What killed our hens? Advice please.

[HollyWoozle]

Thanks a lot for your help.

 

[rebrascora]

Hi

I'm so sorry for your losses.

I'm in the UK too and I bought a bottle of Harkers Coxoid off ebay years ago to keep just in case and have never needed to use it, so far, but it can easily be sourced that way. Chickens should naturally build resistance to coccidia as they become adults but moving them to a new home can expose them to new strains that they have not developed resistance to, so best to keep it on hand if you are buying/rehoming adult birds.

I don't have the finances to take my sick chickens to a vets but I can highly recommend the mail order Worm Egg Count service provided by Westgate Labs. It costs about £10 per sample including postage and you can either send off a poop sample from a sick bird or combine poop from all your hens, mix it well in a pot or bucket and take a sample from that to represent the flock. You need to pre-order the sampling kit which contains the sampling pot and label, a voucher for the testing, a prepaid 1st class envelope and even a plastic glove, so all you have to do is pop the sample in the pot fill in the form with your details, put them in the envelope and drop them in the letter box. If you get them in the post before lunchtime, you are sometimes lucky enough to get next day results by your chosen method.... text, email etc whatever you specified on the voucher. They also check for coccidia which would be helpful in your case and can advise you about an appropriate worming program.

Just for your information the Amprolium in Coxoid is probably milder on their system than the Flubenvet, so don't worry about giving them a potentially dangerous drug. It is better to try Coxoid in case it is coccidiosis, rather than not and risk them dying of coccidiosis.

It is equally possible that these birds both died of reproductive disorders. Commercial layers over 2 years old are particularly susceptible to reproductive malfunctions which eventually become fatal. Usually there will be some abdominal swelling and perhaps poop soiled feathers under their vent. It is one of the first things to check for when you have a sick adult bird. I keep a check of this by cupping my hand between their legs from behind whilst they are roosting to assess this as it is easiest to feel what is normal and what is not by comparing one bird to another. Sadly, there is not a lot that can be reasonably done for many reproductive malfunctions other than make the bird as comfortable as possible and end their suffering when quality of life becomes untenable.

Hopefully it will be a long time before you lose another bird but hopefully the information in this thread will make you more knowledgeable to deal with a sick bird and know what to look for and how to get testing done cheaply.

 

[HollyWoozle]

This is excellent advice, thank you. I really appreciate it!

My mum is worried about giving Harkers Coxoid to her hens that she insists are vaccinated against coccidiosis. I don't think it would harm supposedly vaccinated hens to be treated if they do become poorly and the symptoms fit?

I plan to buy some Coxoid to have on hand ready in case other chickens become sick. At present none of our others seem at all unwell thankfully.

 

[rebrascora]

If she is worried about treating them, then getting their poop tested next time you see those symptoms would be best and then you can be sure that you are not using the Coxoid unnecessarily if high levels of coccidia are found in their faeces. There are quite a few different strains of coccidia and like the flu vaccine for us humans the inoculation will not cover all of them, so it is still possible for them to get coccidiosis even if they have been vaccinated against it I believe.