Two 3 Month old chicks limping please help.

[Hannah11]

The day before yesterday I spotted one of my chicks limping he is a rooster, he was limping pretty badly I presumed that he had been attacked by one of the other roosters so i put him in a cat cage with food and water inside for recovery he ate well for the first days (scrambled eggs and usual food) then he stop eating as much. he Is not getting better (if not worse) I can't find any cuts or strange things on his legs. Then an hour ago one of the pullets was slightly limping and wanting to sit all the time (it is possible she got hurt by one of the other chicks she is a bit of an outcast) she is still eating well and seems happy. Im going to set up a heat lamp and cook up a lot of egg for them. i have flights to my home town for a few days but I have a friend who will come to check on them but i don't really trust him to keep a proper eye out or not to be rough with them. any help would be fantastic I'm very worried it could be[FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif] [/FONT]mareks but would love any different ideas.

 

[seminolewind]

Hannah, the way I discovered Marek's was that I thought my 2 month old chick had a broken leg. I splinted it. A few days later I had another "broken leg". That's when I knew it was Mareks. They were both eating and drinking at the time, less.

It's certaily a possibility, not the only one, but the first thing that came to mind. Keep updating.

 

[Hannah11]

TY, i will look out for the other legs. this morning they seem better... escaped box and hunting for food and pooping all over the place but the little roo is lying down again he won't stay standing for long. I'm going to put them into my hothouse (vege garden) while I'm away with plenty of food and water plus all the goodies growing in there i hope that gives them time to get better

 

[cowcreekgeek]

TY, i will look out for the other legs. this morning they seem better... escaped box and hunting for food and pooping all over the place but the little roo is lying down again he won't stay standing for long. I'm going to put them into my hothouse (vege garden) while I'm away with plenty of food and water plus all the goodies growing in there i hope that gives them time to get better

Havin' poop everywhere allows you to take a closer look at it ... color, consistency, etc.

I'd suspect internal parasites, given the limping/squating. New Zealand has slightly different parasites than we do here, if I remember correctly. Fenbendazole is my favorite, but Albendazole is effective against tapeworms as well. If it's coccidiosis, you're gonna wanna use Amprolium.

 

[Hannah11]

Hey thanks for the advice, the poo looked really healthy until today when it was very runny, it still looks good though its the right color and all (i think the runny poo is due to the eggs maybe?) The worms didn't even cross my mind i recently wormed them with Aviverm but I just realized that the chicks in question actually started using a different water source! i will re-worm them now!

Im not too sure about aviverm it was part of a Chicken health pack thing i got ill research it now
Thanks heaps really helpful!

 

[cowcreekgeek]

Hey thanks for the advice, the poo looked really healthy until today when it was very runny, it still looks good though its the right color and all (i think the runny poo is due to the eggs maybe?) The worms didn't even cross my mind i recently wormed them with Aviverm but I just realized that the chicks in question actually started using a different water source! i will re-worm them now!

Im not too sure about aviverm it was part of a Chicken health pack thing i got ill research it now
Thanks heaps really helpful!

No problem ... the active ingredient w/in Aviverm is Levamisole. The products are different in New Zealand as well, but here's a list of active ingredients that are approved for extra-label use by vets here (and, that the rest of us use, as well ~'-)

1. Tramisol

(Active ingredient: Levamisole hydrochloride) - Schering Plough.
Soluble Drench Powder approved in sheep, cattle, and pigs. Withdrawal for cattle is 48 hrs
pre-slaughter, 72 hrs pre-slaughter for sheep and 72 hrs for pigs. Levamisole will not settle out in
medication lines. Chicken and turkey dose is 16 mg active levamisole per pound of body weight
delivered by proportioner over 3-4 hours as a bolus for capillaria and cecal worms in pullets and
hens. There is no effect on hatch, egg production, feed conversion, or body weight when used at 8
and 16 mg/pound of body weight dose. However, in the chicken, at 36 mg/pound, water intake is
reduced, at 288 mg/pound, diarrhea occurs, and at 900 mg/pound, 20% mortality occurred. Egg
residue clearance time is not known. For roundworms in broilers/pullets, the dose is 8 mg of active
levamisole per pound of body weight. This is given as a bolus over 3-4 hours. Tissue withdrawal
times and egg withdrawal times must be extrapolated and extended for safety based on data from
approved food animal clearances (3,4,5,6,7,8).
2. Valbazen

