Urgent. Several chickens in flock having the same illness, one has died.

[KeithJ]

We have 10 chickens. The chickens are all the same age born in March 2021. 1 chicken became lethargic had a large soft sour type crop and passed away the same day now 2 days later I have 2 more chickens lethargic, pale combs, large squishy crop and my other 7 chickens are Mildly lethargic. We first thought maybe coccidiosis but now two more have the sour crop symptoms. We did start them on corid this morning in case of coccidiosis. They were started on medicated chick starter feed and now are on layer crumble.
All chickens were obtained at the same time, have been with each other every minute sense we brought them home. They are given the same food and have access to the same food, treats and forage.
Questions.
1. Do you think the sour crop symptoms are from coccidiosis?
2. If it is from that does the treatment change?
3. Any advise is welcome. We have called every vet in the area and no one treats chickens. If they do they are too booked to help save our flock until 1 to 3 weeks out.
We are 20 minutes away from UGA vet school but they have no avian vets this week because they are out of town.
I really feel like we are going to loose some more quickly if I cant get something done soon.
Thanks in advace. Keith

 

[cherrynberry]

We have 10 chickens. The chickens are all the same age born in March 2021. 1 chicken became lethargic had a large soft sour type crop and passed away the same day now 2 days later I have 2 more chickens lethargic, pale combs, large squishy crop and my other 7 chickens are Mildly lethargic. We first thought maybe coccidiosis but now two more have the sour crop symptoms. We did start them on corid this morning in case of coccidiosis. They were started on medicated chick starter feed and now are on layer crumble.
All chickens were obtained at the same time, have been with each other every minute sense we brought them home. They are given the same food and have access to the same food, treats and forage.
Questions.
1. Do you think the sour crop symptoms are from coccidiosis?
2. If it is from that does the treatment change?
3. Any advise is welcome. We have called every vet in the area and no one treats chickens. If they do they are too booked to help save our flock until 1 to 3 weeks out.
We are 20 minutes away from UGA vet school but they have no avian vets this week because they are out of town.
I really feel like we are going to loose some more quickly if I cant get something done soon.
Thanks in advace. Keith

Check if their crop empties first thing tommorow, before they have access to food. Sour crop requires a different treatment. Do they smell weird (sour)?From their beak.

 

[KeithJ]

Check if their crop empties first thing tommorow, before they have access to food. Sour crop requires a different treatment. Do they smell weird (sour)?From their beak.

Not sure we smell anything from the beak. The one that dies had nasty brown liquid come out when she passed. These two birds feel the same. All are lathargic. The one im most worried about now falls asleep standing up. He comb is very very pale.

 

[cherrynberry]

Not sure we smell anything from the beak. The one that dies had nasty brown liquid come out when she passed. These two birds feel the same. All are lathargic. The one im most worried about now falls asleep standing up. He comb is very very pale.

@Wyorp Rock
@Eggcessive

 

[Eggcessive]

What exactly are you feeding? Have you checked for any mold in feed or scratch, or for moldy feed spills? Can you call your regular vet and ask if they will do a fecal float test on some fresh droppings to look for coccidiosis and worms? What dosage of Corid are you using? I would give some undiluted Corid to each lethargic chicken to give a boost. Dosage of that is 0.1 ml per pound twice a day given orally.

 

[Wyorp Rock]

large soft sour type crop and passed away the same day now 2 days later I have 2 more chickens lethargic, pale combs, large squishy crop and my other 7 chickens are Mildly lethargic. We first thought maybe coccidiosis but now two more have the sour crop symptoms. We did start them on corid this morning in case of coccidiosis.

They are given the same food and have access to the same food, treats and forage.

What is being fed?
Any moldy food?
You mention forage - where and what is that?

Crop issues and all lethargic - I would suspect it's food related...

 

[KeithJ]

What exactly are you feeding? Have you checked for any mold in feed or scratch, or for moldy feed spills? Can you call your regular vet and ask if they will do a fecal float test on some fresh droppings to look for coccidiosis and worms? What dosage of Corid are you using? I would give some undiluted Corid to each lethargic chicken to give a boost. Dosage of that is 0.1 ml per pound twice a day given orally.

Feeding layer crumble. Not sure of brand. Got it from Tractor Supply.

Just found an area in the yard that some feed had been discarded. It was moldy, chickens had access to this area but not sure they ate any. (Probably did however)

Just found a vet that would see the two worst ones. No real diagnosis but said to continue Corid. Gave us a vitamin supplement and an antibiotic. (Can't remember which one and don't have it in front of me)

Fecal from multiple birds did have some coccidia but not a large amount in this sample.

Corid Dosage is 9.5 mls in one gallon. 9.6% solution before mixing.

Vet recommended undiluted Corid but about 3 times your dose but one a day.

Vet has experience with exotics and zoo. Not to sure about farm animals other that I think cows.

No knock on the Vet he said yes when everyone else said they were booked up and good luck.

 

[KeithJ]

What is being fed?
Any moldy food?
You mention forage - where and what is that?

Crop issues and all lethargic - I would suspect it's food related...

Layer crumble from Tractor Supply.

Just found an area of moldy discarded food in the yard.

Forage is what ever they find and eat for about 4-5 hours each night in the yard 3/4 acre privacy fenced. Grass, clover, bugs and worms.

 

[Eggcessive]

The dose of undiluted Corid that the vet ordered is fine. It is hard to overdose. Let us know how they get along. If you lose another, sending the body to the state vet would be a good idea. It has to be kept cold, but not frozen. They are open M-F. Here is a link to your state vet:
https://www.metzerfarms.com/PoultryLabs.cfm

 

[FL_chick]

I had a similar issue last week and thought I was going to lose two of my girls.

For one of my girls I gave her monistat cream with a syringe and once I did that she was finally able to eat and get her corid water down. She, thankfully, perked back up within a day or two. I continued to give her monistat in her food since she was eating without issues at that point plus her corid water.

My other girl had similar problems, but wasn't drinking enough of her corid water, so we gave her direct dosage of corid once a day (.10ml/lb as recommended by someone else on the forum), plus the monistat cream orally, and had corid water for her to drink throughout the day. We did the direct dosage for 3 days and then she was back to normal!

Hope this helps and your girls make a full recovery!