Silverlilly1
Chirping
- May 2, 2020
- 41
- 18
- 51
I have seven chickens (one rooster) and seven muscovies (one drake), kept in separate pens. Neither has access to the other’s spaces. Both flocks have plenty of outdoor space. The chicken coop is larger, but it is about 30’x30’.
(This will be long, to try to encompass all symptoms and possible factors.)
About three weeks ago, a hen had a bright yellow diarrhea one afternoon. Three hours later there was a dead chicken on the bottom of the hen house. We have no clue if it was the same chicken. I do know that I had a lice infestation that was bad enough that the chickens had eggs on them. I hesitated to treat for lice because there were a lot of eggs, I had no incubator, and I was hoping for broodiness. One became broody shortly thereafter and then I was definitely nervous to spray. I knew the rooster has yellow, foamy poop, but didn’t see anything else odd.
Last week I gave in and finally sprayed the birds and hen house with a permethrin-based product. The next day one chicken “vomited” clear liquid and another (the broody one) did the same twice in the span of three minutes. Think projectile vomiting. One had been sprayed the most with the de-liOn the advice of a vet I gave those two some activated charcoal in case of poisoning. I also noticed that those two had a swollen crop so the vet suggested apple cider vinegar. We gave that to them, too, over the weekend.
The next day I started noticing the weird poops. One chicken (green band) came down with a mostly-water diarrhea. She was also sneezing. A lot. Started treating her with ACV as well, because I didn’t really have anything to go on. More chickens had started having runny yellow poop. Also the broody was making weird rattling sounds.
Next day broody had stopped with the noises but green band was still sneezing and bad diarrhea. All the other GI symptoms continued, but we only saw green band “vomit.”
Monday we had the vet in. She took stool samples, suspecting coccidiosis. Also saw several chickens occasionally breathing with their mouths open. Said that it was strange because my chickens were behaving like normal healthy chickens but have all these weird symptoms. Said if she’d seen these symptoms in another breed she knows better the chickens would be comatose, but mine clearly are not (they’re Ameraucana). Green band is the only one with a swollen crop at this time.
Next day a duck “vomits.” I realize that recently their baths have been more yellow when I change them, rather than brownish or greenish. No change in symptoms.
Wednesday evening I decide to empty the ducks’ bathtub for a few days to prevent them drinking each other’s poop for a little while. No other incidences of regurgitation are seen in either flock. This is good. Back end symptoms are still as bad, crop isn’t better either. Green band had stopped showing any interest in food Tuesday. Vet gets back to me with not much news on the fecal samples. Coccidiosis was there, but with an incidence too low to likely be the cause of all the symptoms. She wasn’t sure what else to say.
Thursday I pick up electrolyte and vitamin powder. Give to both the ducks and chickens. Both eat a lot. Some crops are looking large on some of the chickens, not just one. One of the ducks, after eating, lowers her head and food and water spill out. The same duck does this three times, probably eating between each one. Not the same as the projectile vomiting from the chickens. Contacted the avian health place for my province and the doctor there had no further ideas, other than to use electrolytes and send a bird in for necropsy if another dies. He was stumped too.
Today all birds are eating. They all got yogurt yesterday and today. Poop symptoms have not improved. Crop situation looks worse in more of the chickens. I find a yellow poop with a skinny worm in it. The green band chicken does the same thing the duck did yesterday, but several times without eating and drinking between each one. Food and water out the mouth. But the first time she does it it looks like mucous. After that it looks more like regular food and water.
The only other piece of maybe-relevant information is that the hen house and coop were previously used by my landlord’s many birds (which she got rid of about two months ago). My landlord had not looked after the hen house. I cleaned out a significant amount of poop and hay (yes, hay) with worms crawling through it about a week after my chickens moved in. We’re talking 3.5 wheelbarrows from a 7’x7’ or so building.
I have contacted the vet and she’s prescribing broad spectrum deworming for both flocks. Should I be concerned about more than that? I feel like if it were just roundworm they would have had more identifiable roundworm symptoms. I have new chicks coming soon (from under the broody) and I don’t want to lose the chicks or my existing flocks.
