Watery poop in chicken healing from injuries

[rusty acres]

I've been tending to injuries my Speckled Sussex sustained about 3 weeks ago, consisting of some deep gashes on her neck and back near her tail. I never figured out the cause (maybe a hawk?) but they were pretty significant. I've been pleasantly surprised at how well she's healing. I would say another week and she'll be all healed. She's lost quite a bit of weight during this ordeal, so in addition to the normal layer feed all my birds get, I've been giving her a little extra in the way of a pinch of scratch, dried worms, and a dried "garden treat" mix that has fruits, veggies, nuts, and seeds. This amounts to maybe 2 tablespoons daily all together. I know treats aren't ideal, but it's her reward for getting through the daily wound care and that way I know she's eating something. I've had her isolated in a separate outdoor coop next to the big one where all the other birds are, but have started letting her free range a bit with the other birds to start the re-incorporation process. Yesterday and today, I noticed she had liquid poop that looked like water with a bit of brown mixed in. The one I saw today didn't see any visible worms. She seems to have a good energy level, and was eating and foraging this afternoon. Should I be worried? What should I do for her? I put some Nutri-drench in her water again today, but am not sure what else I should be doing.

 

[chicknmania]

If she's losing weight and has watery poop, she probably has worms. You don't necessarily see them. Capillary worms are not visible but they are deadly if left untreated. She might also have Coccidiosis, as sometimes they get that when fighting something else, an injury or illness, because their immune systems are somewhat overwhelmed and can't deal with both. See if you can get a vet to do a fecal float for you. Most will, for a small fee. That will tell you what you're dealing with. If you can't do the vet, then if I were you, I'd start by treating the whole flock with Corid for 5 days (2 teaspoons per gallon of water), which treats Coccidiosis. It won't hurt for them all to have it, and it might help her. While they're drinking that over the five days, order some broad spectrum dewormer and, when you get it, deworm the whole flock, and then again in ten days. Make sure it's broad spectrum. We use Levasol, which has been around a long time; you can get it from www.firststatevetsupply.com, and other places probably have it too; also, Valbazen is also available on line, and is excellent. Some people just use goat dewormer (Safeguard); which is available is feed stores, but I'm not sure what the dosage is for that; OR, you can ask your vet to give you some Safeguard (Panacur) suspension. Our vet recommends 1CC of that per chicken, per day, for three to five days, for a standard size chicken. Whatever you do, do it now, and don't delay, because both Coccidiosis and worms (especially Capillary worms) can quickly kill a bird, and they won't show symptoms until they are very ill. Good job on getting her over her injuries, but I'm sure that her injuries have nothing to do with her watery droppings. Good luck, and keep us posted!

PS: Be aware that there is a withdrawal period from eating eggs and meat when using dewormers). If you want to use the Safeguard goat dewormer; just search on here or ask; someone will know the dose for that; it's a common thing to use. We just have a relationship with a vet who will let us have the suspension for a small charge, and it works well. Levasol is better to use if you have a big flock, imo, because you can put it in the water.

 

[rusty acres]

Here is a photo of poop from this morning:

I ordered some Valbazen online but will stop by tractor supply later this morning to see what they have. I also have Corid on hand so will start that as well. I'm wondering if I should switch her back to a starter/grower feed, since laying clearly isn't a priority right now?

 

[rusty acres]

Well, there is no question that I need to de-worm now. I just found this when I cleaned out the roost, not even from the sick chicken.

 

[rusty acres]

Tractor Supply had Wazine 17, so I started them on that for 24 hrs. They also had the Safe Guard but giving each chicken a daily dose for several days was more trouble than I really want. I've already found one poop with more worms, so hopefully that's a good sign that Wazine is the right drug. If it's not, I have the Valbazen on the way.

 

[Kiki]

I wish I would have seen this thread earlier.
I would have said to NOT waste the money on the Wazine.

 

[rusty acres]

@KikisGirls Is that because Wazine is only effective against roundworms? Or is it not very effective against those either? I figured it was better to start something immediately.

 

[Kiki]

@KikisGirls Is that because Wazine is only effective against roundworms? Or is it not very effective against those either? I figured it was better to start something immediately.

Because t is only effective against roundworms and because I have read on here too many times it didn't work.
But it can't possibly hurt.
Your birds obviously have roundworms.