Sick chickens

[Runamuckranch1]

I have lost 3 chickens one at a time to some kind of illness. They start by getting inactive and listless, then they just lay still and stop walking, then they die in a couple days. No other symptoms that I can see. Any ideas or what I should do?

 

[Eggcessive]

How old are the chickens? Do they stop eating and drinking, or do they have diarrhea before dying? Do they seem just weak, or paralyzed when they stop walking? The more details you can include the better. Have you tried giving the Corid (amprollium) for coccidiosis? Did they receive Mareks disease.

 

[Runamuckranch1]

The ones that are getting sick are about 4-5 months old, they dont seem to be eating or drinking just a day or 2 before they die, Im not sure about the diahrea. the pine shavings are really deep, they are in with other chickens that are a year old. I think I have seen some brown runny poop a month ago and a bad odor, but that isnt there now. They seem weak and not really paralyzed untill almost dead. I bought them at 4 weeks old, I have never given them anything as far as medicine and didnt know to ask when I bought them. What is Corid, an antibiotic? What is Mareks? I had chickens before years ago and never had any issues, so this is new to me. Thanks for answering.

 

[familypendragon]

I would recommend calling your Ag Extension or NPIP tester since a fast killer like this can be cause for concern. We have a serious and rare strain of AI going through the West coast right now, and I know Fowl Cholera has cropped up here in Texas. So it would be really good to contact someone and see if they will help get a diagnosis. I am not sure where you are.

 

[Eggcessive]

The ones that are getting sick are about 4-5 months old, they dont seem to be eating or drinking just a day or 2 before they die, Im not sure about the diahrea. the pine shavings are really deep, they are in with other chickens that are a year old. I think I have seen some brown runny poop a month ago and a bad odor, but that isnt there now. They seem weak and not really paralyzed untill almost dead. I bought them at 4 weeks old, I have never given them anything as far as medicine and didnt know to ask when I bought them. What is Corid, an antibiotic? What is Mareks? I had chickens before years ago and never had any issues, so this is new to me. Thanks for answering.

With coccidiosis, they will have diarrhea (with or without blood,) poor appetite then later will stop drinking, stand puffed up or hunched while some may be too weak to stand, and will be lethargic. Corid is not an antibiotic, but a thiamine inhibitor, and is used for treatment of coccidiosis in the water. Mareks disease is a virus which can cause a variety of symptoms some including paralysis of one or both wings, legs, or the neck, wasting, tumors, skin bumps and scabs, or eye involvement. If you have another sick chicken, I would start Corid, and contact your state vet to get a necropsy done in case it dies. Here are some good links for you to read about coccidiosis and Mareks:
http://www.the-chicken-chick.com/2012/12/coccidiosis-what-backyard-chicken.html
http://extension.unh.edu/resources/files/Resource000791_Rep813.pdf
https://www.backyardchickens.com/a/the-great-big-giant-mareks-disease-faq

Here is another link to your state vet: http://www.usaha.org/Portals/6/StateAnimalHealthOfficials.pdf

 

[enola]

How are your chickens doing?

 

[Runamuckranch1]

I have lost 2 more this past 2 weeks, the older chickens seem normal, the ones dying are 4 months old, they are fine and then for a week they start getting lethargic and lose interest in eating and just want to sit, they arent paralyzed but uncoordinated and weak, plus they have a bad odor, then they die.

 

[Runamuckranch1]

I dont know if I answered you yet, the ones that are getting sick are 4 months old. They start with gradually being less active, lose interest in eating, then they just want to sit, this takes about a week, then they die. I have also noticed a bad odor once it is noticeable that they are sick. Its hard to tell if they have diahrea becaus they are in deep pine shavings with other chickens in a fairly large coop and outdoor run, but there probably is some diahrea although its not stuck on them. Once they become completly lethargic I bring them in my house to watch them, but they die the next day. I treated with sulfamethazine which was recomended by the feed store where I bought them. I just finished yesterday with the recomended dosage for 6 days, I lost 2 more chickens in the last 10 days. It seems they die one at a time. They dont seem to be really paralyzed, just too weak to stand, it gradually gets worse, from the day I notice they are sick to when they die is about a week.

 

[enola]

Reseach Coryza and see if that fits your symptoms.

 

[seminolewind]

See if you can get sulfaDImethoxine, different from what you have. I would also use Tylan or an antibiotic that ends in "cillin" , both the sulfadimethoxine and the antibiotic can be used together about 1 teaspoon of each in a gallon of water. I would think it's cocci, but with the bad odor you say, I would be thinking possible enteritis as well.