I came home from a 3-day trip last night and my husband told me that the chicken with the swollen eye had seemed to be doing better. See this post: https://www.backyardchickens.com/forum/viewtopic.php?id=249426 The redness around her eye is better, looks more like normal chicken skin, but still swollen. Crusts up, but saline rinse and antibiotic ointment seem to be keeping it from getting stuck shut any more.
But he also mentioned that some of the chickens had been "napping" in the run on Tuesday and Wednesday. I went out to see them and it was getting dark, so they were pretty "settled". But I could tell there was something strange - several were perched on an OUTSIDE roost (in the run, not in the coop) and one was standing/sleeping on the ground under the roost. They all looked sort of "droopy", but that's hard to evaluate when they are headed to bed. I checked on them after dark, and they were still there, they had not headed in to the coop and apparently slept on the run perch.
When we went into the coop this morning, several were still hanging around the outside roost, and I could see some bloody/mucous-containing poo (yes I poked at it). My husband was out there with me, I also was "disciplining" a rooster, and he went into the coop to see how things were in there. He said, "Honey, drop the rooster..."
I turned around and saw what he was looking at - a dead hen under the coop roost. Then we turned around and there was another over by the nesting boxes.
Two in one night! When we picked one of them up, she was slightly warm still, and when she was moved/compressed some yellowish bubbly snot came out of her nostrils. I could not sense a particular odor other than sort of musty/damp smell.
I need some advice, please. Here are some of the particulars/changes:
Feed recently changed from Country Acres to Nutrena (both layer formulas), right before I left town. Also added a sand/DE dust box with FOOD GRADE DE (it actually says it is a feed additive on the bag). Also put down a bit of pine shavings under their roost and sprinkled a little Stall-Dry in it so hubby would not have to worry about cleaning poo for 3 days hopefully, and I could do it when I got back from my trip.
We have just gotten through a LONG spell of wet weather, and our run drainage isn't the best. So they did slog around in some mud for a bit, but they could always go into the more dry coop. (Edited to add: also just had a cool front come through, temperatures dropped Monday night, it was cooler on Tuesday and Wednesday than it has been around here in a long time. We are in NW Florida, so it's not "cold" but it got chilly at night those nights, probably in the low 60's.) OH - and all chickens are approx 6-1/2 months old.
With the wet weather immediately preceding this, and the bloody poo, I'm thinking Cocci, but that does not explain the yellow snot - that is obviously respiratory. I AM worried that someone may be MESSING WITH our chickens, because we found a piece of paper in the run that looks like part of a package of something, but it doesn't match ANYTHING we use or have used around the chickens.
I have some Sulmet on hand, also vitamins/electrolytes, and I have a packet of Aureomycin (Chlorotetracycline). Can I put BOTH Sulmet and the Aureomycin in the water at the same time? And should I? Or do I need a different antibiotic for respiratory illness? And can I/should I put the vitamin/electrolyte in there, too? It has some probiotics which I know would end up being worthless, but the vitamin part should help...
PLEASE HELP, hey threehorses, Glenda, anyone... HELP!!!!
UPDATE-DIAGNOSIS: Well after I lost the two, called the FL State Vet, he talked me through doing a necroscopy. Checked for Fowl Pox/Wet Pox - no lesions in the mouth or throat (was checking for this because some of my hens had black spots on their combs probably mosquito bites/Dry Pox). Found TWO types of Coccidiosis based on the area of the intestines and the severity - Eimeria Necatrix (which is a very nasty one) and Eimeria Tenella (also very nasty and deadly, sometimes called "cecal coccidiosis"). Additionally, based on the intestinal hemmorhaging, he believes I also have some Clostridium infection, probably secondary due to the severe coccidiosis. I'll post again later on why we (the vet and I) think possibly they suddenly got this - they are 6 months old, were fed medicated chick starter, but now SUDDENLY have 2 strains of severe infection...
