Whats causing this with my sex link hens

[chickenlittle32]

I have a few red sex link hens that are lethargic...combs are lightening and going limp...sneezing...and I noticed that some lost weight...and has very watery poo....What should I do?

 

[Judy]

https://www.backyardchickens.com/web/viewblog.php?id=9241

 

[Mahonri]

If a chicken can't get a cold, why can it get the flu? They are both caused by a virus!

Makes no sense to me.

 

[threehorses]

To Mahonri: Birds don't technically get colds and flus. They get viruses and bacterial respiratory infections.

To chickenlittle: As for your hens, could you please check out the second sticky-topic in this health section and answer some of the questions there for us? It'll help us to most accurately answer your questions.

Also, can you tell us if they're having labored breathing? If so, is is upper (open mouth panting), lower (tail bobbing), or both?

The watery droppings are because the drainage from their sinuses empties into their mouth and thus into their digestive tract. This causes an imbalance in their natural beneficial bacterial flora and they have runnier droppings. Additionally, it's hot and many birds are drinking more.

We'll look forward to your answers to the sticky and try our best to help you figure out what's happening with your birds.

In the mean time, try giving them all some plain yogurt to boost their guts back up, boiled egg yolk for boosted nutrition. If you have acidophilist capsules those work just as well as the yogurt.

 

[chickenlittle32]

1) What type of bird , age and weight. RED SEX LINKS, 1 YR

2) What is the behavior, exactly. DROOPY COMB, WATERY POO, DROP IN LAYING

3) Is there any bleeding, injury, broken bones or other sign of trauma. NO

4) What happened, if anything that you know of, that may have caused the situation. I HAVE NO CLUE

5) What has the bird been eating and drinking, if at all. I AM FEEDING LAYER PELLETS AND FRESH WATER 2 X A DAY

6) How does the poop look? Normal? Bloody? Runny? etc. RUNNY, WATERY, BUBBLY

7) What has been the treatment you have administered so far? I DONT KNOW WHAT OR HOW TO TREAT

8 ) What is your intent as far as treatment? For example, do you want to treat completely yourself, or do you need help in stabilizing the bird til you can get to a vet? IF POSSIBLE, TREAT MYSELF...

9) If you have a picture of the wound or condition, please post it. It may help.

10) Describe the housing/bedding in use. BEDDING IS PINE, HOUSING IS A COOP...OUTDOORS DURING THE DAY, ITS BEEN VERY HOT, THEY HAVE SHADE UNDER 2 FIG TREES

 

[threehorses]

Good heavens your fast! Thank you.

You wrote: 6) How does the poop look? Normal? Bloody? Runny? etc. RUNNY, WATERY, BUBBLY;

Have you ever wormed these hens before? Are the droppings rather greenish?

If you haven't wormed within the last 4-6 months, I'd suspect worms. Frothy droppings could be a sign of it combined with the other symptoms.

However, there are also some foods that lately have been causing frothiness of droppings - but usually tan, not green.

The heat is also implicated in the whole issue. It's very hot, they might be drinking more. Have you seen one's droppings literally immediately after she pooped? Are they runny then? Sometimes when birds drink a lot in the water, the third portion of their droppings (the urine - clear portion that's like water) is excessive and it'll wet down their feces (the wormlike solid part) so that the entire dropping looks runny when you find it. Though it might not be quite as runny when dropped.

I find that a number of my birds also have runnier droppings in the summer. But not frothy. Frothy most commonly is worms (without being able to really know more about them.)

The drop in laying also can be from that and the heat. The droopy comb can be heat or anemia.

I'd pick them all up and make good and sure that there are no parasites as they're bad this time of year. (Check very very carefully all on their bodies, particularly their vents and backs of their necks for any moving objects or the egg clusters of parasites.) You want to rule out anemia from that which can also cause what you're describing. If you find bugs, let us know here in the same thread.

In the mean time, if you haven't wormed in a year, I'd pick up a bottle of Wazine 17 (piperazine 17% solution is the chemical name). You treat them one day in the water, don't eat eggs or meat for 14 days. It's meant to be retreated in 14 days or to be followed up then with something more broad spectrum and strong like ivermectin. You can also pick that up while you're at the store. If you see mites, then I'd highly recommend you read this current thread:
https://www.backyardchickens.com/forum/viewtopic.php?id=208346

We look forward to hearing back from you, and thank you for the timely response.

 

[chickenlittle32]

The one hen that I saw when she umm...pooed, was very runny...bubbly and clear...I will look at them tomorrow to look for mites...etc...I forgot to mention that she looks as if she has lost weight. Her comb has lost the red color that shes had and it is now droopy and pale pink.

 

[threehorses]

Oh ok, runny and clear is their urine. That's not unexpected in the summer when it's hot outside. They may pass urine and urates and not solids sometimes. If you can find a dropping that has the feces (solids) in it and let us know what color those are, that would be helpful. Also what texture.

Scratch the worms for now. Still there's heat and a possible anemia issue at the least to rule out.

I'll look forward to hearing from you tomorrow. Thanks for the fast reply.

 

[chickenlittle32]

Thank you for all your help! I will post what I find tomorrow.