What do I look for/check/do???

[coach723]

http://www.the-chicken-chick.com/2012/02/whats-scoop-on-chicken-poop-digestive.html

Here's a good discussion on identifying issues with chicken poop. Towards the bottom it discusses worms and coccidiosis.
See if your vet will do a float test. If not, I personally would suspect cocci. There is not ALWAYS blood in the poop.

 

[blumenmadchen]

Thanks. Off to try to get some corid. Do I treat the whole flock, even if she is the only one ill?

 

[coach723]

I'm not an expert, so can only tell you what I would do, absent veterinary help.
I would isolate her (crate, porch, whatever you do) and treat. If you see improvement, probably she'll look better to some degree after 24 hours, then I would go ahead and treat the flock. With corrid, if she is not drinking, I would use a syringe and put the drinking water/corrid mixture in her at first. Just dribble in her beak and she should swallow. Don't squirt it into her lungs. If you don't see any improvement, I would worm. I have had sick birds that I did this with in the past. It may not be optimal, but in the absence of a way to determine EXACTLY what is wrong (ie: a vet) you have to make your best guess. If she has never been wormed, that is also a very likely issue. And again, if you think it's worms, I'd do the whole flock. Either way, they've all been exposed to the same stuff. And with worms, you really need to determine a regular schedule based on your geography and climate for worming. She's at about the age I worm chicks for the first time (6 mos), which is why I went with cocci as the first guess. But honestly it's possible it's either. And they can be carrying worms with no signs at all until they get sick.
I use safeguard goat wormer, and valbazen alternately for worming. I have to worm every 3 to 4 months due to my climate. You may be able to just do a couple of times a year. And you will have to dump eggs for 10-14 days after treatment. There are lots of posts on here about worming, to help you determine what you need to do. Best of luck.

 

[blumenmadchen]

Thanks everyone for all of your help. I got some corid and I'm working on getting her to drink it. She is eating and drinking some, but I'm forcing the issue with the medicated water a bit for her. Poor thing. She mostly just stands there, sometimes with her eyes closed. But she is pecking around a bit too. I really hope she pulls through. Her poop looks just like the cocci pics and she seems to have the other symptoms too. I'm treating the others since they had not been separated at all so just being safe. We still aren't getting any eggs from anyone so, none to worry about. I'll keep you posted about her condition in a few days. These are our first chickens, so the boys and I are pretty close to them. Now lets send the healing vibes!

 

[Eggcessive]

You can give her the undiluted liquid Corid 2 drops orally a couple of times daily to jumpstart her. To make the same solution with powder Corid, take 1.5 tsp of the powder and add it to 10 ml of water, and then it is equivalent to liquid Corid.

 

[blumenmadchen]

Oh, thats a great idea. I will get her a few drops straight. It wont be too much if its in her water too? Oh, I really hope she starts getting better soon!

 

[blumenmadchen]

No real change yet. I've been giving her a few drops of undiluted corid a few times yesterday and a few today. I'm not sure if she is eating or drinking today though. I offered her some overnight oats (yogurt, oats, honey) but she hasn't eaten any. Her crop appears full and a bit squishy. Should I be making sure she eats or drinks, or just give her a bit more time?

 

[blumenmadchen]

Oh, and she still has the watery yellow poop. How long will that take to improve?

 

[Eggcessive]

Since her intestines may have coccidiosis and may not be working well, fluid are more important than food right now. After Corid give her some probiotics and vitamins for a few days to get her gut bacteria back to normal.

 

[blumenmadchen]

Sadly Big Guy did not make it, and passed Friday night. Thank you to everyone who helped, I really appreciated the advice. I will finish treating the others for a few more days to be sure that they are ok even though they are not showing any symptoms. It will be tough to tell the boys, she was very loved.