Treating a severe case of coccidiosis

[Beau plus penny]

On August 2nd 2020 we noticed my silkie hen acting lethargic with her feathers puffed and not necessarily tending to her then 4ish week old chick. We treated the whole flock with Corid as we suspected coccidiosis and after 48 hours there were no improvements with her conditions so we stopped treatment. As time progressed her symptoms got worse and at the same time we were also dealing with a possible mite infestation so we thought that she was actually anemic from the mites. We made sure to syringe feed her high protein/high iron foods (egg yolks, blended chicken thighs and molasses) as well as monitoring her. August 7th/8th her condition quickly declined. Now she could barely walk and if she did she was stumbling constantly, she barely could open her eyes, she wouldn’t eat on her own and she had green poops which I was quickly informed was a sign of nutrient malabsorption. We continued syringe feeding her water with electrolytes, egg yolk and other high protein/high iron blends. After calling 4 vet clinics (2 of which could only take chickens) we were able to see a vet on August 10th. We were grateful that the hen gave us a fecal specimen in the box in the car on the way over as the vet thought he found a possible nematode egg but he was also convinced that she was suffering from a bad case of coccidiosis. There, they treated her with a single dose dewormer and we were given three syringes of 0.4ml Baycox coccidiocide to treat her for three days as well as continuing syringe feeding her glucose, iron and protein. He said that there was only so much we could do to treat her as her intestines were probably severely damaged and that’s why she had green poops and is so lifeless.

We were also told she’s malnourished and weighs around the same as her now 6 week old chick (around 565g if I’m remembering correctly) which makes sense because she lost an absurd amount of weight during her brood off of her already small and likely underweight body. It also seems now she is developing some kind of wry neck as well as she had a slightly impacted crop a few days ago which we resolved with olive oil and massages. From my understanding the vet doesn’t think it’s the end of the line for her and with proper supportive care she’ll make a full recovery. It’s certainly been a roller coaster of emotions and a will-she-won’t-she situation but I am so grateful we’ve gotten the help we so desperately need.

Right now she and her chick are in a dog kennel in the house. Her condition hasn’t improved but we didn’t expect her to “come back from the dead” overnight. Her supportive care right now consists of being syringe fed ~1ml water with electrolytes and ~1ml of various protein/glucose/iron rich foods every 1 hour or so from 6am-7pm. We don’t want to asphyxiate her because her neck is weird so we don’t give it all at once but she licks it up quickly. Her poops are small and green still, I don’t know how long it’ll take before we start our uphill journey back to normalcy.

Corrid can take days to weeks to fully recover coccidiosis is very destructive to there inner intestinal lining it breaks it down like a parasite so recovery is very gradual but worth it

 

[Debbie292d]

10 mg enrofloxacin/kg bodyweight per day for 3-5 consecutive days.

or 10mg per two pounds body weight.

I'm disappointed in your vet for not giving you the information you legitimately requested. That isn't a sign of a professional.

On a different thread, the OP told me liquid Baytril, so I found what Wyorp said and posted it.

https://www.backyardchickens.com/th...or-a-five-pound-rooster.1398314/post-22948121

And btw, this is the same vet that not only told OP to stop the Baytril after only two days, but when the OP asked about their having some calcium +D3 at home, the vet said no, to just give the Tums. I do not like this vet!

 

[Ccort]

10 mg enrofloxacin/kg bodyweight per day for 3-5 consecutive days.

or 10mg per two pounds body weight.

I'm disappointed in your vet for not giving you the information you legitimately requested. That isn't a sign of a professional.

I meant to say I'm giving her .1 cc, twice a day. Is that correct? The hen it was for is actually bigger than this one and that was her dose.
I wish she would have instead of leaving me guessing, which is really all I've been doing since all this started.

 

[Debbie292d]

I meant to say I'm giving her .1 cc, twice a day. Is that correct? The hen it was for is actually bigger than this one and that was her dose.
I wish she would have instead of leaving me guessing, which is really all I've been doing since all this started.

Whew! I thought you were majorly overdosing her! Now you're underdosing. That's okay. If you want to finish her up, do a few more days of doubling that each time.

 

[azygous]

@Debbie292d thanks for that clarification. I'm not really up on Baytril.

Could you state the dosage per pound and the length of time it should be given so we all have the correct information?