Oral Suspension (Active ingredient: Albendazole) - Pfizer Animal Health
Albendazole has been reported to be effective in the treatment of capillaria, ascaridia, heterakis, and
tape worms in chickens. It has been labeled only for cattle and sheep. There is no poultry data
available. Settling in drinker lines has not been reported as has been seen with other anthelmentics in
this class. Cattle require a 7 day withdrawal and sheep require a 7 day withdrawal pre-slaughter.
There is no available data on tissue or egg clearance time in poultry. There have been no reported
negative effects on the performance of broilers, pullets and hens. Valbazen is supplied in 500 ml,
1 liter, and 5 liter bottles of an 11.36% suspension. In chickens, the reported dose is 10 mg/kg of body
weight (personal communication).
The cattle dose is 1 liter of Valbazen 11.36% Suspension per 500 lb as an oral bolus via dosing gun
or dose syringe. (4.54 mg albendazole/lb, 10 mg/kg). Sheep dose is 1 liter of Valbazen 11.36%
Suspension per 664 animals weighing 50 lbs each (3.4 albendazole/lb, 7.5 mg/kg).
3. Synanthic

Bovine Dewormer Suspension, (Active ingredient, 22.5%: Oxfendazole) -
Fort Dodge Animal Health
Synanthic is reported to be effective for capillaria, ascarids, and heterakis. Synanthic does have
activity against cattle tape worms, however, there is no data whether it will work against poultry
tapeworms.
There is 225 mg oxfendazole per ml and it is supplied in a 500 ml bottle for cattle. The
withdrawal time is 7 days for cattle. There is no tissue-clearance data available for poultry, nor any
data available on side-effects in poultry. The cattle dose is 2.05 mg/pound of body weight
(4.5 mg/kg B.W.). There is also a 9.06% suspension available in a 1 liter bottle (90.6 mg/ml of
oxfendazole). Settling out in water lines without agitation can be a problem (personal
communication).
4. Safe-guard (Active ingredient: 10% suspension, Fenbendazole) - Beef and dairy cattle,
oral parasiticide - Hoechst-Roussel
Effective against capillaria, round, and cecal worms in chickens (not approved in chickens). It is
approved for turkeys as a feed additive, 20% premix type A and B, 16ppm (14.6 gm/ton complete
feed for 6 consecutive days) for control of adult and larvae round worms and cecal worms.
The cattle dose is 2.3 mg/pound BW (5 mg/kg BW) as an oral bolus. Beef cattle withdrawal is
8 days following the last treatment. For dairy cattle, there is no milk withdrawal time. Safe-guard
is supplied in 1 liter and 1 gallon bottles. There may be a problem with settling out in drinker lines
without agitation (personal experience).
5. Ivermectin (1% injectable for cattle)
Since Ivermectin went off-patent, there are several manufacturers producing it. Ivermectin has been
used orally via extra-label scripts to treat Northern Fowl Mite and capillaria infestations. Only mites
that are on the birds are killed. The 1% injectable cattle formulation has been used as follows
(personal communication):
• 1 ml of 1% Ivermectin injectible + 1 ml. propylene glycol + 2 gal H2O, proportion at 1
oz./gal D.W.
• Administer 2 times, 10-14 days apart. There is a 30 day withdrawal (destroy commercial
eggs for 30 days post-therapy.)

I've been lookin' for the old thread in which there were worms we've never seen here in the US ... again? I can't really recall the specifics, or the treatment ultimately chosen, but will keep on lookin' if you need me to.

 

[Hannah11]

Hey,
I found a NZ page all about worms and it seems like the Aviverm really works for most types of worms except g[FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]apeworm and it doesn't seem like they have that. No worries about research you have already been very helpful, i will continue looking into it tonight. I think you got it bang on worms seem very likely. I have left instructions for the person looking after the chicks to dose again in two days. will update as soon as i hear how they are doing, to be on the safe side i have repowdered all chook 'areas' with mite and lice powder. If there is anything else i should do let me know [/FONT]

[FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]Thanks again
Hannah[/FONT]

 

[cowcreekgeek]

Hey,
I found a NZ page all about worms and it seems like the Aviverm really works for most types of worms except g[FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]apeworm and it doesn't seem like they have that. No worries about research you have already been very helpful, i will continue looking into it tonight. I think you got it bang on worms seem very likely. I have left instructions for the person looking after the chicks to dose again in two days. will update as soon as i hear how they are doing, to be on the safe side i have repowdered all chook 'areas' with mite and lice powder. If there is anything else i should do let me know [/FONT]

[FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]Thanks again
Hannah[/FONT]

Wow ... finally clicked to use the full page editor, before I could even type in the text field.

Anyhow: As to doin' anything else? Be sure 'n enjoy your trip, and w/o lettin' your worries prevent you from it. You've done about all you can, and they'll most probably be just fine, and just about anybody can take care of chickens for a few days at a time ~'-)