Sick Chicken - diahrrea, listless, lack of appetite

[vand]

Hi Everyone,

Hopefully, you can help!

I have a 1 year old Easter Egger (mixed breed) who is normally very active and vigorous. Over the last 2-3 weeks, she has had diahrrea and has been kind of hiding out (not her normal self). She also stopped laying.

I left it for about a week because I thought she might have just eaten something weird. Then I put her in a dog crate to quarantine her and just kept an eye on her some more. She was definitely not eating well. She seemed to be drinking OK but would immediately have very runny diahrrea. It was not bloody that I could tell. Other chickens in the flock seem healthy and are laying well but I've noticed a few have a bit of poo on their backsides like they've had intermittent diahrrea as well.

I tried putting some Pedialyte in her water for a few days to see if it would right itself. Just seemed to keep going (same diahrrea). I tried Duramyacin (spelling?) for 3 days but didn't see any change. I put her back on regular water with some electrolytes for 1 day and today, I started some Sulmet in the water. She is getting very, very thin at this point. Eating very little. I hard boiled some egg this morning and mashed it up with dry toast and she ate several mouthfulls.

She's a fighter...poor little thing but I'm not sure how much longer she'll go if I can't put a stop to this cycle now. Help!

Thank you,

Sara

 

[dawg53]

I recommend that you stop all the meds. Inspect them for lice/mites, especially around the vent area. Purchase valbazen liquid cattle/sheep wormer or safeguard liquid goat wormer. Dosage for either wormer is 1/2cc given orally undiluted, use a syringe without a needle to administer it orally. Redose them again in 10 days with either wormer you choose.

 

[Clucksworth]

I recommend that you stop all the meds. Inspect them for lice/mites, especially around the vent area. Purchase valbazen liquid cattle/sheep wormer or safeguard liquid goat wormer. Dosage for either wormer is 1/2cc given orally undiluted, use a syringe without a needle to administer it orally. Redose them again in 10 days with either wormer you choose.

x2


Another great parasite killer is ivomec (avian). It comes in a 50ml bottle, and you don't need to administer it orally or with an injection which is great as it's less stressful for the bird. Instead you just put 2 drops of the medication on the skin on the back of it's neck. I've been using it for about 6 months.
It kills all parasites external and internal within 24 hours of being used

 

[dawg53]

Quote: Due to ivomec's (including injectable, pour on, paste, and eprinex) overuse in chickens as a mitecide rather than its primary purpose as a wormer; ivomec will not kill cecal and capillary worms. It is also losing effectiveness against large roundworms. I quit using it. It's still effective against mites though.

 

[vand]

Quote: Thank you everyone for your replies. I picked her up and checked around the vent. There are no lice or mites that I can see. It is poopy on the feathers but the skin itself is very clean. I parted feathers on her back, around her legs, on her neck and still didn't see anything.

I stopped the medicated water and just put some electrolytes in her water.

It looks like based on your suggestions, the choices are Valbazan or Safeguard as liquid wormers.

I'm concerned about how thin/weak she's gotten. After I worm her, how long should I expect to wait for some improvement?
-Is it something that works pretty quickly?
-Since her system has been so beat up, should I be giving her something specific to help her? (yogurt or something?)

I would think I should worm the entire flock just to be safe. The others are laying. Do we need to toss the eggs for some period of time after using these meds?

Thank you so much!

 

[dawg53]

If she has worms, you should see improvement within 24-48 hours. Feed her scrambled egg mixed with buttermilk for about 3-4 days after worming. The scrambled egg is extra protein to help her regain strength. The buttermilk is a better probiotic than yogurt, easily absorbed and helps rebuild her immune system. Yogurt tends to pass through them quicker. You should worm all your birds, and reworm 10 days later. Toss eggs in the garbage for 14 days after last worming or feed them to your dogs.

 

[vand]

Quote:
I will do that. Thank you very much.


How often do you usually worm? Once or twice a year?

 

[vand]

By the time I read these posts, the local feed store (where I can get the wormer) were closed. I'm going in the morning to get the wormer and I'll get the buttermilk too.

I'll keep you updated.

Thanks again!

 

[vand]

Well...
I went to the feed store as soon as it opened this morning to get Valbazen and also got some buttermilk as suggested.

Mashed up some scrambled egg, a little bread, and the buttermilk to give her. Also gave her 1/2 cc of Valbazen.

I'm not sure....
I had to spoon feed her the food and I was giving her a little water between bites with a syringe (no needle). She was eating/swallowing but just sitting with her eyes closed.

I put her back in her box and she just kind of laid down, breathing heavily, eyes closed.

$*@^, I think I was too late. Unless some miracle happens...I kind of doubt she'll make it. I've been trying to give her a little water in a syringe every couple of hours but I think she is already too dehydrated from all the diarrhea. What a shame--she's been a good layer too.

I wormed the others just in case and I'll do it again in 10 days. I hope this was the issue and that no one else gets whatever she has.

Thanks for your help and suggestions.
Sara

 

[dawg53]

She may have been too overwhelmed with whatever she has. Worms can weaken a birds immune system to the point that diseases invade their systems and they just cant recover. You've got a good start worming the others with the valbazen keeping them healthy. Good luck.