light sussex possibly poorly

[kittykat8]

I think my light sussex is poorly, she is about 23/24 weeks old, she has stopped eating and only has a few drops of water if made to go outside.she has not yet started laying eggs, not eggbound I don't think but bathed her is warm water yesterday, her crop is empty but just laying in nest box, if put outside she does not peck around but stands there but may go and take sips of water, and them them returns to box, but her eyes are bright. she only has a tiny combe on top which is pinky red never yet full red but he comble on the rest of she face is bright red.


marion

[kittykat8]

any ideas anyone

[RichmondHens]

She could be eggbound. The very fact that she goes back to the nestbox is suspicious, as though she is wanting to lay. She is the right age. She may also just be having a few off days before the first egg appears but it is curious that her comb is not big and red, as it should be. If she is not eating she is obviously feeling poorly and I would suggest getting a vet or experienced keeper to have a look at her.

[kittykat8]

definatly not eggbound some at the allotment has givern her a tablet for coxy something she has drunk water today and her comb is still red not loads of poo just one as far as I know

[RichmondHens]

Why are you dosing her for coccidiosis when it sounds like she doesn't have it? She would have bloody diarrhoea with this condition, and you say she has just had one poo.

[Nicos]

How is she today?

RH- tis a dfficult position to be in when you're a 'learner' such as myself!
The stuff I've been advised to do with my chooks by much more 'knowledgeable' locals would make yr hair curl- if not drop out.
In fact I think we'd have already eaten half my gals!!!!

I presume the person on the lottie is helping out as best they could kittykat- but as RH says, the pooh would have been all bloody if it was coccxy-thingy- bobs.
Does that mean you can't eat the egg now?
and urm...was that an antibiotic tablet? - most antibiotics are several day courses...maybe you need to find out what your lottie friend is giving her.

Fingers crossed she picks up today- at least she is drinking which is a good sign

[kittykat8]

I remember seeing a poo with a bit of red in it a couple of days before on top of a cardboard box I left there, and thought what a strange colour but did not know what it was. The person on the allotment does know quite abit abput bird and pigeons. Lizzie was laying in a box last night when I checked her, when I went down today she was up and about and has eaten some food not a hugh amount as the others were pushing in .

I am now trying to see where you can buy some of mediation to help her and try and prevent the others getting it. My hen is realy clean I poo pick every day , sweep the whole house once a week and remove any damp bedding.

I am in cornwall would the vets have something or a livestock store

[RichmondHens]

Didn't mean it to sound like I was telling anyone off Nicos and KittyKat. Sorry. Going from the original description it didn't sound like cocci, that's all, and I think you should be cautious about dosing with anything until you really know what you are dealing with, which is why I always say if in doubt consult a vet. Broad spectrum antibiotics (like Baytril) are usually fairly safe to use, as long as you remember the withdrawal periods for meat/eggs, but coccidiosis is caused by a parasite so antibiotics would have no effect.

[kittykat8]

thanks for the reply, I was going to move her into a large cat basket and put in greenhouse as I have no where else to put her as I really thought there would be not improvement, cant take her home because of the two cats, but as she was up and about and eating I have left her and she grumbles now if I pick her up , I am going to ring the vet to see what he can give me, my other chickens are really well.

[Nicos]

Out of interest RH- there's medication in the chick crumb I used.
Would that mean they'd never get cocci whilst on it, but as soon as they stop eating it then they are vunerable??

Could this be what's happened with KK's chook? Sounds a nasty thing to have.
If it's a parastite, I presume it comes from wild birds? Is there anything 'natural' we can feed to the chooks to keep up a resistance?- would garlic powder help with the prevention?

Sorry to ask these questions- but prevention is better than catching it early...which is better than trying to treat a full blown attack..

[kittykat8]

new update

I have just been down lizzie is out in the run stracting about with the others not on her own , i have just throw in a mixture of corn ,layers mash and carrot tops which she played with has eaten some as well as pellets at 7.00 this morning. she is a 100 times betters than yesterday so I don't know if she had coxy.

marion

[kittykat8]

would she looking better today if she had it


marion

[Suechooks]

Nicos - the medicated crumb and growers pellets will help protect them against cocci but not 100%. If they're on medicated food and they develop cocci you should stop the medicated food for the duration of treatment or they can theoretically get overdosed on medication. I bought in some Coxoid just in case when I had my chicks. I understand they are more likely to contract it if on ground previously used by other hens. I tried to keep my run empty for 6 months before the chicks went on it and I dug out the old chippings and replaced with new as well as routine treatment with ***** when it was empty.

[RichmondHens]

Out of interest RH- there's medication in the chick crumb I used.
Would that mean they'd never get cocci whilst on it, but as soon as they stop eating it then they are vunerable??

Could this be what's happened with KK's chook? Sounds a nasty thing to have.
If it's a parastite, I presume it comes from wild birds? Is there anything 'natural' we can feed to the chooks to keep up a resistance?- would garlic powder help with the prevention?

Sorry to ask these questions- but prevention is better than catching it early...which is better than trying to treat a full blown attack..

The medication in chick crumb is (as I understand it) a coccidia inhibitor which gradually exposes the chicks to the parasite, challenging their immune system. Coccidia are present everywhere and thrive in muddy and wet conditions, and dirty litter. Chickens will develop an immunity to it over time - cocci usually strikes chicks and youngsters, but can strike older birds if they are suddenly exposed to it - eg chickens kept in good conditions suddenly chucked in a muddy pen which has had masses of birds in it before.

Non intensively reared birds should not need ACS in the feed if they are kept clean and dry. Chicks raised under hens also fare better as their systems are challenged from day 1 by being constantly exposed to whatever the hen is carrying around.

I don't know if garlic would help in this case, it can certainly help repel worms in large doses but in any case it cannot do any harm.

I cannot say if KK's hen has cocci or not, but possibly not if only one hen is affected - it is generally a problem that will affect most, if not all, birds running in the same pen. However it is treatable with Baycox which the vet can prescribe so all is not lost.

The golden rule is prevention is better than cure. If you follow good husbandry with your birds then chances are you will never get it. Avoid running the birds on wet, muddy areas and keep henhouses clean and dry. Move birds onto fresh ground several times a year if you can and worm regularly.

Hope this helps.

[Nicos]

Thanks- that's a great help to understanding why we need to do what we do- and about the food!
Ta !