MYSTERY DIAGNOSIS

[Bantam Chicken]

d'Uccle breed bantam roo. Lethargic. 'Puffed up' body language at times. Appears to be 'sleepy' and stationary when rest of flock are actively foraging. Feces appears normal, if somewhat dry. Comb/wattles are PALE, and have been for over a week. Comb does not appear 'scaly', per se. No other visible markings, lesions, scabs or swelling. Not a serious loss of appetite, yet somewhat thinner/emaciated regardless. Doesn't drink as much water as he probably should. We have treated for coccidiosis for the past 5 days, putting a considerable dose of Corid in his water. Has moments of 'normal' behavior and energy, followed by bouts of the aforementioned. We're stumped. Help.

 

[Free Spirit]

When was he last wormed?

 

[Bantam Chicken]

Its has been some time since he was wormed.

 

[Bantam Chicken]

His feces is a bit runny today -white/yellowish. As you can see, his comb is very pale, almost colorless compared to the healthy hen behind the chicken wire. No VISIBLE sign of worms.

 

[Free Spirit]

That does not look like a healthy poop. I'll bet he is pretty dehydrated too and may not have drank enough of the Corid to be effective. How much was a considerable amount of Corid in his water? Not all worms can be seen as some are very small (threadworm) and some remain in areas such as the gizzard for example. Wormy chickens can present with these symptoms as well as cocci. Not all wormers treat all worms either so it's important to get the right one that will treat most worms. Safeguard (equine paste or liquid goat) or Panacur are the best to treat most worms.

Are you able to get him to a vet? That would be best but I understand that not all flock owners have a vet that will treat poultry. Barring that you will need to get him in an area isolated from the flock with a air temp of around 85 degrees. If you can, provide him with warm (not hot) water to drink. I've found my birds prefer to drink warmer water when they were ill more which will help if he is dehydrated.

Can you get a weight on him? Get a baseline weight so that meds can be accurately dosed for optimum results.

Until you begin any other courses of treatment then you may want to add some electrolytes and probiotics to his water. Probiotics are very important for a sick bird. You can feed him yogurt if he will eat it as it contains probiotics.

 

[Bantam Chicken]

Thank you Free Spirit for your time and advice. We provided the prescribed amount of Corid for poultry, although unsure how much water/per day he is supposed to ingest with the Corid/H2O mixture. We gave him Corid for 5 days and have seen no improvement in his behavior. We will take your recommendations and see how he does with it.