Sick chicken, major diarrhea issues!! What could it be??

[mommyofthree]

I have 10 hens and 4 ducks, they all seem healthy except for one. She's got dark diarrhea all streaking down her behind in her feathers and it smells nasty. I picked her up to look her over and she squirted a clearish watery poo out. She's not currently laying, but a couple of my EE's still aren't so that's not concerning me.
None of the other birds have any noticeable issues, and the sick hen isn't acting sick other than the diarrhea. She's a one year old free range EE. They are on organic layer feed and I give them oyster shells. I think she's had the diarrhea for at least a couple of weeks which we didn't think much of until I really looked her over and saw how gross she is.

I need to know what she might have and what to do about it!! Any ideas??

 

[mommyofthree]

Anyone?? I'm not sure what to do....

 

[mommyofthree]

I went to the Farmer's co-op today to take care of a mix up in my chick order and asked them about it, they were stumped too.

 

[easttxchick]

Just a guess, but has it warmed up a lot where you live recently? Could it be that she is drinking a lot more water?

 

[mommyofthree]

It has been warming up inconsistently, we've had a few hot days where the hens were hiding out in the shade a lot and some days it's pretty cold. Could drinking a lot of water really do that?? That would be great if it's not something serious!! Today I saw her poop and it looked more normal, but her feathers on her behind are still nasty. Should I clean her up, maybe with some soap and warm water??

 

[Boggy Bottom Bantams]

dark brown to black or bloody runny poop that stinks to high heavens is most often a sign of coccidia (cocci). It is a microscopic intestinal parasite that is present virtually every where. There many different strains of it for poultry alone, but a strain for virutally all animals is out there.

A vet can do a fecal swab to confirm it. It's odd for a free range bird to get it as it usually comes from other birds contaminated poo.
But it's most likely what you have. Any sulfur based med will clear it up over a 7-10 treatment period. It is very deadly to chicks as their immune systme is weak. Old birds though usually may carry it but never show signs unless they get stressed. Thier immune system when working properly fights the little buggers off. But if it has gotten her, you need to treat her or it will eventually kill her.
Corid, Albon, and many other brand names are the most commonly used meds to treat coccidia. These same active ingredienst are what is in medicated chick starter, that's what they are medicated for, to prevent coccidia out breaks in our chicks.

If concerned for an accurate diagnosis, ask your vet to do that fecal swab. They stick a Q tip in the vent, and then look under a microscope at the parasites, that's all there is to it, quick and easy.

 

[Sunshyne276]

Quote:
Would the medicated chick starter work as treatment of a chick (or even chicken), if you can not locate Corid, Albon, Sulmet or any other meds?

 

[Boggy Bottom Bantams]

it will help, but no it will not fix the problem. It's in a prevention dose for chicks, very low concentration. For treatment it needs to be double the dose.

go here

www.jeffers.com

they have everything any of us will ever need, and they ship extremely fast. I get all my stuff within 24 hours of ordering usually

 

[mommyofthree]

Quote:
Thank you!! It's a white hen and her hind end is covered in the stinky dark brown poo. I will get some meds to treat it, should I treat my entire flock or just the sick hen?? I did see a couple of the hens pecking at the poo on her hind end the other day.

And if I should treat them all, should I treat my ducks as well??

 

[Boggy Bottom Bantams]

most adult birds are immune to it, watch them, if you notice any that show signs of runny poo, give it to the immediately, as the sooner you treat the easier it is to fix. Waterfowl usually dont have problems with it, but watch them too, it is safe for them if needed.

chicks will be your main concern, pretty much it has to go from poo to mouth though, most adult birds and animals have it in their system all the time...it's just weather or not it effects them.

Watch them close, treat the sick one for now, and worry about the others only if they show signs. Oh and it usually takes 7-10 days to fix it too, so dont give up