Questions re: roundworms!I want to treat ASAP. Help! I have broody hens

[CCinVT]

How's everything going for you?

Hi!!! Thank you for checking in on me...
All chicken feet are healed, and good! The two I was watching healed, and fell off. There was a large one on Abe, with no swelling. That one took the longest, but I just spritzed it clean every morning with V, and checked it. It fell off like a deep scab. It was weird, but is totally gone now. I am thinking maybe picking up the yard from rocks, and switching their bedding back to wood chips from pine needles (which sometimes had sticks) might have helped their feet. The plywood floor is pretty smooth. not splintery. I also tried to pick up any scrap fencing or sharp this & that I found around the yard. This spring we also moved a lot of the rough wood we milled out of the back yard area. I think that could have been a source for splinters.

I had called around to local vets regarding chicken poop tests... The "other" local vet that said online that they took poultry apparently only applies if you have "1 or 2 pet chickens not a whole flock". So I ended up taking samples to my regular cat/dog vet who said he could test them for worms. I have 30 total birds, and he told me to only bring a few samples. I took in 7. I labeled Popcorn, Bernie, and Honey. The 3 birds that seemed the most unwell to me. The rest were general population samples including some from the pullets.
I was waiting to update when I got back the poop tests... which was today.
Here's where i'm at, and I totally want feedback because i'm not sure what to think on it... The message that the vet left was that my chickens have coccidia. When I returned the call The office girl said that Bernie had coccidia... She then passed me on to the vet when I asked what that meant I needed to do. The vet told me that if one has it they all do. He then went on to say that it is something that all chickens carry in their systems. That when the number/amount gets too high that's when it would become a problem. He said to bring in another sampling in 1 month to see if they have gotten worse, but that right now their amount wasn't too much. He also said that it is hard to totally get rid of anyways, because it is something that most chickens have some amount of in their systems...but if I had only one chicken he would treat it, but I have 30 birds.... So i'm not sure what to think. The weather is certainly cooling off. Most of the birds are molting, and getting feathers back where rooster lovin had made bare backs before they were separated.., 2-3 of the girls aren't getting feathers back yet. Is it possible they are just zapped after the summer they've had? would a weak chicken not molt? Are they going to have to wear jackets this winter? I am determined since loosing Vern to get them all back up to their best selves, and I deffinately don't want to loose any more unnecessarily.

I've been giving them Big Ole Bird chicken vitamins, and they seem to really like it. I think eggs are starting to get harder. Bernie was the one dropping them on the poop board. They aren't as paper thin, but they are still thinner than the others. She is the smallest. I have been drying egg shells, and adding those crushed into the oyster shell dish, and they seem to be eating more of that now. I also made a chicken feeder out of a 5 gal bucket so they weren't eating feed off the ground. They always dumped the dishes I used before. I only made one bucket feeder to start with to see how it worked, but it seems to do the trick great. I'm gonna make them a few more.

Rooster coop/hen house addition is almost done. Which is great because i'm sick of carrying roosters over to their pen every morning. It has taken a while because we had to mill the wood first, but the roof, and door is going on this week so hopefully this weekend it will be chicken ready! No mites... So that's always good!

 

[ronott1]

Hi!!! Thank you for checking in on me...
All chicken feet are healed, and good! The two I was watching healed, and fell off. There was a large one on Abe, with no swelling. That one took the longest, but I just spritzed it clean every morning with V, and checked it. It fell off like a deep scab. It was weird, but is totally gone now. I am thinking maybe picking up the yard from rocks, and switching their bedding back to wood chips from pine needles (which sometimes had sticks) might have helped their feet. The plywood floor is pretty smooth. not splintery. I also tried to pick up any scrap fencing or sharp this & that I found around the yard. This spring we also moved a lot of the rough wood we milled out of the back yard area. I think that could have been a source for splinters.

