Sick chickens

[Judy88]

Hello everybody,

As a chicken owner I use this website quite often and especially once I have a sick chicken. Currently I have a disease in the flock what seems to be a fungal in the crop. I lost a few and decided for a PM as most of them showed the same sypmtons. Lethargic, white milky pooh with green droppings, the diarea with green droppings, wanting to eat but can't, still drinking themselves and after a few days they drink so much and have so much diarea I loose them. I started with coxid and treated with harkers, what helped but then we are back at square one. In addition I give vitamins and feed them with Kaytee Exact parrot food to make sure they have some food to take energy from. Now I syringe them with apple cider and water, however I think I need something stronger. Problem is there are hardly an vets specialised in chickens so I am on top of their advise and I would be grateful if there are some ideas here on how to treath this? Thank you in advance.

 

[Mrs. K]

How many chickens? How old are the chickens? What are you feeding, and what kind of structure? Pictures of birds and set up would be helpful.

I don't think the vinegar is doing anything. I think you should feed chicken feed, not parrot feed.

I have had very good luck, with plain clean water, quality chicken feed, and good bedding and ventilation.

Mrs K

 

[Judy88]

twenty chicken in a venitalated stable, clean water. Normal chicken feed, layers pellets. The parrot feed I give is in the last stage when they stop eating themselves as a force feed.

Post mortem states that there is a fungal infection in the crop.

 

[aart]

Post mortem states that there is a fungal infection in the crop.

Where did you get the post mortem done, were there lab tests done to tell which fungus was at play?

Could be what is called sour crop, a yeast infection.
Many have successfully treated with miconazole.

 

[Judy88]

Thank you for your reply. I am aware of sour crop and when the chicken got sick that was not at play at that time. The reason of the PM is that I lost a few and the cause is not known. I do not wish to loose all my birds. The lab thinks its a fungal infection and more tests are being done. No name was mentioned, I will get an update tomorrow and will let you know.

 

[Mrs. K]

The lab should also have some advice? Or a vet with the lab results? Personally, I think I would be culling hard, anything that looks the least bit sick. But that is my go to, for sick birds, possibly, because I have really only had one sick bird in over a decade of chicken keeping.

 

[Judy88]

It is not all so convincing and the vet is still looking for answers too. The bird was not culled but died,

 

[Eggcessive]

Fungal infection in the crop can be sour crop or the same problem that causes vent gleet. Vent gleet and crop disorders can also be bacterial, so having lab work or a necropsy can help. What do you normally feed your chickens, and do you provide granite poultry grit for digestion? Have you seen full and hard or puffy crops, or bad odor from the crop? Have you ever seen yellow material or canker inside the beak or throat? Antifungal medicines, such as Nystatin, Medistatin, Canes Oral, or fluconazole/diflucan can be used to treat a sour crop. Sour crops are large and puffy in early morning with a bad odor. Some use womens yeast creams such as miconazole (Monistat) given orally if other meds are not available.

 

[Judy88]

I feed the chicken, normal layer pellets and leayer mea;, as a treath mixed corn or meal worm or bird food. They have access to oyster shells. No hard or puffy crops or bas smell, no material in the beak or throath. How does canker look like? The medication the vet suggest is over 300GBP seems a bit much.

 

[Eggcessive]

Chickens need grit for digestion, in addition to oyster shell which is for calcium and egg laying. It helps to prevent crop impactions. Canker causes yellow material or plaques inside the mouth and throat. It smells very bad. Can you buy womens yeast creams such as miconazole in your pharmacy? You can give that orally twice a day, 1/2 inch, or you can also use the suppositories orally. Here is a good article about crop disorders:
https://www.backyardchickens.com/ar...w-to-know-which-one-youre-dealing-with.73607/