Projectile diarrhea - need some advice

[lhkpdx]

Hey all,

I've got 5 chickens and a few weeks ago I started noticing a lot of watery poop. About six weeks prior to that they moved into a new coop/run so I thought it was a good idea to treat with Corid. The watery poop cleared up but a couple of days later I noticed most of them were shaking their heads and I heard a few sneezes. No swelling, mucous, coughing, etc. I then treated for 5 days with Denagard and gave them a dose of Ivermec on the back of their neck to knock back any potential mites.

They're all laying and look pretty good except I still see some head shaking (flicking) and a few days into the Denagard treatment, the diarrhea came back for one of my hens and it's not getting any better. Her color is a little pale as well. I picked her up twice today and both times, the pressure of my hand on her abdomen sent the watery poop squirting out. I find big sometimes trailing wet spots in the sand with a thin layer of normal poop and urates on top.

I'm wondering if this sounds familiar to anyone? Not sure if I should treat again with Corid (I also have Trimethoprim/Sulfa), switch to a broad spectrum antibiotic, or start combining a few things? The head flicking has me concerned it's respiratory, but the diarrhea seems to be the more urgent problem. I figure it'll be no time before the others start having watery poop again. I have not used Safeguard since summer - could this be worms that the Ivermec doesn't take care of?

• They're now getting probiotics and electrolytes since the Denagard treatment is done
• They eat organic pellets and fermented scratch 'n peck
• For scratch, I throw around the scratch and peck food with some wheat berries and on really cold evenings, I'll add a handful of cracked corn
• For a treat, a handful of dried mealworms - usually at end of day
• I change their water out everyday
• It's winter here in the PNW - 40-50 degrees during day, 20-40's at night; very wet winter
• They have an 8 x 8 (8' high) coop with a sweeter heater over their high roost for cold nights (have had it on during suspected illness) and a pop door to a 13 x 10 covered and predator-proof run with sand floor. They have sand under their roost and I pick up poop from there and the run every day; deep litter method on the coop floor although they're usually over their roost or outside so not much happening there
• They haven't been free-ranging at all this winter -- lots of hungry hawks and eagles
• The sand in the run is pretty wet from ground water coming up from the ground underneath so they're scratching around in wet sand all day

 

[azygous]

You really do seem to be on top of it. The only thing I might recommend is taking a sample of the runny poop from your listless hen to a vet for a fecal float test. The flotation test is inexpensive and will tell you if parasites are present such as coccidia and maybe worms that escaped from the prior treatment. If the float test is positive for coccidia, that could explain the malaise of the others.

If you can afford it, the vet can also run a gram stain test for bacteria strains. This will identify a possible bacterial infection that you can then treat with the proper antibiotic.

And I always recommend checking the crop in the morning. It seems so obvious, but it's one of the most common illnesses in poultry and one people very often forget about.

 

[Wyorp Rock]

I've got 5 chickens and a few weeks ago I started noticing a lot of watery poop. About six weeks prior to that they moved into a new coop/run so I thought it was a good idea to treat with Corid. The watery poop cleared up but a couple of days later I noticed most of them were shaking their heads and I heard a few sneezes. No swelling, mucous, coughing, etc. I then treated for 5 days with Denagard and gave them a dose of Ivermec on the back of their neck to knock back any potential mites.

They're all laying and look pretty good except I still see some head shaking (flicking) and a few days into the Denagard treatment, the diarrhea came back for one of my hens and it's not getting any better. Her color is a little pale as well. I picked her up twice today and both times, the pressure of my hand on her abdomen sent the watery poop squirting out. I find big sometimes trailing wet spots in the sand with a thin layer of normal poop and urates on top.

I'm wondering if this sounds familiar to anyone? Not sure if I should treat again with Corid (I also have Trimethoprim/Sulfa), switch to a broad spectrum antibiotic, or start combining a few things? The head flicking has me concerned it's respiratory, but the diarrhea seems to be the more urgent problem

• They eat organic pellets and fermented scratch 'n peck
• For scratch, I throw around the scratch and peck food with some wheat berries and on really cold evenings, I'll add a handful of cracked corn
• For a treat, a handful of dried mealworms - usually at end of day

They have an 8 x 8 (8' high) coop with a sweeter heater over their high roost for cold nights (have had it on during suspected illness) and a pop door to a 13 x 10 covered and predator-proof run with sand floor.