Has anyone seen anything like this?
(This will be long, to try to encompass all symptoms and possible factors.)
About three weeks ago, a hen had a bright yellow diarrhea one afternoon. Three hours later there was a dead chicken on the bottom of the hen house. We have no clue if it was the same chicken. I do know that I had a lice infestation that was bad enough that the chickens had eggs on them. I hesitated to treat for lice because there were a lot of eggs, I had no incubator, and I was hoping for broodiness. One became broody shortly thereafter and then I was definitely nervous to spray. I knew the rooster has yellow, foamy poop, but didn’t see anything else odd.
Last week I gave in and finally sprayed the birds and hen house with a permethrin-based product. The next day one chicken “vomited” clear liquid and another (the broody one) did the same twice in the span of three minutes. Think projectile vomiting. One had been sprayed the most with the de-liOn the advice of a vet I gave those two some activated charcoal in case of poisoning. I also noticed that those two had a swollen crop so the vet suggested apple cider vinegar. We gave that to them, too, over the weekend.
The next day I started noticing the weird poops. One chicken (green band) came down with a mostly-water diarrhea. She was also sneezing. A lot. Started treating her with ACV as well, because I didn’t really have anything to go on. More chickens had started having runny yellow poop. Also the broody was making weird rattling sounds.
Next day broody had stopped with the noises but green band was still sneezing and bad diarrhea. All the other GI symptoms continued, but we only saw green band “vomit.”
Monday we had the vet in. She took stool samples, suspecting coccidiosis. Also saw several chickens occasionally breathing with their mouths open. Said that it was strange because my chickens were behaving like normal healthy chickens but have all these weird symptoms. Said if she’d seen these symptoms in another breed she knows better the chickens would be comatose, but mine clearly are not (they’re Ameraucana). Green band is the only one with a swollen crop at this time.
Next day a duck “vomits.” I realize that recently their baths have been more yellow when I change them, rather than brownish or greenish. No change in symptoms.
Wednesday evening I decide to empty the ducks’ bathtub for a few days to prevent them drinking each other’s poop for a little while. No other incidences of regurgitation are seen in either flock. This is good. Back end symptoms are still as bad, crop isn’t better either. Green band had stopped showing any interest in food Tuesday. Vet gets back to me with not much news on the fecal samples. Coccidiosis was there, but with an incidence too low to likely be the cause of all the symptoms. She wasn’t sure what else to say.
Thursday I pick up electrolyte and vitamin powder. Give to both the ducks and chickens. Both eat a lot. Some crops are looking large on some of the chickens, not just one. One of the ducks, after eating, lowers her head and food and water spill out. The same duck does this three times, probably eating between each one. Not the same as the projectile vomiting from the chickens. Contacted the avian health place for my province and the doctor there had no further ideas, other than to use electrolytes and send a bird in for necropsy if another dies. He was stumped too.
Today all birds are eating. They all got yogurt yesterday and today. Poop symptoms have not improved. Crop situation looks worse in more of the chickens. I find a yellow poop with a skinny worm in it. The green band chicken does the same thing the duck did yesterday, but several times without eating and drinking between each one. Food and water out the mouth. But the first time she does it it looks like mucous. After that it looks more like regular food and water.
The only other piece of maybe-relevant information is that the hen house and coop were previously used by my landlord’s many birds (which she got rid of about two months ago). My landlord had not looked after the hen house. I cleaned out a significant amount of poop and hay (yes, hay) with worms crawling through it about a week after my chickens moved in. We’re talking 3.5 wheelbarrows from a 7’x7’ or so building.
I have contacted the vet and she’s prescribing broad spectrum deworming for both flocks. Should I be concerned about more than that? I feel like if it were just roundworm they would have had more identifiable roundworm symptoms. I have new chicks coming soon (from under the broody) and I don’t want to lose the chicks or my existing flocks.
Has anyone seen anything like this?