I had called around to local vets regarding chicken poop tests... The "other" local vet that said online that they took poultry apparently only applies if you have "1 or 2 pet chickens not a whole flock". So I ended up taking samples to my regular cat/dog vet who said he could test them for worms. I have 30 total birds, and he told me to only bring a few samples. I took in 7. I labeled Popcorn, Bernie, and Honey. The 3 birds that seemed the most unwell to me. The rest were general population samples including some from the pullets.
I was waiting to update when I got back the poop tests... which was today.
Here's where i'm at, and I totally want feedback because i'm not sure what to think on it... The message that the vet left was that my chickens have coccidia. When I returned the call The office girl said that Bernie had coccidia... She then passed me on to the vet when I asked what that meant I needed to do. The vet told me that if one has it they all do. He then went on to say that it is something that all chickens carry in their systems. That when the number/amount gets too high that's when it would become a problem. He said to bring in another sampling in 1 month to see if they have gotten worse, but that right now their amount wasn't too much. He also said that it is hard to totally get rid of anyways, because it is something that most chickens have some amount of in their systems...but if I had only one chicken he would treat it, but I have 30 birds.... So i'm not sure what to think. The weather is certainly cooling off. Most of the birds are molting, and getting feathers back where rooster lovin had made bare backs before they were separated.., 2-3 of the girls aren't getting feathers back yet. Is it possible they are just zapped after the summer they've had? would a weak chicken not molt? Are they going to have to wear jackets this winter? I am determined since loosing Vern to get them all back up to their best selves, and I deffinately don't want to loose any more unnecessarily.

I've been giving them Big Ole Bird chicken vitamins, and they seem to really like it. I think eggs are starting to get harder. Bernie was the one dropping them on the poop board. They aren't as paper thin, but they are still thinner than the others. She is the smallest. I have been drying egg shells, and adding those crushed into the oyster shell dish, and they seem to be eating more of that now. I also made a chicken feeder out of a 5 gal bucket so they weren't eating feed off the ground. They always dumped the dishes I used before. I only made one bucket feeder to start with to see how it worked, but it seems to do the trick great. I'm gonna make them a few more.

Rooster coop/hen house addition is almost done. Which is great because i'm sick of carrying roosters over to their pen every morning. It has taken a while because we had to mill the wood first, but the roof, and door is going on this week so hopefully this weekend it will be chicken ready! No mites... So that's always good!

Big ole bird is great!
You can give the chickens the moderate dose of corid for three days once a month for coccidiosis


Click to see larger size

Everything the vet told you is correct! The corid will help them though since cocci was detected.

 

[Kiki]

Hi!!! Thank you for checking in on me...
All chicken feet are healed, and good! The two I was watching healed, and fell off. There was a large one on Abe, with no swelling. That one took the longest, but I just spritzed it clean every morning with V, and checked it. It fell off like a deep scab. It was weird, but is totally gone now. I am thinking maybe picking up the yard from rocks, and switching their bedding back to wood chips from pine needles (which sometimes had sticks) might have helped their feet. The plywood floor is pretty smooth. not splintery. I also tried to pick up any scrap fencing or sharp this & that I found around the yard. This spring we also moved a lot of the rough wood we milled out of the back yard area. I think that could have been a source for splinters.

