When it rains it pours- I am seeing lethargy, diarrhea, and anemia in my grow outs. Things were trending better and now worse. Help!

[Ohsrsly]

I have a grow out flock that is about 15-16 weeks old. One pullet was fully crashed and needed to be hand fed and given medicine in a dropper because she stopped eating and would only sleep. After 6 days on Albon and more birds starting to seem low I switched to safeguard after seeing a roundworm under the roost.

After 4 days on safeguard my sickest pullet was eating and drinking and roosting again, but still pale and a bit dragged down. I also gave Endocox because I was not confident that cocci wasn’t still at play.

Definite improvement for 4 days in my sickest girl, though - during which time I gave probiotics daily.

Now, she seems back to square one. She is sleeping a ton and not interested in food or water. It has been one week since safeguard and 5 days since endocox. I started round 2 of endocox today but I’m worried that maybe the issue is residual worms?

I don’t know how to know which thing to prioritize and since both go in the drinking water - and she is barely drinking - I have to choose!

What do I do? How do I prioritize?

 

[Debbie292d]

How would your 4-month-old chickens get coccidiosis, as that's very rare? Had you finished the first treatment of Endocox?

I think in this case I'd finish any treatments you've started per the mfg instructions, then no more for a good week. I'd put them on probiotics and Poultry cell, every other day for both.

For the one that won't drink, I'd use an eyedropper to the side of her beak, or dip her beak in a small dish of water and see if she'd drink. I'd mix a raw egg yolk in some chick crumbles with a couple of drops of Nutri-Drench or Poultry Cell vitamins, and water to make a mash. They should gobble that up, and it will hydrate as well.

 

[Ohsrsly]

I know it’s rare but I am stumped. I don’t know why else they’d have this chronic diarrhea besides worms or coccidiosis and after treating for both, my sick girl improved for a few days then started crashing again. I am still seeing abnormal droppings from a few of them as well; meanwhile the other half seem to have consistently normal droppings and behavior. I am so stumped!