What might be causing LOTS of WHITE URATES?

[judyki2004]

what a hard time ( for the chicks & you) hope & pray they get totally well... a friend of mine suggest yogurt wit garlic & boiled eggs as a good recovery meal...

 

[PoultryPedia]

Anyone have any other ideas??? I'm leaving town in 2 days for a bit & want to set them up with any treatment they need before leaving.

More info:
They all started the white poops at the same time. It was around 1-4 after their reproductive systems started back up & they were feeling good & combs were back to red. They'd been on Baytril at least 5 days.
Note: I've also researched & found out Baytril does not cause kidney problems.
**Later edit: I've now read elsewhere that Baytril CAN cause serious kidney problems. Will have to keep studying.

I let them out into a wet run a fairly warm day or two, with wet food along with them & windbreaks. They spilled the food some, too, but the run wasn't very dirty. I'm thinking that their problem isn't likely to be from eating something rotten out there, because I don't think white poops are a symptom that comes from that???

Since then, I've dewormed once with horse Ivermectin paste. I also did about 7 days of Oxytetracycline. I gave 2 days of strong dose of Penicillin, but was seeing no improvement so stopped.

I've given them yogurt regularly since & other nutritive supplements. Haven't given vinegar because of concern about possible pain in guts.

The hens were laying almost daily & shape and shell thickness were good. Then one hen went broody a couple days last week & hasn't layed since. The other hen got jealous & fought with her a lot after she stopped, and I changed the nest, and the second hen hasn't layed since. I don't know if the current break in laying is connected to illness or to upset.

The white poops are getting heavier & they are staying on their roost most of the time.

I'm now thinking Avian Tuberculosis might NOT be the cause because they all started at the same time & I think that's not usually the case with that. Plus the rooster had been healthy until the hens came a number of months ago & it seems not likely a progressive illness would bring them all to the same point at the same time... ?
They'd had weakness & pale combs (as is the case with Tuberculosis) in prior months, but I think that was from their MG. And they were having a big surge of health at the time the white poops started, though they were still sneezing occasionally.



Anyone, anyone know of something else that might be causing their problem?

I know this is a lot to read. Thanks for listening & for any ideas you might be able to share.

 

[PoultryPedia]

Also, I read that in some cases MG affects the kidneys & I don't know if that might be coming into play.

 

[chicknmania]

I got your PM. In the experience we had with Avian TB, it did not cause sneezing, as I remember. The first symptom was white diarhea sticking to feathers around their vents. It was followed by a gradual lethargy over a period of months, and,in some cases, lameness. The lethargy became worse and worse. I don't remember sneezing although there may have been. The thing about Avian TB is it can show different symptoms but the common denominator we had was the white diarhea, lethargy,and generally, progressive lameness. In all our hens it took about nine months from the onset of symptoms until their deaths, as I remember. There was nothing we could do. In your case I would suspect maybe too many meds....watch for the lameness, and lethargy, but other things can cause white diarhea, too. Try to keep your flock as healthy as possible; the Oxine is a good start. You are just giving a couple of drops of Oxine per gallon of water, right? you might be micromanaging a bit ; the sneezing concerns me more than the white diarhea. Obviously you are going to a lot of effort to save these birds. Have you talked to Peter Brown (the chcken doctor?)
I think it might be in your best intereest to ask for his advice. It is worth the small amount of money he asks and he is an expert. He can guide you re the meds and vitamins you need.
Please update your threads if you talk to him b/c I at least would be interested to know what he thinks. Good luck!

 

[PoultryPedia]

For anyone who may be interested, apparently having a lot of 'good' bacteria being killed off by Baytril can leave a bird's system particularly vulnerable to E. coli (which can cause respiratory symptoms), so you need to take care regarding that possibility.

I think Chlamydiosis is another problem with respiratory symptoms that would be a possibility in a situation like my birds'.

I ended up giving my birds a round of Sulfadimethoxine at a slightly lowered dose (~1/16 tsp of the powder kind per 3/4 gallon) to see if it will clear up the diarrhea. So far it's looking hopeful!

The mucus in their lungs has gotten worse, not better, though. I'm still figuring...

 

[JoePa]

Holy mackeral - it sounds like you got a bunch of sick chickens - giving all those antibiotics etc. - I hope your not eating any eggs from them - now please don't get me wrong but if it were me I'd start over with a new flock after making sure I cleaned and disinfected the coop and run - your going to end up having chickens that are carriers of all kinds of diseases and may never really be healthy = just my advice - which you asked for - good luck =

 

[PoultryPedia]

JoePa,

No, we do not plan to ever eat their eggs. Sorry to leave issues like that confusing on this thread. I put some more info about the situation on my other thread https://www.backyardchickens.com/t/618049/hens-laying-again-after-a-year-of-no-eggs-keep-up-baytril. It took me such a very long, very hard time to get these chickens--you just can't imagine. And the roo is particularly a very sweet bird. I'm reluctant to send them on.

I only have 1 roo & 2 hens and do not plan to have any other chickens until these 3 eventually pass away (or I put them down). I also take care when visiting the home of another chicken owner.

These three seem content very much of the time--bright eyes, enjoying dust bathing, eating well. They always deal with mucus in their throats (but Vet RX makes that less bothersome) & sometimes other symptoms. They have good body weights & very good feathering. However, their combs are usually pale & reproductive systems not functioning (except for a while after they had Baytril).

Thank you for caring about my situation & for your good wishes. I don't know for sure what the future will be & what choices I'll make.

 

[PoultryPedia]

Updates: Meds I've used have sometimes relieved some symptoms but the chickens have cycled onto other ones, apparently as earlier med made them vulnerable to other low-lying problems.

Denagard is the other high-power med for CRD (in addition to Baytril) that I haven't tried. It would be about $50 to order & I've only got the 3 chickens.

By any chance does someone who's used Denagard before have some left over that they'd be willing to sell me? I've started another thread with more information at: https://www.backyardchickens.com/t/685615/anyone-have-a-little-leftover-denagard-you-could-sell-me

I would REALLY appreciate it. Hannah has gotten extremely full of fluid in her lungs & is running out of breathing room. :-(

 

[chicknmania]

What does Denegard do? That is amazing that you still have chickens hanging on; it must be CRD because that is usually not fatal. Or so I've read, I don't have any experience with it that I know of. I

fyi we are having some problems too; have lost two to long, lingering illnesses over the past couple of months, and now we have a third one. I think ours is probably Avian TB again, I have heard that it is showing up a lot. And the constant intense heat is not helping.

I'm sorry you are having so many problems. Before you get any new chickens, make sure you sterilize as much as possible, and you should wait a while after yours get better, before you get any more. if you intend to, that is.

 

[chicknmania]

I guess I should clarify, is Denegard an antibiotic? Or what is it?