Sick or just bullied?

freezerpops

Songster
Apr 24, 2018
54
138
106
Kansas
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So I got a trio of chicks (EE, barred rock, RIR) in November and the RIR developed what I thought was coccidiosis (runny stool but no blood, lethargic, matted poop on butt, loosing feathers, just not doing well). I separated her and treated with Corid based on the dosages found on here, she responded well.


While she was being treated the other 2 went out to the coop with my bantam flock. Of course they were bullied and timid at first but they’ve continued to grow well and are doing fine. Anxious to integrate my sick RIR into the flock I put her out as soon as her corid treatment was done. She’d been separated from the other 2 for about 3 weeks at that point.


Well she’s doing really poorly; not growing, not venturing out of the coop, I’m having to bring her inside each day to eat and drink. It’s too cold for me to sit outside and make sure she’s eating and if I just set food in the coop the other chickens push her away. Every day her crop is empty. She eats and drinks well inside but stays puffed up and hasn’t been grooming well, she falls asleep as soon as she’s done eating. Her stool is formed, her comb is pale, no wheezing, nasal discharge, no other chickens are sick. I just don’t know what to do with her! I worry by babying her she’ll never fend for herself but I’m certain she’d waste away if I didn’t. I don’t know what to treat her with because she’s got no symptoms other than being wimpy. Help!!
 
Ugh I had a sapphire gem catch whatever this is a few months back and die :( wasn't bullied but had all the same symptoms! She weighed nothing by the end even though shed eat and drink whenever offered and shed been rewormed and treated for cocci(preventative) just recently.
She lasted a week then fell asleep next to her mother one night whith a temp drop in late summer and was dead next morning :/ anyone who knows what this is please inform us both!
 
She appears sick or lethargic in the pic. Do you have a local vet who could do a fecal float of some fresh droppings on her? She could have a resistant or recurrent strain of coccidiosis or possibly something else going on. Some chickens get chronic coccidiosis, and some may develop clostridium perfringens enteritis.

So, does she eat and drink normally with you inside the house? Since she has been separated so much, she may not be able to tolerate the cold. A good way to keep her inside the coop with the others is to place her in a wire dog crate with her own food and water, so she cannot be bullied from them. It will also help them to accept her, and eventually, they can have some supervised free ranging time together until she is part of the group.

Some chickens can be weak or stunted, especially after suffering coccidiosis, and there are also viruses, such as Mareks that can affect immunity. I would give her some probiotics, and feed some chopped egg or tuna along with her usual chick feed.
 
She appears sick or lethargic in the pic. Do you have a local vet who could do a fecal float of some fresh droppings on her? She could have a resistant or recurrent strain of coccidiosis or possibly something else going on. Some chickens get chronic coccidiosis, and some may develop clostridium perfringens enteritis.

So, does she eat and drink normally with you inside the house? Since she has been separated so much, she may not be able to tolerate the cold. A good way to keep her inside the coop with the others is to place her in a wire dog crate with her own food and water, so she cannot be bullied from them. It will also help them to accept her, and eventually, they can have some supervised free ranging time together until she is part of the group.

Some chickens can be weak or stunted, especially after suffering coccidiosis, and there are also viruses, such as Mareks that can affect immunity. I would give her some probiotics, and feed some chopped egg or tuna along with her usual chick feed.

She’s outside all the time except for the 20 minutes a day (sometimes twice a day) and it only got cold recently but I find her sleeping in the pile of chickens who chose not to roost at night and sleep in the egg boxes instead. I haven’t actually seen anyone pick on her other than the two other new ones but they’ve mellowed out to her.

I’ll see if our vet will do a decal float and I’ll start her on the stronger concentration of corid as well I think. She’ll love high protein treats; she ate small amounts of yogurt when she was sick.

No other chickens are sick; think it’s worth adding corid to their water as a prophylactic?

Thanks
 
Like someone else mentioned I think, it could be nectrotic enteritis. A friend had a bout of coccidiosis this past late-summer and lost nearly her whole flock to NE some weeks later. They were treated for the coccidiosis and well cared for but the damage was done. I’m not sure what antibiotics were used for the NE but I don’t think any lived (any of the ones who’d had coccidiosis — after the coccidiosis and before recognizing the NE, she added several to her flock after a predator attack and I think most of those survived).

Depending on the results of the float, I’d talk to the vet about NE and be aggressive about it as i understand it’s very contagious. Best of luck!
 
Happy news to report! The fecal float was negative; she’s continuing to have formed, non-bloody stools and has really peeled up since I brought her inside in a crate on Thursday. I think she might have just had a combination of being hungry/dehydrated, combined with the stress of a new environment, the weather, and being on the bottom of the pecking order. I’m keeping her inside for at least another week to get her strength up. Today she got to have a field trip to visit the other 2 she was with originally. They all socialized well and had fun in the sun; think she was getting lonely. Look at the size differences though; all the same age. I think she’ll be my lil runt forever.

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Ok now we’ve got some new symptoms. She’s still indoors in the kennel, eating and drinking fine but she’s pooping a mix of formed stool and straight water. I noticed it today but she’s on puppy pads that absorb so it could have been going on longer. No blood or worms noted. Not really growing much. She seems to walk a little funny (high stepping) but I’m not sure if that’s because she’s on hardwood floors when I let her out. She’s uncoordinated when she flies and has been since I got her. She’s wiping her beak on the ground a lot but it doesn’t look like there’s anything stuck in it.


She’d gotten a second course of corid even though her fecal smear was negative. I just added ACV to her water. Otherwise she was eating regular pellets with plain fresh water. Any advice? Should I switch to electrolytes in her water to help her stay hydrated? I want to get her healthy and back with her flock!
 
Electrolytes might give her more diarrhea. I would try giving a 1/2 ounce of cottage cheese daily, or add a small amount of cooked rice and a little buttermilk to her feed.
 
Electrolytes might give her more diarrhea. I would try giving a 1/2 ounce of cottage cheese daily, or add a small amount of cooked rice and a little buttermilk to her feed.
Will do! Do you think she needs abx or some other treatment or just supportive measures until she gets over it? I’m just stumped with where to go. Don’t want to prolong her life if it’s something she won’t get over and I can’t keep her in the house forever. I’m worried about moving her out without knowing if it’s contagious. Thanks!
 

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