My hens are getting sick

[Tricia1272]

How long did you have these chickens and when was the most recent time you brought new birds home?

What antibiotic were you giving the bird that died?

Your 9-week-old chick... Can you get clear pictures of fresh poop from this bird?

Iv had these chickens for a few months now , ex- battery. no new birds apart the 9 week old ones from one day old that I put under a heat lamp. I will get pictures tomorrow of poo they are in there bed now. I’m so grateful for this.

 

[Besotted]

I’m sorry this is happening to you. I have found the Merck’s vet manual and poultry dvm online to be good sources. Poultrydvm.com even has a chicken symptom checker.

many things can cause the symptoms you describe. Gapeworm will respond to flubenol (or any product with levamisole in it) but not ivermectin based wormers-there will be pips (lumps basically) Visible in their throats - but check the resources above.

aspergillum (fungus-it’s basically the black mold found in houses) can cause similar symptoms, but is difficult to treat (most manuals recommend culling). However, I have had luck with essential oils treating aspergillosis-in the scientific literature, there is growing evidence of the effectiveness ofEOs on fungal infections that are not responsive to conventional treatment. I’ve attached a couple of articles here. They are both review articles so u don’t need a science background to follow.

The problem is they don’t really specify dosing in a live animal. So I basically sprinkled clean bedding with the oils so they would breathe it in, put a couple of drops in the water, sprinkled cinnamon in their food (also antifungal), and I think (though I can’t be sure without a control group) I saved one who was acting like the chick who died the night before. (I think they came diseased). The oils with the highest antifungal / antibacterial effects seem to be oregano, eucalyptus, rosemary, cinnamon, thyme,and camphor - based on the literature. If you add them to water, it’s best to use an agricultural surfactant or otherwise the oil just floats on top.

be careful with having them ingest it-EOs are very strong and can do physical harm.

My approach was to try to get them to breathe it in, since they basically have air sacs instead of lungs,hence the sprinkling in the bedding-I also got a diffuser to add more to the air. I was just spitballing but it did seem to help a lot and everyone is doing ok now. I’m a scientist, not a vet or even an experienced chicken owner, so please take this as my own experience rather than specific advice - there are many variables which affect outcomes.

I know how distressing this is, and I offer my experience in the hope that it might help someone else.

i hope things get better for you and your flock.