Very ill chickens

[Shamo Hybrid]

Maybe your sister sought out revenge on you...... have you gotten on her bad side recently? Or perhaps a deep-rooted issue that has never been resolved? Hehe.

 

[HuskerHens18]

Probably not mold then at your ened. Looks like a good setup.
However the mycotoxins that mold create are not killed by heat. Perhaps the grain used to make the feed was moldy and the feed had mycotoxins while no longer having mold. "The grains are not cooked, but heat is generated as the pellets are forced through the molds." https://hencam.com/henblog/2015/04/how-laying-hen-pellets-are-made/ The mold problem is a big issue for farmers as when they make ethanol any mold is killed but not the mycotoxins. The left over from making ethanol is used as DDGS.. Dried Distiller Grains which are fed to cattle and pigs. If they have too much mold in the corn then the DDGS are not fit for feed so the ethanol plants reject grain that is too moldy. http://www.knowmycotoxins.com/resou...try-diets-ddgs-may-be-door-mycotoxin-exposure Sort of grasping at straws for you

That could be a possibility, I did buy moldy/wet feed once from TSC so I just threw it out(probably 6 months ago?) and this last batch of feed I got was from the Same TSC. It of course looked fine, but you bring a very good point about the mycotoxins. Gosh I really hope they aren't sick from the feed, I bought a lot of feed from there for all my birds.

 

[HuskerHens18]

Maybe your sister sought out revenge on you...... have you gotten on her bad side recently? Or perhaps a deep-rooted issue that has never been resolved? Hehe.

Haha well we've never really gotten along.
But I really don't think she'd do that, she's not that kind of person.

 

[Cat_me96]

I did send some in on Tuesday, but I think he's waiting for the Necropsy results to send me everything at once, because he's fairly good at getting back about fecal float tests. But I will definitely send in more, I have an appointment on Monday. They're a busy business.

I am curious to know what the lab says about the poo. I have a hen that stopped laying and her poop is yellow and kind of runny like some of your posted pics. but I don't have a vet nearby that looks at chickens.

 

[Kat C]

Don't know if this relates to chickens but recent studies have found that parasites are not all bad and can be good.
https://www.wired.com/2012/11/whipworm-immune-regulation/
https://www.scienceinschool.org/2011/issue20/horrors
https://www.laboratoryequipment.com/news/2014/07/intestinal-parasites-are-actually-beneficial
This is why I think one shouldn't treat chickens for internal parasites unless they are overwhelmed by them. Better to perhaps feed some fermented feed or natural herbs than resort to harsh chemicals and just not worry about it too much. I have never treated our chickens for internal parasites in 20 years.

 

[HuskerHens18]

Have you tried Corid for coccidiosis yet? That's one of those pretty easy to do things that might well turn them around if it is the issue.

Have you looked at the feet of your limping chicken to see if maybe its developed a bumblefoot issue?

It's possible that something like coccidiosis (unless it's been ruled out by the droppings) came to life with a vengence because of the wet weather.

Combine that with not enough water- water is such a hugely important factor - and to be without it- especially in hot weather- is very serious.

Chickens expel an enormous amount of water just breathing. If they couldn't replace it, their immune system probably took a big dip.

Are the survivors drinking well for you?

I do have Corid, but I haven't used it since I didn't know how that would react while they're on Sulfa for the Eimeria/Coccidiosis. I'm almost done with treatment. I may have to treat again though, it's hot, humid, and wet, perfect environment for coccidia and I'm still seeing some weird poos that look like coccidia.

I have not, I will check. She's pretty bad today, mostly shuffling around on her joints, it's not looking good.

To be honest it very well could have, my vets exact words were Eimeria is new to my specific area, its immune to amprolium, it will be a bear to treat. So it may have gotten worse and overcame the Sulfa drug, I will hopefully know more soon.

Yeah I was not happy, they've had water now since Sunday since that's when I got back. Nobody has run dry, I've made sure of that.

That makes a lot of sense, that's probably what's going on.

Well, honestly they aren't drinking as much as I expected. Usually I'm filling containers twice a day, but recently there's about half left over when I go to change it out. So of course when I refill the waterer, no one is thirsty since they've had water available.

 

[HuskerHens18]

I am curious to know what the lab says about the poo. I have a hen that stopped laying and her poop is yellow and kind of runny like some of your posted pics. but I don't have a vet nearby that looks at chickens.

I will definitely post the results when I hear back, I hope all Is well with your hen

 

[HuskerHens18]

Don't know if this relates to chickens but recent studies have found that parasites are not all bad and can be good.
https://www.wired.com/2012/11/whipworm-immune-regulation/
https://www.scienceinschool.org/2011/issue20/horrors
https://www.laboratoryequipment.com/news/2014/07/intestinal-parasites-are-actually-beneficial
This is why I think one shouldn't treat chickens for internal parasites unless they are overwhelmed by them. Better to perhaps feed some fermented feed or natural herbs than resort to harsh chemicals and just not worry about it too much. I have never treated our chickens for internal parasites in 20 years.

Wow that's really interesting, definitely something to consider. I've always hated giving all these medicines to my poor birds. Good to know!

 

[Morrigan]

My only other thought is that if they ran out of clean water, they were probably drinking out of puddles in the yard, which could possibly have been contaminated due to runoff pesticides, waste, etc. That being said, chickens drink out of puddles in wet weather all the time, no real way to stop them, and most do just fine. It's more likely that the lack of water got them dehydrated and that stressed their systems enough so they were unable to cope with the side-effects of the antibiotics or an underlying disease/parasite that was able to get the upper hand.

I hope you get some answers from your tests and that the situation improves for your birds. I'm very sorry you are going through this.

 

[HuskerHens18]

My only other thought is that if they ran out of clean water, they were probably drinking out of puddles in the yard, which could possibly have been contaminated due to runoff pesticides, waste, etc. That being said, chickens drink out of puddles in wet weather all the time, no real way to stop them, and most do just fine. It's more likely that the lack of water got them dehydrated and that stressed their systems enough so they were unable to cope with the side-effects of the antibiotics or an underlying disease/parasite that was able to get the upper hand.

I hope you get some answers from your tests and that the situation improves for your birds. I'm very sorry you are going through this.

I agree with that, hopefully they can get over this hump and get better.
Thank you very much, I appreciate all the help.