sick chicken

[waylon666]

A lot of chicken diseases seem to have puffing up / eyes closed as a symptom, however I was hoping a pic might help with diagnosis? my Chickens are in a chicken tractor that is moved every day. over the last 6 months or so I have lost several chickens who gradually got weaker / puffed/ lost all their weight and then died. I have 2 ducks with them. ( don't know if that matters) poop looks normal / no visible parasites/ crop is not impacted / crop is not mushy or watery/ eyes are clear / coop is cleaned regularly / food and water available. I dont know whats going on. any help would be appreciated.

 

[Michelle82]

Hallo

Ok, so puff up is what all chickens do when they feel bad.
Gradual diseases are plenty, but with ducks involved I'll venture a guess.
Dirty or muddied water causes several diseases.
So, go check if the water is dirty.
If it is replace and if you can, move the ducks. Ducks soak their feed in water. I always make sure that the chickens can't step into their water or scratch dirt into it.
Slow and gradual weight loss is probably bacterial. Like e.coli or coccidiosis.

So, that's tetracycline or a sulfa medicine in the water for several days ( read the bottle )
If you can afford it Baytril 5% injections.

Airway infections is something you can listen for, sit by them and listen if they are gasping for air. Having difficulty getting air into the windpipe sounds like asthma. If this is the case I'll go for the Baytril. If they are inoculated for Infectious Bronchitus then you have less to worry about. If not, then this could be a slow end to 80% of your chickens.

Now that your chickens are already sick upgrading the food is a good idea. Commercial Boiler grower ( puts meat on the bones) can help already thin sick chickens survive. Clean water that you would drink. You can add some probiotics to the water. I live on a farm and have to purify my chickens drinking water.

Then I would suggest you read the thread on fermented foods, for small flock owners keeping disease at bay is better. Also there are a lot of things people add to the water. AVC, probiotics, multi vitamins.

If you're lucky then it's just bacteria. Easy to cure. Good luck.

 

[waylon666]

I do have a water pan in there for the ducks, so i would assume that dirty water is the culprit. I add raw apple cider vinegar to the chicken waterer for probiotics and to keep mold at bay. upgrading the food isnt an option either as i already buy organic locally raised layer mix from an organic farm ( at a whopping $40/ 40 lb bag every other week) maybe i will start adding apple cider vinegar to the duck pan. id hate to remove it because the chickens like to dunk their feet in it when it is hot out....i checked for wheezing before posting and there was none.... thanks for the response.

 

[Judy]

Here is a link to a good resource on the various common chicken diseases. Also, a link to a way to help you find your state vet for a necropsy. I certainly hope you don't lose any more, but in case you do.... This is the only way to be sure what is going on. Necropsies are usually low in cost or even free, depending on the state. It's a good idea to check it out in advance, as they have different requirements for the condition of the chicken.

 

[Mr MKK FARMS]

Welcome to BYC! Glad you joined us!

 

[redsoxs]

Greetings from Kansas and

! Happy you joined us! Looks like those above you some great advice so I'll just say good luck to you!

 

[liz9910]

Welcome to BYC! Good luck to you. You may want to post on the Emergencies forum https://www.backyardchickens.com/f/10/emergencies-diseases-injuries-and-cures

 

[drumstick diva]

I think they may be getting something from the ducks.

 

[Michelle82]

Quote:
I would suggest BOILER feed. The commercial stuff. Yes, it's full of all the non-organic stuff people rant about, but they make chickens pick up weight. Faster than anything else on the market. Some have some medicine in. Right now with sick, THIN chickens this is what you need. You don't need a truck full just about 3weeks feed. No amount of medicine or avc or, or, or can do much if the chickens are tooooo thin. Think anorexic model with a cold. Sick chickens don't eat a lot every bite full has to be packed.

You're going to need more than just a little AVC, you need to kill the bacteria first, that means MEDICINE, then you give the AVC and probiotics. Probiotics and microflora is slow working. They literally have a war for space to live inside your chicken, but with sick chickens that means you have an entire army of bad bacteria inside your chicken and probiotics is like sending little platoons in. Awesome if you started long, long ago, but now a little late.

Hoping problems will go away with tiny little changes isn't going to work. I saw your picture. Your chickens are at deaths' door. As in RIP.

All this is however my personal opinion. I have a little over 300 chickens. This is what I would do.

Good luck

 

[waylon666]

It is just the one chicken actually. all the others are great. The chicken has gotten quite a bit better. so, ill just keep on thanks everyone for your comments