Sick birds, I'm sick of it, need best meds. HELP!

[Msbear]

pips&peeps :

You need to send a bird in to your State Vet for necropsy.

I totally agree. It's usually free and can take all the guess work out of it. If you have MG/MS or something similar, that will cause chicks to fade and die. It can spread quickly in a brooder. Tylan soluble or denagard or even tetracycline is a good start. Some will say don't treat with antibiotics until you know to prevent resistance but, I think you are past that.

Good Luck

 

[secuono]

Your not reading all the symptoms. They start out with the same symptoms, then half get the bad leg. Ones who don't either die suddenly or just keep getting worse for awhile and then die.

I did worm them, but it is HELL to catch and do all 80 birds. Doing it at night it not possible, my birds are not sitting ducks waiting to be eaten from below...

The vitamins are not given at the same time, I gave them before when I didn't know what to buy. Then I gave them some after the Corid for 2 days.

I don't have any dead chickens to send and I will not kill any myself to send. Also, no clue as to where such a place is or how to contact them.

 

[Alas]

I vote worms also. Use Ivermectin or Safeguard, not Wazine. The vet the Dept of Ag sent out to my house said that the Wazine is pretty much useless. I had been using Wazine and DE (people who swear by it are going to be upset, but my birds had worms and mites and I had that stupid DE stuff everywhere, didnt do a lick of good) regulary so I had concluded that my sick chickens must have another problem. I lost 10 birds before the Dept of Ag came out and told me my birds were full of parasites that the Wazine has no effect on. My birds were eating and acting normal, but were losing weight. After a while they'd start sitting on the ground next to the food to eat instead of standing. They'd start acting a bit dazed. Then they'd just quit eating and they'd die a couple of days later. I'd try deworming. You may still lose the ones that seem worse off. Once their digestive systems get so bad they just shut down. In the meantime, you can also call your state vet with the Dept of Ag. They'll take a couple of sick or dead birds for necropsy and maybe some fluid samples from the live ones. I had tried antibiotics, Corid, added more vitamins to the water, and all along it was worms, which could have been fixed easily. The Ivermectin also controls mites and lice and (if you have any) it is the active ingredient for heartworm prevention for dogs. Good luck with your chickies

 

[speckledhen]

You still are not going to be sure unless the state does a necropsy for you. We can guess all day long, but so many things mimic other things, that it's impossible to be 100% sure over the net. There could be several issues going on all at once here.

 

[jerseygirl1]

Valbazen, 5 cc per gallon of water for one day - no other water source
With this, there is no need to worm each individual chicken

Edited - 80 birds in a 13 x 13 enclosed dirt run, I vote worms

 

[secuono]

I'm looking for the vet.
Also looking for the Valbazen, does tractor supply carry it or farm and home center? If not, I will have to order it and won't be here until Sat or next week.
I have Ivomec Eprinex.

 

[Msbear]

you can call your state vet and they will direct you to the right place. VA is great about being proactive and they will work with you. Select your sickest bird and take it to them alive. They will do the rest.

 

[jerseygirl1]

Jeffers Livestock, or First State Vet Supply

 

[secuono]

Ivermectin is a horse paste wormer...

Found a list of state vets.

State Vet List, for future reference for others.
http://www.avma.org/disaster/state_veterinarians.asp

 

[NYREDS]

Medicating with a variety of different substances almost always produces bad results because people do it when they don't know what they're medicating for. The odds of guessing the right med aren't good. You're starting a second Coccidiostat but nothing you've described sounds like Coccidiosis to me. The other problem with medicating shotgun style is that it tends to lead to stronger pathogens.
People have suggested that you need to find out what you're dealing with before proceeding. It's good advice.
A "State Vet" is a Veterinarian employed by your state's Department of Agriculture.