Positive coccidiosis - have many questions

[Warfield00]

My almost 2 year old Buff Orpington hen is very sick. It started a few months ago when I noticed her comb was pale. Otherwise she was fine so I didn't think much of it. (I now know it was a HUGE red flag). Then, about 2 weeks ago she got much worse- very lethargic, eyes closed, puffed up, diarrhea, dirty butt feathers, just all around sick. She also lost alot of weight - she feels no more than feathers and bones. So, we brought her in the house and gave her a warm bath and checked to see if she was egg bound. She wasn't. It was very cold outside, and still is, so she's living indoors with us. My next thought was worms, so I gave her wazine 10 days ago. Ive been giving her lots of treats, vitamin drench, electrolytes, and probiotics. I was going to give her valbazene today but after reading about coccidiosis I decided to take stool sample to vet. It came back with high volume of coccidiosis but no worms. My husband stopped at feed store and got some Corid 9.6 liquid. I'm super happy to have finally gotten a diagnosis! But I still have so many questions....
1. What is the dosage of liquid Corid for an extreme case of coccidiosis? I can find preventative and mild case dosages but not for serious cases.
2. How do I get her to take it if she's barely eating or drinking?
3. When can I expect her to feel better?
4. Should I treat the entire flock even though they are acting\looking\laying fine? Should I take their stool samples to vet?
5. If or when she is feeling better how do I acclimate her to the outdoor temps? Its very cold here in Ohio and will be for a while. I'm not against keeping her in the house if that's what it takes. I just don't want her to get depressed
6. Should I get my hopes up that the Corid will cure her? Is it possible that it won't?

Thank you all so much for reading all this and for any advice you can give me!!!

 

[coach723]

Correct dose of the Corid liquid is 9.5cc (or 2 tsp) per gallon of water, made fresh daily, and it needs to be the only water available, treat for 5 to 7 days. Some treat for another week at a 1/3 dose for severe cases. If she is not drinking on her own you can give the Corid liquid undiluted straight to her at a dose of .1 ml per pound of weight once a day for up to 3 days, until she starts to drink on her own. You can also give her some of the diluted water mixture with a syringe to get her jump started, especially if she's not drinking. It can take several days for them to start looking better depending on how severe it is. Usually the whole flock is treated at the same time since they have all been exposed, but since she has been sick for so long then it's possible that she was weakened by something else which gave the coccidia the opportunity to take hold. Most birds build up a resistance to the coccidia strains that they are exposed to and other illness can weaken their immune systems and cause them to become ill with it. It's up to you, at this point I would just separate her and treat her and watch the rest for any signs of illness and if you see it, treat them all. Corid has always been a successful treatment for me, but I've heard of some strains becoming resistant and requiring a sulfa antibiotic to take care of, I've not experienced that. Corid is very safe, so you don't need to worry that it will do any harm.
After you finish treatment, giving a probiotic can help get her gut back in balance. I'm in Florida so extreme cold is not usually an issue, but I'd acclimate her slowly over a few days, once she's feeling well she should be able to regulate her temperature again. If she's lonely until then you can try giving her a mirror to see if it helps. If she's away from the flock too long she will be 'new' in their eyes and she may have to win her place back. Here is a link with more info on coccidiosis: https://www.backyardchickencoops.co...ickens-prevention-symptoms-and-treatment-tips

 

[Warfield00]

Thank you so much for your in-depth reply coach723! Could her immune system be out of whack due to brooding? She lost some weight the last time she went broody. Maybe she didn't gain it back quick enough before the cold weather hit. She never really found her place back in her flock after brooding was over. Maybe if she fully recovers we can place our new chicks with her (after quarantine) and they can be her new flock...... just hopeful thinking.
Thank you!!!!!

 

[coach723]

It's hard to say why she was susceptible, all I can suggest is to treat her for this and try to build her strength and immune system back up, and keep an eye on her to see if there may be something else going on. I've found that some birds just have weaker immune systems for whatever reason, and lots of things can happen especially as they get older, and any stress can trigger something. Keeping stresses down, and feeding a balanced diet can help a lot. Since she's two I assume she molted, which could have contributed to the weight loss also, it's really hard on them sometimes. If you are feeding a layer feed consider switching to a flock raiser with a higher protein level (18-20%) and that may help, be sure to offer oyster shell in a separate feeder all the time for calcium as the non layer feed will not have enough for those that are laying, those that need it will take what they need. Older birds and birds that are not laying can actually get too much calcium when fed layer feed exclusively, which can cause health problems as they get older. And keep treats to 10% of the diet or less, as that can contribute to dietary imbalance or not enough protein also. Good luck with her and hope she makes a full recovery.

 

[Warfield00]

Thanks again coach723 for all the great advice! I REALLY appreciate it.
I have a new issue going on with her now. I've been trying to get her up and eating/drinking every few hours. Late last night she started acting almost paralyzed - head turned almost all the way around and cocked to the side, one wing about half way extended, and leg on same side straight out in front of her. She was falling over. Same thing today. When she's sitting sleeping she is fine. But as soon as I wake her, she starts acting off balance and falls over. She will still eat if I put the food right in front of her. Then she slowly makes her way back to the corner to sleep. What could be going on???? I found 1 article online that said coccidiosis and paralysis MAY be related. It is possible to recover from paralysis?

 

[coach723]

Unfortunately there are many illnesses that can present with the same type of symptom and it can be hard to narrow it down. I've heard of neurological symptoms occurring with all kinds of issues, and this certainly sounds neurological. My first suggestion would be vitamin deficiency and to supplement with the B's, E, and selenium to see if there is any improvement, HOWEVER you should not supplement thiamine (B1) during treatment with Corid as it could reduce the effectiveness of the medication. There are many possible underlying issues, a couple being Marek's disease, or lymphoid leukosis which can also present with paralysis in some cases. Those are just possibilities, and I'm not an expert on either. Some possibilities really don't have treatment options, so you provide supportive care, do the treatments that may help (like vitamins) and see how it progresses. Since you had her tested and know that coccidiosis is there then you really need to finish treating for that. If you have an avian vet and can swing paying for some more labs they may be able to help, but sometimes, as in cases of Marek's, the definitive diagnosis only comes after a necropsy is done. If you can post a video of her movements it may help get further suggestions from others (post on youtube and put the link in your thread). I'm very sorry you are having so much trouble and would recommend that you think about having a necropsy done if she doesn't make it so that you know for sure what happened.

 

[Warfield00]

Thanks once again coach723. It is very frustrating not knowing what exactly to do to help her. Since starting the Corid she actually seems worse. She pretty much just sleeps until I wake her and talk her into eating. If she doesn't make it I'll definitely look into a necropsy. I have some amoxicillin on hand. Should I give her some? Or maybe try a broad spectrum antibiotic? Unfortunately the only vitamin I have is a drench that contains thiamine.

 

[casportpony]

Can you post some pictures of her poop?

 

[Warfield00]

Can you post some pictures of her poop?

I certainly will. I just cleaned out the kennel she's in so I will have to wait for a new poop. They are getting much less frequent

 

[Warfield00]