Sick Chickens - Flock illness?

[lavenderforluck]

Hi all! Thanks in advance for any replies.

We have a backyard flock of 15 hens with some odd illness that seems to impacting them.

A few details, they’re mixed breed flock approximately 4ish years old. Free range in fenced area, access to fresh water and feed, clean coop. We live in Virginia, it’s getting warm here highs of upper 80s but they have access to a lot of shaded areas including where their coop and run are. The sick hens are not with the other healthy birds currently but all birds have been exposed to each other.

One hen showed significant distress including labored breathing and lethargy about two weeks ago, honestly I thought we might lose her, she went downhill quickly but I examined her (no crop issues, no impacted egg but possibly some fluid build up in abdomen) we gave her some electrolytes and began a series of oral Baytril so see if she would improve - and she did overnight! We were so relieved. I know there’s varying opinions on Baytril use in chickens but it’s all we had. After her Baytril series was done, she now seems back to normal.

A week ago during this we noticed a roundworm in one of girls fecal matter so we decided to deworm using Safeguard 10% for 5 days based on individual chicken weight. We successfully completed this series and everyone was doing well.

But fast forward to two days ago and 5 of our hens are now displaying the same symptoms as the original hen, not doing well at all but NOT responding to Baytril. Symptoms: droopy comb, labored slow breathing (not raspy), lethargy, watery diarrhea and often, keeping eyes closed.

Any vet in the region that sees chickens is out for the holiday weekend. We have access to basics, Baytril, Corid, electrolytes, probiotics, apple cider vinegar, etc. and anything you could get at a farm supply store.

There is currently electrolytes in their water and temps are 70-80s so I don’t think it’s heat related.

We have lost a hen to salpingitis in the past, but this seems different, we haven’t noticed lash eggs. I’m also concerned because it’s 5 chickens at once and confused why the Baytril seemed to work for the earlier one but not others if it’s related. If it’s viral I’m not sure what options we have.

I’m at a loss, we love our girls and we want to make sure they’re treated appropriately. Sorry for the long post! If you have any ideas or suggestions, let me know. Things I’ve considered based on prior experience and research coccidiosis, salpingitis, Mareks but none fit the symptoms exactly. Have any of you had coccidiosis in adult flock? Wondering if I should add Corid to water supply?

Could it be side effects of Safeguard administration?

My plan was to continue Baytril series for these birds and make sure they have electrolyte water, food and are comfortable and separate any sick birds. We’re also going to clean the coop earlier than usual in case it’s in any of their droppings and can spread.

Thanks for ideas and help!

 

[LaFleche]

Check your coop thoroughly for poultry mites as they literally suck the life out of the birds in no time leaving them anemic and weak.

Something else to inspect would be their feed: is it fresh? Does it smell good? Any chance it got wet and moldy?

What kind of additional calcium source to you supply?

 

[lavenderforluck]

Thanks for the suggestions! We just thoroughly cleaned the coop, and do regularly but I’m going to check the birds and the old shavings for signs of mites. Do you treat with Ivermectin or dust them in DE?

It seems odd that they’ve all fallen ill so quickly without other signs - do mites affect them overnight?

We feed them H&H Layer Feed (from Texas) and they have 24/7 access to oyster shells for calcium.

And their food is dry and changed twice daily, once in the morning and once in the evening along with their water containers. We have four large clean water containers and then additional in areas where they free range.

 

[LaFleche]

It seems odd that they’ve all fallen ill so quickly without other signs - do mites affect them overnight?

Yes, they come out at night.

You see your chickens all well and healthy in the evening right before roosting, and totally off and dizzy the next morning when poultry mites are at work.

We just thoroughly cleaned the coop, and do regularly but I’m going to check the birds and the old shavings for signs of mites. Do you treat with Ivermectin or dust them in DE?

You may find the mites underneath the roosting bars or in the crevices.
I only use a torch blower, DE and double-sided adhesive tape underneath the roosts and around the ends of the roosting bars right where they meet the walls.
And I check every other day so to not miss any mite that might have been brought inside in order to catch it before an infestation is created, which at their reproductive circle will only take a few days.

And I also change the entire coop bedding regularly and no longer use straw nor hay but soft wood shavings.

 

[lavenderforluck]

Yes, they come out at night.

You see your chickens all well and healthy in the evening right before roosting, and totally off and dizzy the next morning when poultry mites are at work.

You may find the mites underneath the roosting bars or in the crevices.
I only use a torch blower, DE and double-sided adhesive tape underneath the roosts and around the ends of the roosting bars right where they meet the walls.
And I check every other day so to not miss any mite that might have been brought inside in order to catch it before an infestation is created, which at their reproductive circle will only take a few days.

And I also change the entire coop bedding regularly and no longer use straw nor hay but soft wood shavings.

We use clean pine shavings and regularly use DE and First Saturday Lime as a coop barrier but we’re going to investigate if it is mites.

It seems possible it might not be mites, we’re diligent about coop cleaning and using DE and checking our birds general health though I’m not ruling it out. It’s odd to me that one hen had something going on that responded to Baytril then others displayed symptoms and are not responding.

If not mites, do you have any other suggestions? Once the vet opens we will ask for an exam for the birds and a fecal float test.