And the antibiotic he recommends for the Clostridium is Bacitracin, Neomycin, or soluble (not injectable) penicillin, which NOBODY around here carries - I've been on the phone for 2 hours calling everywhere I can think of.
Two more look like they are about to go, I will probably lose more before this is over. And of course I need to leave town Monday...
But he also mentioned that some of the chickens had been "napping" in the run on Tuesday and Wednesday. I went out to see them and it was getting dark, so they were pretty "settled". But I could tell there was something strange - several were perched on an OUTSIDE roost (in the run, not in the coop) and one was standing/sleeping on the ground under the roost. They all looked sort of "droopy", but that's hard to evaluate when they are headed to bed. I checked on them after dark, and they were still there, they had not headed in to the coop and apparently slept on the run perch.
When we went into the coop this morning, several were still hanging around the outside roost, and I could see some bloody/mucous-containing poo (yes I poked at it). My husband was out there with me, I also was "disciplining" a rooster, and he went into the coop to see how things were in there. He said, "Honey, drop the rooster..."
I turned around and saw what he was looking at - a dead hen under the coop roost. Then we turned around and there was another over by the nesting boxes.
I need some advice, please. Here are some of the particulars/changes:
Feed recently changed from Country Acres to Nutrena (both layer formulas), right before I left town. Also added a sand/DE dust box with FOOD GRADE DE (it actually says it is a feed additive on the bag). Also put down a bit of pine shavings under their roost and sprinkled a little Stall-Dry in it so hubby would not have to worry about cleaning poo for 3 days hopefully, and I could do it when I got back from my trip.
We have just gotten through a LONG spell of wet weather, and our run drainage isn't the best. So they did slog around in some mud for a bit, but they could always go into the more dry coop. (Edited to add: also just had a cool front come through, temperatures dropped Monday night, it was cooler on Tuesday and Wednesday than it has been around here in a long time. We are in NW Florida, so it's not "cold" but it got chilly at night those nights, probably in the low 60's.) OH - and all chickens are approx 6-1/2 months old.
With the wet weather immediately preceding this, and the bloody poo, I'm thinking Cocci, but that does not explain the yellow snot - that is obviously respiratory. I AM worried that someone may be MESSING WITH our chickens, because we found a piece of paper in the run that looks like part of a package of something, but it doesn't match ANYTHING we use or have used around the chickens.
I have some Sulmet on hand, also vitamins/electrolytes, and I have a packet of Aureomycin (Chlorotetracycline). Can I put BOTH Sulmet and the Aureomycin in the water at the same time? And should I? Or do I need a different antibiotic for respiratory illness? And can I/should I put the vitamin/electrolyte in there, too? It has some probiotics which I know would end up being worthless, but the vitamin part should help...
PLEASE HELP, hey threehorses, Glenda, anyone... HELP!!!!
UPDATE-DIAGNOSIS: Well after I lost the two, called the FL State Vet, he talked me through doing a necroscopy. Checked for Fowl Pox/Wet Pox - no lesions in the mouth or throat (was checking for this because some of my hens had black spots on their combs probably mosquito bites/Dry Pox). Found TWO types of Coccidiosis based on the area of the intestines and the severity - Eimeria Necatrix (which is a very nasty one) and Eimeria Tenella (also very nasty and deadly, sometimes called "cecal coccidiosis"). Additionally, based on the intestinal hemmorhaging, he believes I also have some Clostridium infection, probably secondary due to the severe coccidiosis. I'll post again later on why we (the vet and I) think possibly they suddenly got this - they are 6 months old, were fed medicated chick starter, but now SUDDENLY have 2 strains of severe infection...
And the antibiotic he recommends for the Clostridium is Bacitracin, Neomycin, or soluble (not injectable) penicillin, which NOBODY around here carries - I've been on the phone for 2 hours calling everywhere I can think of.
Two more look like they are about to go, I will probably lose more before this is over. And of course I need to leave town Monday...
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