Second sick hen

[ZedikerStation]

The hen with the bald underparts could be the one if her abdomen is a bit swollen. Look at her vent fluff. Is it soiled with a scummy discharge? If she's behaving a bit withdrawn, if her tail is down and not held erect, then that would be the one to give the penicillin to.

Here's info on salpingitis. http://www.poultrydvm.com/condition/salpingitis

We were breathing easy as they all seem normal today. None of them are acting lethargic. The coop got a good cleaning today, new waterer and pine shavings. They were all busy organizing the new shavings as they usually do. The bald spot is a clue, but it is not the one I would have picked. I thought the one in the box was a little darker red. I wasn't really paying attention as I was cleaning out the coop... uggh. I'm assuming if we can figure out which one, should we remove her? Is she contagious?

 

[ChickenWhisperer101]

If she has salpingitis then she shouldn’t be contagious.

 

[azygous]

If you have a rooster and he mates all the hens, the bacteria might get passed around. But I don't think it's a real danger. The only danger is to the hen that has the infection, and it isn't something that will just clear up on its own. Left untreated, it will eventually cause sterility, and sooner or later, death.

I do not advise treating all the hens if you can't identify the victim. Best thing to do is try to monitor who is laying. Salpingitis usually causes a hen to stop laying eggs. And if you can associate a hen with having just passed more of the lash material, that's going to be the best way to know which hen is infected.

 

[ZedikerStation]

We were breathing easy as they all seem normal today. None of them are acting lethargic. The coop got a good cleaning today, new waterer and pine shavings. They were all busy organizing the new shavings as they usually do. The bald spot is a clue, but it is not the one I would have picked. I thought the one in the box was a little darker red. I wasn't really paying attention as I was cleaning out the coop... uggh. I'm assuming if we can figure out which one, should we remove her? Is she contagio

If you have a rooster and he mates all the hens, the bacteria might get passed around. But I don't think it's a real danger. The only danger is to the hen that has the infection, and it isn't something that will just clear up on its own. Left untreated, it will eventually cause sterility, and sooner or later, death.

I do not advise treating all the hens if you can't identify the victim. Best thing to do is try to monitor who is laying. Salpingitis usually causes a hen to stop laying eggs. And if you can associate a hen with having just passed more of the lash material, that's going to be the best way to know which hen is infected.

We don't have a rooster. Didn't want the crowing, and the German Shepherd assumed the role of protector. (we have no idea how/why). Since the hawks moved in they only go out supervised. A Coopers Hawk flew down and stared them down a couple months ago. We were 50 feet away watching them. She separated the Hawk from the hens before we could say a thing. (anyway that's another story).

I just went up to gather some more information for our mystery. Attached are a couple of pictures of her vent. She was not happy to have the lights come on and be taken off the roost, She is definitely not lethargic. Rather pissed actually! While I was getting the camera ready I caught a fresh dropping. It looks normal, but I have no idea if Salpingitis will affect the droppings.

We have only been getting 2 or 3 eggs a day for the last 2 months. They were producing 8 a day on a regular basis prior to that. (10 of them).

I'm reading this is the preferred treatment. Correct? It requires a prescription... Tetracycline Hydrochloride Soluble Powder-324

 

[azygous]

This is a tetracycline and it doesn't require a prescription from this outfit. I've recently ordered it from them myself to keep on hand. https://www.jedds.com/shop/bird-biotic-capsulessachets/

But I would hold off for now. As I said, it's not advisable to treat all the hens just to get the med into the one that needs it. That's how we got to were we now have a devil of a time finding antibiotics to buy without the aid of a vet middleman.

Just keep an eye on the hens and watch for that lash material to show up again.

 

[ZedikerStation]

This is a tetracycline and it doesn't require a prescription from this outfit. I've recently ordered it from them myself to keep on hand. https://www.jedds.com/shop/bird-biotic-capsulessachets/

But I would hold off for now. As I said, it's not advisable to treat all the hens just to get the med into the one that needs it. That's how we got to were we now have a devil of a time finding antibiotics to buy without the aid of a vet middleman.

Just keep an eye on the hens and watch for that lash material to show up again.

Thank you! Did the additional pictures of the hen with the rubbed bottom provide any more clues that it might be her? (vent area) I was going to leg band her so I can watch her more easily on the coop cam...

 

[azygous]

Her butt wasn't any more soiled than some hens get. That's not really conclusive. If she were behaving unwell, it would have more weight.

 

[ZedikerStation]

Her butt wasn't any more soiled than some hens get. That's not really conclusive. If she were behaving unwell, it would have more weight.

She is behaving quite normally. We know it is most likely one of the red ones, but only because she was in the nest box for about 3 hours while I cleaned the coop. We hope we don't lose anymore of them... They have been so trouble free up until this recent period.

I ordered this as suggested, 100 mg of Doxycycline Hyclate just incase. What is the dosage?

 

[ZedikerStation]

Well, we found another lash egg on the droppings board today. This one was much smaller, and not in the nesting box. Would a hen lay these on consecutive days? The reason I ask is the hen we suspected with the rubbed belly was on the very far left of the roost last night. This was found on the far right. What are the odds that we have 2 hens doing this? Could the wormer cause this?

The Doxy suggested by @azygous shipped out today. I still need the dose and harder yet, I still need the hen.

 

[azygous]

One capsule daily for seven to ten days.

There is a type of coccidiosis that occurs in the cecum instead of the intestines. There's sometimes a discharge of material similar to lash material associated with reproductive disease. It's been discussed on this site, but I have zero experience with it myself, nor do I have any knowledge of it beyond what others on this site have mentioned. I suppose it's possible that worming dislodged some of this material from the cecum, but that might mean your chickens have been exposed to coccidia.

It's often recommended that in ruling out causes of illness, worming and coccidia treatment be undertaken, so as long as you wormed the chickens, it might be a good idea to also put them through a round of Corid. Then do both a second time in a week to ten days.

Often, with coccidiosis, there is blood in the stools. You might be on the watch for that.