Second sick bird in 3 months

[MarsHillchickencoop]

Hey, I'm new to logging in but not new to using the forum for the past 5 months that I've had a flock of chickens.
I lost one a few months ago very quickly, my large Rhode Island Red hen, and now my barred rock rooster is going downhill quickly too. Not sure the illnesses are related but dang! I thought backyard flocks were mostly pretty healthy.
He's emaciated (so hard to tell if you don't pick them up!), weak, sitting with his tail down and neck sunk in. Progressively worse, although he was running around two days ago beating the ladies to my scraps thrown out the window and to the earthworms my daughter was feeding him. They all eat laying pellets and lots of foraging all day. His poop was white yesterday and now Green with a little white and runny. I don't see any worms in it?
I did get him to eat some corn but didn't see him drinking water. I seperated him from the flock. He barely moved all day. Just gave him 10 ml. of pedialyte and have him indoors in a box. Do the birds ever forage something that makes them temporarily ill? I have been using a deep litter method in the henhouse and just cleaned the litter out today for the first time after almost 5 months. Nervous that this method would have gotten him ill?



My small flock of 5 hens (silkie/barred rock/Arucana/rhode island mixed) and 2 roosters (barred rock, silkie mix) mostly free range in the woodland/grass and have a small pen/ nice henhouse. They were acquired from a friend who raised them the same way and was getting rid of her flock in the winter. Thank you for any help you can give.

 

[Miss Lydia]

Hi and

as far as deep litter I use it and have never had a problem, I take a pitch fork everyday and turn it over then spray with poultry protector or Oxine. if there is large poop I pick it up and throw into compost pile. Unless your smellin ammonia it should be fine. I change mine out spring and fall. Because your chickens free range as mine do from all I have read they are more likely to pick up worms than chickens that are penned up, so saying that you don't have to see worms for them to have worms, Most likely round worms, so to start get some Wazine and worm them for round worms first, then in 10 days worm them for all the rest. use Valbazen or zimectrin gold or safeguard. any of those will work. also check for lice/mites both of these parasites will bring down a chicken in a hurry. yes he could have eaten something that made him sick try giving him some molasses in with his water just in case. If you do find he has mites or lice I would sugjest using Erernix pour on and treat the whole flock and since you just put in new bedding get poultry dust and spred it all around inside the coop and on the walls and roosts. If you can't see any mites on your birds during the day go out at night with a flash light and look on you birds and the roosts if they have then you should be able to see them then. I hope i haven't over whelmed you with all of this. and you might be able to intice him to eat with scrambled egg or yogurt. please let us know how it goes.

 

[MarsHillchickencoop]

Thank you so much for the reply. I will do my best and will report back.

 

[MarsHillchickencoop]

The rooster made it through the night but just barely. He passed away this morning. Thank you for your help, I will worm the rest of the flock tomorrow morning, hopefully this was an isolated incident. He felt so bony when I picked him up this morning, poor guy. Had a friend over today who's had chickens (in a tractor and free ranging) for years and has never wormed hers. I feel a little less neglectful now. I don't see any mites or lice on the birds yet but I got the dust too. Thanks for your help Miss Lydia.

 

[MarsHillchickencoop]

Did the Wazine yesterday and there was definitely one hen/rooster FULL of worms. There was also a little blood in one of the stools. Could the infected chicken have produced this while expelling the worms?

 

[MarsHillchickencoop]

Tomorrow I'll give the second worming treatment, the one to kill the worms. Meanwhile I have a hen brooding (Bantam Cochin) on an egg that missed the first treatment. Didn't want to mess with her while she was on her egg. The other hens are broody too, hate taking their eggs from them and tossing them! But worth saving their lives for sure. How long will I have to toss the eggs after giving them the Safeguard? Can I worm a hen while she's with a chick?

 

[MarsHillchickencoop]

Here's a picture of the worms I found-OMG!

 

[Miss Lydia]

Quote:
http://docs.google.com/viewer?a=v&q...k8cZso&sig=AHIEtbQjrfmGRxDw5B_UrnbGKxNg1QMpTQ
looks like round worms. yes if you used Wazine did the hen that is sitting drink from the same bowl as everyone else if so she got some of it. and you need to throw eggs away for 14 days. It's hard but if you have dogs feed them the eggs.
be sure to give your birds some good plain yogurt or buttermilk or kefir while treating them to give their gut some good probiotics.
if you see blood again you might want to consider treatring for cocci.
https://www.backyardchickens.com/forum/viewtopic.php?id=85704 it could be from the bad worm infeastation so just keep an eye on it.

sorry you lost your roo.

 

[MarsHillchickencoop]

Thank you. I've got a bantam cochin egg about to hatch (pre-worm) and I'll worm mama as soon as I can. She's separated from the rest of the flock. I don't want her chick to get the Wazine so I guess I'll wait until I can seperate them for a day? I am going to worm again with Wazine in the morning and I could give it to her but what if she decides to get off the nest only 3 days before hatch?! That would be bad. Looked for ivermectin for poultry at 2 feed stores and only saw it for horses OR a $40 bottle so I'll do a second round of Wazine for now and order a broad spectrum wormer for the winter worm. We live in the mountains of Western NC too, in Mars Hill. Not familiar with your town? Maybe we'll wander upon it one day!

 

[tellynpeep]

Worming the broody now will NOT affect the eggs she is sitting on!!! Just ones that will be laid in the next few days. Please worm her!