Someone pls give me the scoop on coccidia in ADULT hens. One just died and my last 2 don't seem well

[guesswhatchickenbutt]

I posted yesterday that one of my three beloved hens died suddenly. I took her to the vet and he euthanized her for me because she couldn't be saved. I have two other hens - both are 3 years old and have been healthy - a BO and a BR. The EE looked fine before I went on a one-week vacation - she had a bit of poop on her butt, but was otherwise fine. When I returned after a week, she was limp and barely clinging to life. Our chicken-sitter didn't notice she was ill, but she just fed and watered them, so I'm not sure she'd notice that it was odd that my EE was just sitting there....

Anyway when i took my dying EE to the vet the vet felt her breast area and said she was all bones - no fat or muscle on her He said birds hide their illnesses very well and that I couldn't have known she was wasting away under her feathers. He told me to bring in a fecal sample and go home and check the other hens breast areas to see if they are fat or skinny. Well....they are much skinnier than they should be. The vet tech called today and said the fecal sample came back negative for worms but that the vet said i should buy a medicated feed for coccidia. I said "oh is it definitely coccidia?" and the tech said "I don't know - that's just what he told me to tell you."

Soooo i immediately came on to BYC forum and searched for coccidia b/c i'd never heard of it before. I found hundreds of posts about people's chicks dying of coccidia, but I haven't found any where adult hens die of it. I honestly have no clue what to do. I only had three hens and now I'm down to two. I'll keep searching BYC forum for info in the hopes I find out what this disease is and how to treat it, but I thought i'd post to see if anyone can give me some advice.

The only symtoms are one dead hen who was very skinny.... and my 2 remaining 3-year-old hens are also much skinnier than they should be. Again - negative fecal for worms.

I feel so lost.... this is my first big-chicken-thing since getting them 3 years ago and I don't want to lose my last 2 girls

Any help is much appreciated. Thanks in advance.

ETA: The vet tech told me the vet said to buy medicated feed to treat the other 2 hens. I'm reading on here that medicated feed is preventative and not a cure. I'm DESPERATE to keep my 2 remaining girls alive and I just don't know what to do....

 

[featherz]

I answered your post in the other thread.. Give them Corid powder 1/2 tsp in a gallon of water for 5-7 days. Medicated feed won't cut it, so don't even bother with that!

 

[CMV]

My hens were 2.5 y.o. when they came down with cocci for the first time. It was a particularly wet summer that year, and with all the water everywhere the ground became a breeding ground for all sorts of nasties.

A certain amount of cocci is expected in the feces of adult birds, but if there is a much higher concentration than normal, that's when your birds become symptomatic. Regardless of the bird's age, cocci overload is bad news. Chicks succumb to the effects much more quickly than adults because of their small size, but that does not mean that adults can't die from it.

I am sorry for your loss. Good luck with the others. I hope they bounce back quickly.

 

[Erica]

Hi guesswhatchickenbutt,

realistically, unless you've moved them to a totally different area, adult birds don't get coccidiosis unless there's something wrong with their immune system.

If they've never been exposed to a particular strain then yes, they can come down with it. But if your birds have ranged in the backyard the chances of them having come across a wide variety of strains is high. If they were raised on wire and kept indoors then it's a totally different story (e.g. battery hens).

Unfortunately one common cause of adult coccidiosis (if the husbandry hasn't greatly changed) is Marek's. Sorry to use the dreaded M word, but it would also explain the emaciation.

Erica

 

[pips&peeps]

Your vet can do a fecal to detect cocci also, why didn't they do it????

Adult birds can get cocci if they get run down or if a particularly virulent strain is "dropped off" by wild birds. If you don't want to spend the money to get another fecal done, you can just treat with corid. It is easily found in the livestock (cattle) section of most ag stores.

 

[lillahasten]

I also am in Central Florida also and just had my first case of coccidia (I think) in an adult hen (2 yrs old) starting a few days ago when I noticed she wasn't running around with the rest of the flock and pale and losing weight,among other symptoms. I isolated her in an unused henhouse, and started treating her with Sulmet, then Sulmet +Corid after I had a chance to pick up liquid Corid from the local feed store cattle section. Directions for treating poultry are on the label.

I suspect E.acervulina (based on the white watery droppings) but don't know for sure. I need to pursue a better diagnosis with my vet for the protection of the rest of the flock.

This hen was bought as a chick and raised using medicated feed, with exposure to soil from a young age. The entire flock free ranges and overnights in a coop. She should have developed tolerance to any coccidia present on the property. So far no sign of problems in the rest of the flock. I also had to treat an adult cat for coccidia about one month ago so I think our extremely windy dusty weather turning into extremely wet summer weather may be contributing to high parasite loads right now. There have also been a lot of wild birds visiting the horse and chicken water troughs. I have never seen as many hawks and crows around and drinking from troughs as I have this past dry and windy winter. From everything I've read and heard coccidia is not spread between species. My point just being the weather in Central Florida this winter/spring has been unusual and may be contributing to the problem.

The vet tech should know better than advise you to feed medicated feed for this problem. It is not a suitable treatment once symptoms appear. I haven't yet talked to my vet to see how easy/hard it is to check the feces. They look for coccidia and other parasites regularly in my cats' and dogs' fecal samples.

 

[guesswhatchickenbutt]

I bought the Corid last night and added it to their waterer today. I put a tub of treats (rice, egg, oatmeal) in the run to encourage them to eat.

My BO seems normal-ish. I've seen her in the run a few times nibbling at the treats and I've seen her drink.

My BR hasn't left the coop much today, which is very unlike her. I haven't seen her eat any treats or drink - now she could be drinking, of course, since I don't sit there staring at them 24/7. But we do have a little webcam out there that is wired into our house and whenever I walk past my computer I turn on their cam and I only see the BO wandering about.

Should I be doing something else here????

Otherwise she looks fine - her comb and wattles are red and look fine, but clearly she's "off".

I fear there's something else I should be doing that I'm not.... Advice????? THANKS in advance!!!!!!!!!

 

[dawg53]

I bought the Corid last night and added it to their waterer today. I put a tub of treats (rice, egg, oatmeal) in the run to encourage them to eat.

My BO seems normal-ish. I've seen her in the run a few times nibbling at the treats and I've seen her drink.

My BR hasn't left the coop much today, which is very unlike her. I haven't seen her eat any treats or drink - now she could be drinking, of course, since I don't sit there staring at them 24/7. But we do have a little webcam out there that is wired into our house and whenever I walk past my computer I turn on their cam and I only see the BO wandering about.

Should I be doing something else here????

Otherwise she looks fine - her comb and wattles are red and look fine, but clearly she's "off".

I fear there's something else I should be doing that I'm not.... Advice????? THANKS in advance!!!!!!!!!

I recommend you use an eyedropperful of corid treated water and dose her orally at least 5-6 times a day until she is able to drink the treated water on her own. Sick birds dont drink and/or dont drink enough treated water to be effective.

 

[guesswhatchickenbutt]

An eyedropper.... geeze, I never would have thought of that. Thanks for the suggestion. I'll try that starting tomorrow morning. I feel like I've been a pretty good chicken-mama for 3 years and now it's all falling apart and I'm afraid I don't know enough to do the right thing I'll keep on moving forward though and hope it works.

THANK YOU!!!

 

[CMV]

Another note- stay away from the high protein foods until you finish treatment. High protein foods feed cocci.