under a summer sun and a heat lamp, not even pointing out that the sources of overheating are easily mitigated by not using a heat lamp over sand as well as providing shade over a run in summer. Yes, chicks eat sand, but they also eat shavings. Whether a chick develops crop issues depends on the individual chick. There is no more evidence that sand causes brooder deaths than pine shavings.

Just another example of how anyone can say anything with ample authority and conviction and it will sound believable. This is why evidence in the form of numerous people who have years of anecdotal experience is a much better source of information than a single poorly sourced article. Of course, a scientific study backed up by scientific evidence is even better.