Unknown sickness - lots of blood in stool, happy pullet

[georgie123]

Good morning, my first time writing here. I have four Pullet Pekin Bantams, the oldest hen (approx. 5 months) has been pooing significant amount of blood every morning for the last week. I have treated her for mites, worms, given her amprolium in case of coccidiosis but ceased after three days with no improvement. I have been working DE in small parts well mixed into their feed for the last week and as normal making up about 15% of their dust bath. Also been adding ACV into their water incase it's worms. She was quite lethargic and puffy one morning a few days ago leading me to think it was cocci but has since returned to herself but still persisting with blood. The coop has had a deep clean and I have been removing every bit of blood first thing in the mornings to try and keep the environment sterile. I've made sure the coop is vermin proof and I'm just at such a loss what to do, have been waking up every morning expecting her to pass but shes still as a happy as ever. Noting that her bloody stool is ONLY in the mornings, starts off quite significant and then slowly less and less over a couple hours until it becomes no longer runny and with no more traces of blood. She had pulled out quite alot of feathers about a weak ago, and while she seems to be preening a little more than normal shes no longer losing mass amounts of feathers from her chest and feet. I've attached some photos, these photos were taken the last two mornings. The only thing i'm left thinking is 'is it a severe case of worms?' maybe a type I haven't treated for? I used Killiverm at 15ml to 2L for the little bantams and only one treatment leaving out for 2 hours, the ACV seems to help a little. Also been giving some greek yoghurt to try and help that tummy flora. Thanks so much for your time, Any help is greatly appreciated kind regards, Georgie

 

[Ihavesomechickens]

I would continue treating for cocci, as that is probably the cause. Treat the entire flock, as if she has it they all have it.

 

[restinpeacenyla]

That blood is not normally how coccidia poop looks. It's way too much and not part of the stool as it is in coccidiosis. This isn't to deny flat out that it's not from coccidiosis, but I suggest you look for another source for the blood.

Have you checked feet for wounds? Broken toenails can bleed a lot. Have you checked for new pin feather growth on your chickens? Broken pin feathers bleed a lot because they don't coagulate.

Another possible source of a lot of bleeding is comb wounds. This is very common when skirmishes occur in the coop, especially over roosting space.

A complete body exam of all your chickens would be a good idea. Examine vents for possible wounding, and hopefully you don't have a vent prolapse and injury on your hands.

That said, it does no harm to treat for coccidiosis, and as the others have said, the entire flock needs to be treated for a full five to seven days for it to do any good, then again a week later for another five days.

If you really want to be sure that coccidiosis is the problem here, gather a few random poop samples and take them to a vet and ask for a fecal float test to determine what parasites may be present. Assure the vet that you will bear responsibility for treatment as it's possible they will refuse to treat chickens.

follow this advice. i was also thinking that the blood seemed a little excessive (also seeing that it stops throughout the day). take her to the vet with some poo samples and have the vet make a full body exam on her.

 

[restinpeacenyla]

the things you have done are very good! i think she might have infected the entire flock and just keeps getting reinfected with coccidiosis. please isolate her! treat the entire flock as they probably all have it! you sound much more profesional than me but its just some advice. how is her egg laying going?

 

[restinpeacenyla]

@Eggcessive

 

[azygous]

That blood is not normally how coccidia poop looks. It's way too much and not part of the stool as it is in coccidiosis. This isn't to deny flat out that it's not from coccidiosis, but I suggest you look for another source for the blood.

Have you checked feet for wounds? Broken toenails can bleed a lot. Have you checked for new pin feather growth on your chickens? Broken pin feathers bleed a lot because they don't coagulate.

Another possible source of a lot of bleeding is comb wounds. This is very common when skirmishes occur in the coop, especially over roosting space.

A complete body exam of all your chickens would be a good idea. Examine vents for possible wounding, and hopefully you don't have a vent prolapse and injury on your hands.

That said, it does no harm to treat for coccidiosis, and as the others have said, the entire flock needs to be treated for a full five to seven days for it to do any good, then again a week later for another five days.

If you really want to be sure that coccidiosis is the problem here, gather a few random poop samples and take them to a vet and ask for a fecal float test to determine what parasites may be present. Assure the vet that you will bear responsibility for treatment as it's possible they will refuse to treat chickens.

 

[Eggcessive]

Are you in Australia? It won’t hurt to treat all chickens with amprollium for possible coccidiosis. Harkers coxoid is a brand sold there, and amprol or amprollium is the active drug. But that is a lot of blood. Do you have any with feathered feet? Pulling blood feathers can create a lot of blood in the coop. Your vet could look at some of the bloody droppings to look for coccidia and worms.

 

[Eggcessive]

Coccidiosis is not more prevalent in AU, but the products to treat it can have different names. Glad that you have been treating already with amprollium. Sometimes having a game camera in the coop at roost time or early morning can be helpful to spot any feather picking or pecking problems.

 

[azygous]

When pin feathers become an attractive nuisance and the chickens won't leave them alone, I put a concoction on them called Blu-kote or Blue lotion. The main ingredient is gentian violet which you can get on Amazon. It will heal any irritations and camouflage the bare skin by staining it purple, a color that chickens are indifferent to. This works to protect any fresh or healing wound from being picked at.

 

[georgie123]

When pin feathers become an attractive nuisance and the chickens won't leave them alone, I put a concoction on them called Blu-kote or Blue lotion. The main ingredient is gentian violet which you can get on Amazon. It will heal any irritations and camouflage the bare skin by staining it purple, a color that chickens are indifferent to. This works to protect any fresh or healing wound from being picked at.

Thankyou so very much for your informative and really prompt replies, Georgie