I had called around to local vets regarding chicken poop tests... The "other" local vet that said online that they took poultry apparently only applies if you have "1 or 2 pet chickens not a whole flock". So I ended up taking samples to my regular cat/dog vet who said he could test them for worms. I have 30 total birds, and he told me to only bring a few samples. I took in 7. I labeled Popcorn, Bernie, and Honey. The 3 birds that seemed the most unwell to me. The rest were general population samples including some from the pullets.
I was waiting to update when I got back the poop tests... which was today.
Here's where i'm at, and I totally want feedback because i'm not sure what to think on it... The message that the vet left was that my chickens have coccidia. When I returned the call The office girl said that Bernie had coccidia... She then passed me on to the vet when I asked what that meant I needed to do. The vet told me that if one has it they all do. He then went on to say that it is something that all chickens carry in their systems. That when the number/amount gets too high that's when it would become a problem. He said to bring in another sampling in 1 month to see if they have gotten worse, but that right now their amount wasn't too much. He also said that it is hard to totally get rid of anyways, because it is something that most chickens have some amount of in their systems...but if I had only one chicken he would treat it, but I have 30 birds.... So i'm not sure what to think. The weather is certainly cooling off. Most of the birds are molting, and getting feathers back where rooster lovin had made bare backs before they were separated.., 2-3 of the girls aren't getting feathers back yet. Is it possible they are just zapped after the summer they've had? would a weak chicken not molt? Are they going to have to wear jackets this winter? I am determined since loosing Vern to get them all back up to their best selves, and I deffinately don't want to loose any more unnecessarily.

I've been giving them Big Ole Bird chicken vitamins, and they seem to really like it. I think eggs are starting to get harder. Bernie was the one dropping them on the poop board. They aren't as paper thin, but they are still thinner than the others. She is the smallest. I have been drying egg shells, and adding those crushed into the oyster shell dish, and they seem to be eating more of that now. I also made a chicken feeder out of a 5 gal bucket so they weren't eating feed off the ground. They always dumped the dishes I used before. I only made one bucket feeder to start with to see how it worked, but it seems to do the trick great. I'm gonna make them a few more.

Rooster coop/hen house addition is almost done. Which is great because i'm sick of carrying roosters over to their pen every morning. It has taken a while because we had to mill the wood first, but the roof, and door is going on this week so hopefully this weekend it will be chicken ready! No mites... So that's always good!

Coccidiosis is every where.
As long as the birds aren't showing signs of an overload of it I would not worry about it.
They build up resistance to it on their own over time. When chicks get Coccidiosis it can kill them quick though so keeping Corid on hand is a good way to prevent death from Coccidiosis.
Corid is found in the goat or cow sections. Comes in both power and liquid forms.

If I were you I would start the entire flock on Corid for 5 to 7 days straight since one tested positive for it already. Mix a new batch each day.
Just keep an eye on future chicks for early signs of it.


I am so glad the feets are all healed up!


The snow is just around the corner.

 

[CCinVT]

Good Morning!
@KikisGirls @ronott1
I grabbed the corid @ TSC this weekend. I got the cow powdered. So i'm going to put it in their water this week. Just to be sure...Should I give the moderate dose of 3/4 of a tsp : gal water? For 5 days? What does 5-7 days mean? should I just give it for 6 days? then I follow up in how long? Or should they be fine? Just as an FYI What is the most obvious early sign that people seem to detect in chicks?

Bernie dropped another egg from her roost this past Friday, but it didn't break, and her shells are deff not paper thin anymore. It is her, and one roo who seem to not have put on weight like the others, after worm treatments. I think the vitamins are really helping though, and they seem to really like them.

Did I learn about all the basic sicknesses in one summer?! I still cant get over how sick they all must have been. I think getting the feed off the ground is only helping our situation. I also think I will try more of a deep litter in the run this winter. I had been raking, and keeping it clean, but they were eating a lot off the soil. So I think that, and different feeders. I also have cut back on treats. I did't think I was giving them too much, but now I think maybe I was I'm glad their feet have healed up too! The bumble foot is terrible.

 

[Kiki]

I personally would treat with the SEVERE outbreak dose 1.5 teaspoons of COrid per gallon of water for 7 days.
Then 1/3 teaspoon for 7 days.

And yes..you took the crash course of chicken keeping this summer! AND guess what? You aced it! Well done!

 

[ronott1]

Good Morning!
@KikisGirls @ronott1
I grabbed the corid @ TSC this weekend. I got the cow powdered. So i'm going to put it in their water this week. Just to be sure...Should I give the moderate dose of 3/4 of a tsp : gal water? For 5 days? What does 5-7 days mean? should I just give it for 6 days? then I follow up in how long? Or should they be fine? Just as an FYI What is the most obvious early sign that people seem to detect in chicks?