 

[Perris]

@Debbie292d thanks for that clarification. I'm not really up on Baytril.

Could you state the dosage per pound and the length of time it should be given so we all have the correct information?

See @Eggcessive 's post here
https://www.backyardchickens.com/threads/please-give-advice-with-baytril.1489845/#post-24842157

TLDR: it should NOT be given to chickens.

 

[Ccort]

@Debbie292d thanks for that clarification. I'm not really up on Baytril.

Could you state the dosage per pound and the length of time it should be given so we all have the correct information?

@azygous @Debbie292d

But that means that the vet gave the wrong dose to my other hen who died. She was 7 lbs and the day before she died was given .1 cc of Baytril.
Also, because I'm using that bottle with the amount in the bottle being for a .1 cc dose, that means I don't have enough or even close to enough to properly dose my current hen. And the vet refuses to give an antibiotic....should I just continue the .1 cc with her!?

 

[azygous]

This is a conundrum we sometimes encounter, not having enough of the right antibiotic. When this happens, we usually suggest giving the antibiotic you have until the antibiotic you ordered arrives. Then switching to a full round of that new antibiotic.

This way, the current antibiotic can help your chicken stave off the bacteria enough to hold her own until she can have a full round with proper dosage of the new one.

I would ditch that vet of yours. Surely they have competent competition you can go to.

I recently had a super run-in with a similar type people doctor. He marched in and zealously, without any regard to my needs, proceeded to dictate that I stop my medications that my previous doctor ordered (that were working) and adopt his rigid protocol. Picture an 82 year old 100 pound woman in a self righteous rage literally chasing this person out of the room. There's no reason we have to put up with that sort of thing.

 

[Ccort]

This is a conundrum we sometimes encounter, not having enough of the right antibiotic. When this happens, we usually suggest giving the antibiotic you have until the antibiotic you ordered arrives. Then switching to a full round of that new antibiotic.

This way, the current antibiotic can help your chicken stave off the bacteria enough to hold her own until she can have a full round with proper dosage of the new one.

I would ditch that vet of yours. Surely they have competent competition you can go to.

I recently had a super run-in with a similar type people doctor. He marched in and zealously, without any regard to my needs, proceeded to dictate that I stop my medications that my previous doctor ordered (that were working) and adopt his rigid protocol. Picture an 82 year old 100 pound woman in a self righteous rage literally chasing this person out of the room. There's no reason we have to put up with that sort of thing.

Thank you both for your advice here. I'm clearly getting little to no help from the vet, and apparently more often incorrect info. I'm starting to worry if she actually did the stool sample or not because she initially said she wouldn't. I'm also completely astounded that I had a clearly dying hen, who I loved, and the vet gave the wrong dosage of antibiotic l. So she really never stood a chance.
The new antibiotic...could you please tell me exactly how much of that I will give? I have another hen who's crop was nice and empty this morning but now isn't eating. Of course, runny stool.
I hate to do it because it's going to take a ton of work but am going to try clearing out the whole run, in case of mold that I'm missing. I have also ordered tarp for the sides of the run....I currently have tarp over the top and then on the sides of half of it...so rain or snow would get in anywhere near the food. I guess I should put tarp the whole way?
I don't know how on earth you all on here are getting good vet care. I started calling vets within an hour and half from me...found six who treat chickens, none will treat a flock without having each individual hen brought into them. The vet I saw two hours from me is open monday-friday so anytime I would go there, it's a four hours drive and a whole day off work. It's just insane and heartbreaking to me how little help there actually is.
I did enjoy the the thought of the 82, 100 pound raging woman. Lol!

 

[azygous]

The med you ordered is the same thing as what you're giving your hen now. It's just the generic version. The dosage is 0.05 ml per pound (or 0.25 ml for a 5 pound chicken) given orally twice a day for 5 days.

Your lament about vets is why this site exists. In spite of my having a vet who is at least helpful with procuring antibiotics, he makes no bones about stating he knows absolutely nothing about chickens. This is what most of us face. So we who have been through a long learning curve with our chickens over a couple decades now share what we know with others.

Everyone who comes here is helpful to the extent they have experience, but the "Educators" (denoted by the black badge under their user info to the left) have been thoroughly vetted by BYC staff as to general reliability of knowledge, are especially dependable sources of help on this site. Not that we replace a vet's knowledge and training, but in the absence of a vet, we do our part to save chicken lives.