still battling something

[plantguy90]

A few weeks ago one of my hens wasted away, she was already too light by the time I noticed. Seemed like cocci so I started sulmet treatments and nobody who seemed healthy got sick, but one BSL who also had the diahrea now only seems slightly better. She hasn't lost weight, or appetite, although she has been cackling a lot and doesn't seem 100% either.

She also has some feather loss and red skin in the front neck area, and the rear below the vent also is showing red skin, although I have not seen mites or anything. They roost in the air, and have an old tire filled with sand and I have sprinkled diatomaceous earth on it.

I dont know if I am battling one thing or two... I really dont want to lose the BSL, that would mean none of my birds have lived even a year with me. Any suggestions? Thanks in advance.

 

[a2ms4chickens]

I'm not sure what you might be dealing with, but here are a couple of suggestions:

Have you wormed your birds?

Have you noticed any blood on where your chickens roost? If it is wood, you might want to check for roost mites, at night.

You can give her some apple cider vinegar, or vitamins in her water to see if that helps perk her up.

Try giving her some high protein treats, hard boiled eggs, vinegar, canned cat food.

I hope some of these might help, and good luck with your little girl

Angie

 

[MotherJean]

This thread may be helpful to you: https://www.backyardchickens.com/forum/viewtopic.php?pid=4135337

The upshot is that you might consider treating with Corrid instead of the Sulmet. SpeckledHen said, "Corid does a much better job here. Sulmet keeps their intestines bleeding longer and is harder on their systems and I was having to use it twice to do any good so I quit using it."

Also, here is a link to an authoritative article on coccidiosis from the Dept. of Ag in Alberta, Canada: http://www1.agric.gov.ab.ca/$department/deptdocs.nsf/all/agdex4616 There, it notes that we are beginning to see some drug-resistant strains of coccidia. The recommendation is to switch drugs, i.e. if you initially treated the bird with Sulmet, you should switch to Corrid for the second treatment (and vice versa).

I do have one question...how old was the bird that died and how old is the BSL? If older than about 5 months, the article seems to suggest that they may have been infected for some time with a specific strain of "chronic coccidia" such as E. acervulina and E. maxima which is "marked by weight loss."

Hope this helps you.

 

[plantguy90]

Thanks for the suggestions!

No I have not wormed them, I will ask my local feed stores where I can get the meds.

The poop after Sulmet looks back to "normal," there were reddish hues in the soft poop a week ago. Tomorrow I start the yogurt.

The wood! May have something there, the nesting box is made from cheap foreign pallet wood, and the areas affected is where she rubs herself on it when she nests, was going to line the botttom with plywood and see what happens, or how should I treat for wood mites or other critters in the wood? The whole coop is made of that wood!

The birds affected were 10-11 months old; and the store that sold them to me talks about a super strain that is affecting birds "this year." Since they got sick the run is now bioseciure vs. wild birds, before that wild birds were hopping in all the time.

ACV, darn, keep forgetting about that one, ok tomorrow. I do give them a lot of fresh and freeze dried mealworms.

Almost done with the bottle of Sulmet, will switch to Corrid next time.

 

[MotherJean]

How long have you been giving your birds the Sulmet? The recommended treatment is for 6 days only. Using powder Sulmet the dosage is 2 tablespoons to a one gallon of water given for the first 2 days and then reduce the strength to 1 tablespoon per gallon of water for 4 additional days. To be sure that you are giving your birds the proper dosage each day, it is important that you only give them the medicated water in an amount that can be fully consumed in one day. If yours is a small flock, that may mean that you should not mix up more than a couple of cups to 1 quart per day, otherwise you would be under-medicating and this can foster resistant strains of coccidia. The manufacturer also cautions that an overdose can produce a toxic reaction. That's why it is so important when medicating your birds that you follow the dosage recommendations from the drug company precisely. There are problems with both giving your birds too little and too much.

If you have been giving the Sulmet for longer than 6 days, stop now. Do not retreat the entire flock with Corrid. Once a bird has been infected and successfully treated for cocci, they will acquire a resistance (immunity) to the strains that infected them. They should never have to be treated again.

Any birds, particularly the BSL, not acting otherwise healthy should be isolated and observed. Give the BSL abundant layer mash, a fresh quart of water each day to which you've added 1 tsp. of ACV and 1 tsp. of Polyvisol vitamins (without iron). Don't forget the oyster shell - and grit if you isolate her off the ground. Wait and watch. If her condition worsens, start a thread on her alone.

 

[plantguy90]

I think the sulmet worked, I kind of screwed up and didnt use the right dosage at first , but the diarhea has stopped and no reddish poop anymore. Will line the nesting boxes with plywood to see if that doesn't help with the red skin rash.

BSL is stable, so we will see.