Bernie dropped another egg from her roost this past Friday, but it didn't break, and her shells are deff not paper thin anymore. It is her, and one roo who seem to not have put on weight like the others, after worm treatments. I think the vitamins are really helping though, and they seem to really like them.

Did I learn about all the basic sicknesses in one summer?! I still cant get over how sick they all must have been. I think getting the feed off the ground is only helping our situation. I also think I will try more of a deep litter in the run this winter. I had been raking, and keeping it clean, but they were eating a lot off the soil. So I think that, and different feeders. I also have cut back on treats. I did't think I was giving them too much, but now I think maybe I was I'm glad their feet have healed up too! The bumble foot is terrible.

Go ahead and use the moderate treatment and then do the second week of recovery dose.

For at least a couple of months, give them them one 5 day treatment a month.

I would repeat this during very wet and muddy times of the year

 

[Kiki]

I agree to disagree with Ron.
I would treat with the severe outbreak dose first.
Just to be safe.

 

[ronott1]

I agree to disagree with Ron.
I would treat with the severe outbreak dose first.
Just to be safe.

Her chickens are older and the vet said that she did not need to treat them because of a very low level of cocci.

This is a trick I do with my older layer flock. The hens she has are not symptomatic. It would not hurt to do the full dosage for the first week and then a maintenance dose--I would still repeat once a month for a couple of months at the middle dose and not use the resistance week(They already have resistance at this age).

When I did this with my hens, they started laying more eggs

If they were 6 weeks old and acting sick then I would say go for the full dose.

 

[Kiki]

Her chickens are older and the vet said that she did not need to treat them because of a very low level of cocci.

This is a trick I do with my older layer flock. The hens she has are not symptomatic. It would not hurt to do the full dosage for the first week and then a maintenance dose--I would still repeat once a month for a couple of months at the middle dose and not use the resistance week(They already have resistance at this age).

When I did this with my hens, they started laying more eggs

If they were 6 weeks old and acting sick then I would say go for the full dose.

Thanks.

 

[CCinVT]

Hello my dear chicken friends! @ronott1 , and @KikisGirls
I have resurfaced from my crazy world to give a little update, and ask a few more questions!

Where we left off was discussing corid treatment. I treated the whole flock for 7 days with the moderate corid treatment... The last 3 days of treatment it started to pour rain (so they got 4-5 days-ish with it being their only water source, and then I couldn't keep up with puddles). Our yard literally flows with water down to the stream below our house. There was no way to make sure there was no access to streams/puddles etc. VT had severe flooding everywhere, and our yard was difficult to even walk through. They did not receive the shorter recovery dose the following week. (it literally poured rain for 2 weeks. it was nuts. So I am here to ask how to proceed. It was mentioned to give a 5 week moderate dose 1xmonth for maintenance, and after especially muddy weather which would be now. We are going through freezing nights, and rainy/muddy thawing days here until Winter weather sticks. Do I give a recovery dose because they already had a 1 week treatment?? I have waited until I had a chance to ask because I don't want to over medicate, and don't want to build cocci super bugs in my yard either.... They are due for another Bobs weekend ( I also skipped a dose on this because of all the rain we were getting). It's currently raining ice out as I write this!

Bernie (the soft shell/wormy/cocci/ one i find mites on)... I don't know how she is alive chicken... is now molting, and I haven't seen an egg from her lately. The last one I noticed she did lay was thin shell still. Do you think she needs any sort of supplement more then the bobs. They have been eating the oyster/egg shell mix i'm keeping provided. She is a small lady.

Everyone is molting. Should I switch their feed to grower feed instead of layer?
Coop is getting final touches... Like a door, and hardware cloth. I will for sure include a picture when it is all said in done. I'm pretty proud of it. I haven't told the husband yet, but I think I've got approx 10 roosters! All my faverolles hatched this year were roosters!