Reocurring intestinal bacterial infection

[barksy]

I’m very disappointed I called the vet that did the test. I wanted to get as much information as possible.
The receptionist told me they don’t do bacterial testing but test for parasites.
The parasitic test came back negative.
I explained that the vet told me it was shedding it’s intestinal lining and was a bacterial infection and recommended tetricyclin. She said they don’t test for it but if parasites come back nagative they will offer antibiotics.
I feel like I was very misinformed.
There is an avian vet 2 hours away I may take some fecal samples there Monday.

 

[barksy]

Cecal stools can look somewhat like diarrhea, but they are a normal daily occurrence and not a sign of illness. Most stools should be solid.

Unfortunately most of the stool on the poop boards with diarrhea.
But they aren’t showing signs of illness

 

[Eggcessive]

Diarrhea can be from drinking a lot of water. When I mix up some chicken feed with a lot of water, which my hens love, they will have a lot more runny poops on their 2x4 roosts in the morning after. I would go more with how your chickens are acting, if they are getting outside to roam, and level of activity when judging if something is wrong. If you see one not coming off the roost in morning, or hiding in a corner of the coop, that is a sign something is wrong.

 

[barksy]

Ok thank you, the others are acting fine. For now, I will try natural method and keep an eye out.

 

[barksy]

I have called all over the place. It seems that no one within 3-4 hours of us does bacterial testing only parasitic testing.

Any advice on where I could send in Canada?

Who knew it would be this hard!

 

[barksy]

Looks like the others are starting to get it too, green, yellowish poop.
Still acting ok. I have no idea what this is.
If a parasite float tests comes back negative can anyone else tell me what possible illness this could be?

 

[Nambroth]

Have you seen this site? It has great photos on what is normal and what might not be normal, when addressing chicken droppings. http://www.the-chicken-chick.com/whats-scoop-on-chicken-poop-digestive/
You may want to ask your vets specifically if they would be willing to do a "gram stain" on a fecal sample from livestock. An in-house blood count could also check for total white blood cells, which can be an indicator of infection, but would be more expensive and vets that don't see birds might not be willing to take such a sample. I don't know what resources are available in Canada, but perhaps try seeing if there are any agriculture extensions in your region?

 

[Wishing4Wings]

Looks like the others are starting to get it too, green, yellowish poop.
Still acting ok. I have no idea what this is.
If a parasite float tests comes back negative can anyone else tell me what possible illness this could be?

How frustrating. Not knowing what I'm dealing with, I would try things that are relatively harmless and don't require a vet.
So I would treat them with corid/amprolium, just in case they are struggling with coccidia overload due to fighting whatever is making them sneeze. The amprolium is a thiamine blocker and works within the gut, so very low impact on the chicken.
The next thing I would do is get a fresh bag of feed. Could be you got a bad bag somehow. I always smell mine, and occasionally I notice it smells different, possibly from a slightly different blend if some ingredient wasn't available or, heaven forbid it got wet and mold is growing. You may even want to try switching feeds, but I would do that gradually. Mold in the coop and run is something to watch for. Check for wet spots around waterers...
Something is going on. Trying these things won't hurt and might even help.

 

[Eggcessive]

If you chickens are acting well and eating, then I would not worry so much. Runny poops can be common. They tested negative for parasites, so there may not be a need for more testing (gram stain) unless one is doing poorly. Enteritis is usually preceeded by coccidiosis. I would just make sure they are getting probiotics in their feed, or add some plain yogurt to some wet chicken feed a couple of days a week.

Occasional sneezing can be perfectly normal due to dust in feed or around the coop from dander and bedding, mold, or other environmental stimulants. Sneezing by the same chicken every few minutes all day long is probably an illness, such as infectious bronchitis. Antibiotics are not effective on viruses, such as IB.

 

[barksy]

Update, another chicken super sick. We ended up culling because it was struggling.
She had a puss like substance coming from her mouth and her vent when we pushed on it.
Any advice would be great. Here is a picture.

I’m so upset. We work so hard to be clean and am overly cautious about everything