Two 5 mo old poults died, only commom thing wzs wasting.

[chickdiane10]

I am sorry for your losses. To me, I think Mareks disease may be an issue. It lowers the immunity, making them prone to common diseases. In what state are you located? The best way to get a diagnosis is to have your state vet lab perform a necropsy and testing for Mareks. Here is a list of them to contact:
https://www.metzerfarms.com/poultry-labs.html

Thanks. I see one is 1.48 hrs from me so I could save myself shipping

 

[chickdiane10]

Another thought is bacterial secondary infection from the coccidia and or capillary worms. They can sometimes badly disrupt the gut bacteria, allowing the bad bacteria to take over. E coli and clostridium are common and they can develop necrotic enteritis. So a round of antibiotics might be needed. I've had secondary bacterial issues with roundworm infection, if they don't bounce back after worming I usually try amoxicillin first (if you have none on hand you may not be able to get it right now due to shortages- it's available as a fish medication without prescription). Your vet that did the fecal could also check for bacteria. Without amoxicillin I would try SMZ-TMP instead, you can get that here without prescription: https://www.medi-vet.com/Bird-Sulfa-Sulfamethoxazole-Trimethoprim-480mg-p/19328.htm
Worth a shot anyway, to see if it helps.
Following the antibiotic I would give a good probiotic for a couple of weeks, to help the gut get back in good balance again.
If you lose this one, then I would also highly recommend necropsy, so that you know exactly what is going on with them, especially since you've lost several.

I do have fish mox so I can try that. I have the 250mg capsules. I split it in half and do a dose in morning and dose in evening. How many days do you recommend?

 

[chickdiane10]

I treated coccidiosis monday-friday while waiting on fecal. Following week wormer arrived.

The picture was from Saturday. She was wormed the day before (Friday). I had to order everything.

I've been giving her probiotics about 5 or 6 days now.

Would she act sicker if she had a bacterial infection?
She's out digging, eating, drinking, all the chicken stuff. She just takes small short breaks. Makes me think she's working on healing from having the parasites?

 

[coach723]

I did some searching for worm counts to find something that would hopefully make sense to you. Link below that I think will be helpful. Your test showed an EPG of 23 (EPG is eggs per gram of fecal material), which is very low (though their scale considers it medium). The link below is a lab that uses a very different scale. They did not distinguish how many were capillaria and how many were coccidia. With that number it's very unlikely that the coccidia caused illness, but treating with Corid didn't do any harm, and it's better safe than sorry. Birds exposed to coccidia will build resistance to it and won't get ill from a very small number unless they are weakened by something else. They get sick when the numbers exceed their immune systems ability to deal with them, or if its a new strain they haven't been exposed to before. It's also low for capillaria, but I would have wormed for that regardless as capillaria can do a lot of damage, and they will multiply. So, yes, I would do the second dose of the Valbazen for sure.
If you want to wait and watch her, you can, see if she starts to perk up some. You can always start the amoxicillin if she starts to look worse. Depending on how irritated/damaged the digestive tract is from the parasites, it could take a little longer. I treat for roundworm regularly and have had a few birds get very, very sick, and take up to a week to really start looking better. With lower loads they sometimes look better within 24 hours.
Dose of amoxicillin is 57 mg per pound of body weight, twice a day. Treat for 7 - 10 days.
Amoxicillin is usually well tolerated. Just to make sure, the correct dosing of Valbazen is .5ml for a standard sized bird (actual dosing math is (weight in lbs / 2.2 X 20mg / 113.6).

Link to explanation of parasite fecal counts (this is a UK site):
https://www.westgatelabs.co.uk/info-zone/what-do-my-results-mean/avian-test-results/

 

[chickdiane10]

Do you think cappilaria is what has been giving her the diarrhea?
I'm on the fence with antibiotics bc I hate to mess up her gut health any further than what the worms/oosysts have done. But if she takes a turn I'll definitely start her as I have the proper meds here.

 

[coach723]

I've no way of knowing for sure, but worms certainly can have that symptom, and capillaria are not pleasant ones (none of them are). Poultrykeeper.com lists common symptoms as diarrhea that is usually green, pale yolks, anemia, and birds looking hunched with wings sagging. I understand, I would just make sure you worm her the second time and continue giving her the probiotics. If she seems to take a turn for the worse, then you can start meds.

 

[BigBlueHen53]

oregano, cinnamon, garlic, tumeric/black pepper on too. I

None of these are really therapeutic, and the garlic can actually be toxic to chickens. Save your money.

Would she act sicker if she had a bacterial infection

Chickens are excellent at looking and behaving "normal" to disguise illness until they are desperately ill. It's a survival skill, as a sick-looking, weak, lethargic bird pretty much signals to a predator, "Dying Bird Here, Eat Me."