Sick chicken…

[Hannah1989]

Chicken is showing symptoms of illness, is not eating much, unbalanced and not moving around. She has lost a lot of weight and is mostly skin and bones. She is still eating and drinking. I am trying corid for coccidiosis potentially…also nutri drench. Not sure what else to try or what this can be…

 

[HeatherKellyB]

How old is the chicken? What do you feed, treats included? Have you checked her crop first thing in the morning before she has any food or water to make sure it's functioning properly? How do her poops look? Have you checked her over really well for lice/mites (this is best done well after dark)?

 

[HeatherKellyB]

One other question, have you ever given a dewormer or had a poop sample tested for internal parasites?

 

[Hannah1989]

How old is the chicken? What do you feed, treats included? Have you checked her crop first thing in the morning before she has any food or water to make sure it's functioning properly? How do her poops look? Have you checked her over really well for lice/mites (this is best done well after dark)?

She's about 4 months, I feed Scratch and Peck and just veggies and fruit from garden and home, they are free range. She was treated for lice and mites just a week ago and she's perfectly clean. I have checked her over and I don't see much else wrong, her poop is normal looking from what I can tell, no blood etc. I have not tested it. What is a dewormer you recommend?

 

[HeatherKellyB]

She's about 4 months, I feed Scratch and Peck and just veggies and fruit from garden and home, they are free range. She was treated for lice and mites just a week ago and she's perfectly clean. I have checked her over and I don't see much else wrong, her poop is normal looking from what I can tell, no blood etc. I have not tested it. What is a dewormer you recommend?

My favorite dewormer is Valblazen as it's very safe and effective. It covers all of the usual internal parasitic worms that can cause problems in poultry. It's safe to use during a molt while others aren't. It's dosed to each bird individually, based on weight. Administered once and then again 10 days later to kill any that hatch. The only problem is that it CAN be difficult to find, so you may need to call around or possibly even order it.

Is Scratch and Peck a layer feed? I'm sorry I'm not familiar with that feed. I'll reply more once I finish up work this afternoon

 

[HeatherKellyB]

Did this start before or after the treatment for lice and/or mites? What did you use to treat for this?

 

[Hannah1989]

scratch and peck has both grower and layer, I recently did start layer feed because some of my birds started laying. Davis Pure Planet Poultry Spray is what I used on all my hens and coop. I will try to find that dewormer asap. Thanks!

 

[Hannah1989]

Did this start before or after the treatment for lice and/or mites? What did you use to treat for this?

Chicken died…feel like I did everything I could with what I knew. Hope the others will be okay. They’re being medicated with corid but maybe I should do the deworming too just in case? What are the symptoms of worms usually?

 

[HeatherKellyB]

I am so sorry. If you still have the remains, you could send them off for a necropsy or possibly do your own at home. If you choose to send them off to your state lab, you'll need to place her remains in the refrigerator to keep cool (not frozen) and double bagged. If you'd like more information, please let me know and I'll be happy to share more with you. Worms are best found through a fecal float. Any vet's office can do a fecal float, but I've had a hard time finding one to do it without seeing the patient and then I find out they don't see poultry. There are labs to send a stool sample to, but the fresher, the sample the better and more accurate results. Internal parasites can cause so many symptoms and there are only 2 worms that can be seen by the naked eye. If you're seeing worms with the naked eye, it means the worm load is high. A fecal float will find them far easier.

 

[Hannah1989]

I am so sorry. If you still have the remains, you could send them off for a necropsy or possibly do your own at home. If you choose to send them off to your state lab, you'll need to place her remains in the refrigerator to keep cool (not frozen) and double bagged. If you'd like more information, please let me know and I'll be happy to share more with you. Worms are best found through a fecal float. Any vet's office can do a fecal float, but I've had a hard time finding one to do it without seeing the patient and then I find out they don't see poultry. There are labs to send a stool sample to, but the fresher, the sample the better and more accurate results. Internal parasites can cause so many symptoms and there are only 2 worms that can be seen by the naked eye. If you're seeing worms with the naked eye, it means the worm load is high. A fecal float will find them far easier.

That’s something I’ll definitely do next time, didnt see this in time. I’ll deworm and also giving the corid for the last day tomorrow just in case it’s something else. Fingers crossed! Thanks for so much help!! Being new to this can be super overwhelming