HarpersHarbor21
In the Brooder
- Apr 14, 2021
- 6
- 3
- 12
Hey everyone! I could use some help with trying to pinpoint what might be affecting our small group of chickens. I’ll go into detail about the situation below. Any and all help / advice you have to offer is very much welcome.
So, we recently received two 5 and half week old pullets from a small business called Fox and Hen Fine Poultry Co. And upon arrival, these girls looked healthy. But not long after they began sneezing, and our barred pullet seemed sleepy and not very active. We decided to take some precautions and proceeded to keep them quarantined from our other two adult hens. The next day, the barred girl had expelled a watery bloody mess. I haven’t seen blood since...but she still has watery droppings and the other day I thought I saw what looked similar to small white worms in the droppings. Sadly, our two adult hens started showing the same symptoms around this time, sneezing and watery droppings, as well as wanting to sleep a lot. They also lay on their sides, possibly trying to relieve pressure from the affected area.
We moved them indoors and have them quarantined.
I started adding AVC to the water and diatomaceous earth to the feed while we wait for Marek’s Safeguard to arrive. I also ordered Corid just as a back up and some poultry electrolytes.
While I’m pretty sure they have worms, what’s the fine line between that and Coccidia? Will there always be blood in the droppings for Coccidia? Can that happen if they have worms? Why didn’t we initially see the worms in the bloody watery puddle she expelled? Is it safe to treat them for both at the same time? What type of worms could they have?
I’ve had chickens for five years and never had a worm issue until now, and I have a ton of questions. I really hope someone can lend some friendly advice. Thank you!
NOTE: We would have immediately taken them to our avian vet but they aren’t taking any new patients until next month.
So, we recently received two 5 and half week old pullets from a small business called Fox and Hen Fine Poultry Co. And upon arrival, these girls looked healthy. But not long after they began sneezing, and our barred pullet seemed sleepy and not very active. We decided to take some precautions and proceeded to keep them quarantined from our other two adult hens. The next day, the barred girl had expelled a watery bloody mess. I haven’t seen blood since...but she still has watery droppings and the other day I thought I saw what looked similar to small white worms in the droppings. Sadly, our two adult hens started showing the same symptoms around this time, sneezing and watery droppings, as well as wanting to sleep a lot. They also lay on their sides, possibly trying to relieve pressure from the affected area.
We moved them indoors and have them quarantined. I started adding AVC to the water and diatomaceous earth to the feed while we wait for Marek’s Safeguard to arrive. I also ordered Corid just as a back up and some poultry electrolytes.
While I’m pretty sure they have worms, what’s the fine line between that and Coccidia? Will there always be blood in the droppings for Coccidia? Can that happen if they have worms? Why didn’t we initially see the worms in the bloody watery puddle she expelled? Is it safe to treat them for both at the same time? What type of worms could they have?
I’ve had chickens for five years and never had a worm issue until now, and I have a ton of questions. I really hope someone can lend some friendly advice. Thank you!
NOTE: We would have immediately taken them to our avian vet but they aren’t taking any new patients until next month.