The sand in the run is pretty wet from ground water coming up from the ground underneath so they're scratching around in wet sand all day

I'm sorry you're having troubles.
I quickly read a thread you made back in November where you were having some problems.
Did that get resolved completely?
You moved all the chickens into a new coop and run - did you just move locations because of prior illness, better location, more room, etc.?
https://www.backyardchickens.com/threads/need-advice-re-potential-fungal-infection.1340140/
This hen - when is the last time she laid an egg?
How old is she?
When you feel her abdomen do you notice any swelling/bloat or fluid - if you cupped your hand under her vent between the legs is it hard or tight like a drum?
Is she fat in her bottom?

Is her crop emptying overnight?

Denagard treats Mycoplasma only, is that what you have in your flock?
Have you looked inside the ears and inside the beaks of the birds that are flicking their head to see if there are mites (in the ears) or infection?

To help with loose stool some folks recommend giving a little white rice with buttermilk.

 

[lhkpdx]

I kept the chicken that had trouble early fall in the house for a little over 3 months, all told. It was a long, slow recovery but she finally got over her molt, gained weight, and she went back to being top bird even though she's 3 lbs and all the others are 5. It might have been multiple things, but it was the fungal infection that took so long. I rotated anti-fungals and started using activated oxine. I put her out when I started treating with Corid because I thought if it's got anything to do with the new "ground", she should get it to.

I moved them because they were essentially living in a dark, covered run and couldn't get out of the wind. They now have a proper coop, protected from elements and predators and closer to the house. I finally sleep at night

I treated with Denagard to see if it would help since MG is still suspect for one [of several] ailments that my housed chicken had, but doesn't appear it was the right choice since it created no discernible change.

The hen with diarrhea is still laying every day. I checked her crop this morning and it was empty ... there's a little "squish" in her lower abdomen, between her legs. I did not bring fermented food this morning - just pellets - and she doesn't seem interested in it at all. She's drinking a lot of water (added 2 tbsp to 1 gallon this morning). Ears, eyes, nose all look clear.

 

[Wyorp Rock]

She's drinking a lot of water

How does her breath smell?
Have you looked inside her beak for any canker/yellow/white cheesy material?

 

[azygous]

I rotated anti-fungals and started using activated oxine.

This concerns me since actual "activated Oxine" (activated with citric acid) is deadly to poultry and harmful to humans in it's liquid state. It's not safe for any living creature until fully dried. How did you "activate" your Oxine? Or are you confusing it with activated copper sulfate?

 

[lhkpdx]

How does her breath smell?
Have you looked inside her beak for any canker/yellow/white cheesy material?

How does her breath smell?
Have you looked inside her beak for any canker/yellow/white cheesy material?

Mouth is clear and I don't smell a thing.

 

[lhkpdx]

This concerns me since actual "activated Oxine" (activated with citric acid) is deadly to poultry and harmful to humans in it's liquid state. It's not safe for any living creature until fully dried. How did you "activate" your Oxine? Or are you confusing it with activated copper sulfate?

I was about 2.5 months in on treating this bird and re-read this article on oxine use (it's definitely not the only one with similar message). After I watched her trying to take a dust bath on my rug at least half a dozen times I figured I had everything to gain and nothing to lose because her quality of life as a chicken was awful - living in the house, in a small cage, away from her flock. I could see she just wanted to be a chicken and I started to feel that I had been intervening for too long. https://www.facebook.com/wilsonsexh...most-the-information-the-fa/1186080918155708/

Turns out it was not deadly for my hen. In fact, I can say without hesitation there was a dramatic increase in healing with use. I won't make a habit of using it in this manner, and the only advice I'd give to someone else is to do your own research, but I also won't hesitate to use [freshly activated] again as a last resort.

 

[azygous]

I'm sorry, but I won't use your Facebook link. I refuse to use Facebook on principle.

I'm merely curious about your claim to have used activated Oxine. Did you activate it with citric acid and how exactly did you use it on your hen?

 

[Wyorp Rock]

Carol, I hope the PDF works, I copied the FB article/post so you can read it. I think that particular link may actually be public and you don't need a FB account but I'm not sure.

Either way, I am adding the link to this post as a reference for those that want to go there instead. https://www.facebook.com/wilsonsexh...most-the-information-the-fa/1186080918155708/