Sick Hen.... help please!! Urgent!!

[wjallen05]

I have noticed in that past few weeks that most of my adult chickens have runny poops. I've been meaning to treat them for coccidia but I just kept forgetting about it, with everything we've had going on lately. I'm assuming that what they have is indeed coccidia. I have a gallon of Albon that I use on my goats. Today, I added some to their drinking water and hope that does the trick.

..... In the meanwhile, I have one VERY sick little hen. Her comb is wilted you know like a dead plant. She is a Leghorn, so she has a huge comb. Her eyes are bright and alert but she just hobbles around the coop, and doesn't have much energy. I picked her up and she has just terrible diarrhea, and it smelled awful. I am not sure how much, if any, of the water she drank today, so I just got 1 cc of Albon an put it in her beak. I hope that was okay... I don't know what else I can do for her. Any suggestions? And would you guys agree that it is coccidia or is it worms or something else?

Thanks so much for reading, any help is very appriciated.

 

[shay20]

First thing you want to do is separate her from all others.

Have you seen any blood in her stool?
You should treat her with Sulmet, It works on Cocci and i read it works with other diseases too.

 

[itsmyaddiction]

As Shay stated, Sulmet is good to use for Cocci and other issues. Are there any other symptoms besides runny poops? Respiratory issues, not wanting to eat, lethargic etc? You may also want to pick up some probios sold in most feed/farm stores it contains live enzymes to help with gut flora-- plain yogurt with live cultures will also help in that area and is a bit cheaper if you aren't treating a huge flock.
There's a ton of meds on the market, just be careful because some are not intended for use on poultry. Not sure about the one you have already used, not familiar with it at all. Make sure that if you are medicating that you do not eat the eggs if they are of age to lay. Just boil them and feed them back to the birds until they have been of antibiotics for at least 10-14 days (just to be safe).


Hope this helps.
Best of luck to you and your chickens

 

[wjallen05]

I have Sulmet but it didn't work well with cocci in my goats, so I bought Albon in place of. I still have the Sulmet, should I switch?

I am sure this has been asked a thousand times and I have been reading up on it, but I have a couple questions... I don't have time to sit here all night trying to find the answers I am looking for.

How long do I need to treat them?

Is is better to switch to Sulmet? Is Albon not good for chickens?

I read not to eat the eggs for two weeks after treatment has ended... SERIOUSLY?!

 

[itsmyaddiction]

Quote:
As I stated above, I am not familiar with goats nor Albon so I have never used it. I work at a feed/farm store and sulmet is what we recommend and sell to people with a problem such as yours with good results. I would treat them for a minimum of 7 days and maybe an additional 7 if symptoms don't improve. It's also important to do the yogurt/probios too. Cocci destroyes birds very fast and you need to keep them eating and take care of this sooner than later.

 

[wjallen05]

Thanks for the replies.

I can seperate her but didn't feel it neccesary. Do you really think I should?

No, there are no other issues and no one else is sick. Most of them have runny poop but she is the only one with diarrhea.

I am certain it is not anything contageous or some kind of disease, I lost my entire flock to MG last year and had to quarenteen my place for 3 months then start over with baby chicks and hatching eggs. I am VERY careful now.

 

[itsmyaddiction]

Quote:
You are welcome

If she has been in with the rest of your flock, yes I would definately treat everyone at the same time and be sure to rid of it all. If you confine her some of your others may start with the same issue anyways. If it were my flock I would take the hit and treat everyone just to be safe, especially where you have had such a loss anyways.

 

[jjthink]

It might help folks better ID the problem if you could answer the questions posted in the Emergencies "sticky" (include age, diet, whether they've been wormed and when and with what, is she eating well or not eating or is this an unknown, etc etc etc), plus anything else of note like egg laying scenario for the very sick hen (when was the last one..etc.) ..If you don't know eating, drinking, egg laying situation the only way to know is to stay with her all day or to separate her. If she would be mighty stressed all alone, then maybe in a comfty (pine shavings on bottom) nice sized dog carrier amidst her buddies but with her own food, water, oyster shell etc. so you can see what's doing (or not doing).

It sounds like you are overextended, like you don't really have time for chickens, at least not lately. I hope it's not because of crises of any kind. Unfortunately, by the time they get 'VERY' sick, it can be such a difficult battle to try reverse that downward spiral. I had a hen get sick last September and if I hadn't noticed and acted that day and hauled her fuzzy butt to the vet, I am quite certain she would no longer be on this earthly plane - they can go down so fast. Unfortunately! Anyhow, while the cause of her sickness is being sorted out, I would do everything possible to bolster her nutritionally including 3 drops Polyvisol liquid children's vitamins (without iron) daily, administered slowly/gently with dropper dribbling the stuff along her beak line. Make sure she stays hydrated. Also try such things as scrambled egg, sunflower seeds, yogurt etc. to see if she can gain some strength/energy. Make sure she is neither too hot nor too cold - both take energy to deal with and cause stress.

I hope that all will end well for the very sick hen and for all the others.
JJ

 

[shay20]

Quote:
You are welcome

If she has been in with the rest of your flock, yes I would definately treat everyone at the same time and be sure to rid of it all. If you confine her some of your others may start with the same issue anyways. If it were my flock I would take the hit and treat everyone just to be safe, especially where you have had such a loss anyways.

I agree, treat the whole flock. Even though the others are not showing any sign's of anything, they could still carry what ever that is in your girl.

And some times with out any warnings of sickness, they can die if they have something going on.

I learned this from experience, i lost my husbands most favorite roo to CRD, with no sign's of anything until the last hour or 2 of his life.

Yes you should switch to the Sulmet.

 

[dlhunicorn]

http://www.merckvetmanual.com/mvm/index.jsp?cfile=htm/bc/171332.htm&word=sulfadimethoxine
MERCK veterinary manual page on coccidiosis (including treatments and dosage)
Albon is the brandname for sulfadimethoxine, a sulfonomide approved for the treatment of fowl cholera and coccidiosis.
You need not to "guesstimate" dosage but follow the dosage instructions .