thin 4-6 month olds- need help

[Megs]

hi everyone, so i have a bunch of bantam chickens, my older birds are doing fine (my breeders) but my youngsters are having some troubles, they range from 4-6 months old, i either hatched or bought as day olds and they were all doing great up until a few weeks ago.

they seem very thin, i can feel the breastbone quite easily. a few weeks ago i lost 2 japanese pullets, they had badly distended crops (i posted for advice and got little, i tried the only suggestion which was olive oil and it did nothing, i think the birds starved to death, they were very very thin at the end). i just lost another japanese, she did not have a distended crop at all, but was fairly thin.

they have had a bit runnier poo lately, and about a month ago i switched them from chick grower crumble to layer pellets (as i have some adults with them, so was feeding both mixed before, decided to switch to layer for ease as well as they are nearing pol). im wondering if they arent digesting the pellets properly?

they are in a 10X20 grass pen (fully enclosed) with a 10' round chicken coop, i have a heat lamp hung (some sleep under it on the floor, a lot perch high up in the coop with no heat) they have been active and normal looking other than being thin and the now runny poo, so im trying to figure out what is going on. any help appreciated!

im thinking coccidiosis (sp?) may be a possibility? worms? as these are unvaccinated birds seeing as i hatched or bought locally.

i also took some of my birds (a few of these young ones to) to a local fair show 5 weeks ago, could have picked up something?

 

[LynneP]

I have never kept bantams but a 4-H er near us had trouble getting his bantams to eat pellets and kept them on crumbles. I hope the bantam owners will chirp in on this. Not sure when bantams should get layer ration, hope you can get advice on whether they should be on growth ration. Are they being harassed by larger birds?

Might be worth taking a fecal sample to a vet clinic for a floatation test to see if they have worms. Any sign of cocci?

 

[Megs]

just bantams in the coop so not being harassed. i can call around to vets to see if any can do a chicken fecal, i dont have any poultry vets in my area (might be one 2 hrs away).

i was origionally thinking i should put them back onto the grower, or at very least crumble formual layer, but the runny poo wouldnt happen if it was just feed related i dont think.

ive had chickens years ago and never had any health problems, im not sure how to tell if they have cocci other than bloody poo which they dont have , just runny.

 

[PunkinPeep]

My first thought is worms or lice/mites or a combination. It makes sense that your smaller, younger birds might be exhibiting more effects if that's the case.

It's hard to verify worms without lab work, but you can check for mites and lice.

I have no experience with bantams, so i can't chime in on the feed type question.

 

[PunkinPeep]

Quote:
In regard to cocci, the chickens who passed would likely have been sleeping a lot, and fluffing themselves up and staying near the heat lamp before they died. If they're active before death, i would doubt cocci is the culprit. I yield my opinion to those more experienced, but that's my bit on that.

 

[Megs]

no lice or mites, i check regularly and powder them occasionally (powdered the ones that came back from the show just in case)

the temp here has also started to drop for winter, its been 5-15 out, so they have been a bit more fluffed up in the evening/mornings (unless they are out in the run and the sun is out, they look normal/sleek) which is why i added the heat lamp

 

[mamaKate]

I always use crumbles. My roo developed crop problems several weeks ago and I started with yogurt liquid dribbled on his beak because he wouldn't eat at all. Then I hand fed him a mash of yogurt, cooked oatmeal, cream style corn , canned salmon, olive oil and parakeet grit. As his appetite increased I added crumbles and then increased the crumbles till it was at least 3/4 of the mash. He was near death when I started. He's doing great, now, back to his spoiled little self. I still give him a little of the mash in the evening (minus the grit and olive oil).He's grown to love it and I can't say "No." Oh, I also added acv to the water. I still do that. You could worm them with Wazine as a safety measure even without a fecal check.

 

[Megs]

well i went and bought some grower crumble (higher protein than the layer pellets, and hopefully crumble form will help) and i also picked up sodium sulfamethazine (cocci med) for their water.

its the only thing other than the fecal smear i can think to do, but does this sound like it could be worms?

ive had chickens for years and never had health problems other than lice/mites

 

[Megs]

wondering how effective this sodium sulfamethazine should be? anyone used it?

the bottle says 8 mL/L in their water, treat for 2 days, stop for 4, treat for 1 day, stop for 4, treat for 1 day.

is this what everyone does with this med? if you used it

 

[spotsplus]

I have mostly bantams and have a lot of the smaller type bantams. I use a medicated feed up till 5 months old as they seem to have trouble with the pellets. 5-6 months old I mix the crumble and the pellets so that by 6 months they are on all pellets. That works well.

Cocci and Mareks will cause the young birds to eat and eat but still get thin, particularly Mareks. Cocci will sometimes put them off eating and drinking.

T