Chickens eating but losing/ not gaining weight

[BawkandSquawk]

Hi, I hope someone on this forum can help me. I'm at wits end. Some of my chickens are sick? and I don't know what's going on. They are all young birds not laying age. They are active and eat and drink. They do not have runny eyes, noses or coughing. The poo looks normal with no blood but despite how much they eat they keep loosing weight to the point of emaciation and death. They have been on grower feed, as much as they want all day, and I have tried putting ACV and Save-a-chick in the water and they have been wormed with Wazine. After the last death I did the best necropsy I could do and besides a complete lack of fat and minimal muscle there were no signs of tapeworms and nothing appeared too unusual. I have tried giving some scratch, mealworms and other things to boost protein levels. They are not being starved but you wouldn't think it! Twice I have found them right before death, which is normally a pretty sudden drop and in those moments there were a lot of seizures and twisting of the head. I think the seizures might be from malnutrition but they are eating, so where is it going?! What can make a chicken not put on weight even when eating plenty - maybe even more then they should have since they have 24/7 access to food and clean water. I got some nutri-drench to add to the water to see if that helps but if I can't pin down the cause I'm afraid I will lose them all. There are no vets anywhere near that take care of chickens. That is not an option here.

 

[foreverlearning]

Sounds like a parasite of some kind. I honestly suggest at this point to pull out the big guns and this means chemicals. (first day) First add vitamins to the water to keep their strength during this process. Then worm with wazine (only works on round worms). Clean out the entire coop and spray down with sevin to make sure all mites and lice are taken care of. (don't let them back in until it is dry, it dries quickly even in good humidity) Dust all birds with sevin 5% powder. (7 days from first treatment) Then in 7 days redust birds and retreat coop (for eggs). (10 days from first treatment) At 10 days treat with valbazen to get all the other types of worms and redust birds, nest boxes, and dust bathing area. This should take care of any parasite problem and they should start gaining weight from there. I say parasite problem because there is no sign of illness and this seems the most likely cause.

 

[BawkandSquawk]

What's Valbazen and where would I find it?

 

[fried green eggs]

Hi &

, I am sorry your birds are not doing well. Were your birds vaccinated for Mareks ? If not that could be what is going on. I hope I am wrong because it can be devastating. Here is a link for Avian Diseases that may help you figure out what is going on. http://partnersah.vet.cornell.edu/avian-atlas/lists/disease and here is why I think Mareks could be whats going on http://partnersah.vet.cornell.edu/avian-atlas/search/disease/502 You can go to the home page and click on any on the list and it will take you through pictures with symptoms, profile and sort results. Good Luck

Sorry for your loss.

 

[Eggcessive]

I would take a stool sample to your vet--don't say it is from a chicken, just get it checked for worms and coccidiosis. Some cocci may be present normally, but it shouldn't be overwhelming. There does not need to be blood in the stool for cocci--only 2 of the 9 strains cause blood. When worming, use Valbazen or SafeGuard liquid goat wormer, not wazine. It is not dangerous to worm first with these wormers, and repeat in 10 days for any worm eggs. Using wazine first used to be thought necessary, but now is not, and not worth purchasing as it only kills roundworm. Be careful using ACV and electrolytes routinely in chicks. ACV can irritate intestines, and electrolytes should only be used during extreme stress.

 

[Brimort93]

Hi, I hope someone on this forum can help me. I'm at wits end. Some of my chickens are sick? and I don't know what's going on. They are all young birds not laying age. They are active and eat and drink. They do not have runny eyes, noses or coughing. The poo looks normal with no blood but despite how much they eat they keep loosing weight to the point of emaciation and death. They have been on grower feed, as much as they want all day, and I have tried putting ACV and Save-a-chick in the water and they have been wormed with Wazine. After the last death I did the best necropsy I could do and besides a complete lack of fat and minimal muscle there were no signs of tapeworms and nothing appeared too unusual. I have tried giving some scratch, mealworms and other things to boost protein levels. They are not being starved but you wouldn't think it! Twice I have found them right before death, which is normally a pretty sudden drop and in those moments there were a lot of seizures and twisting of the head. I think the seizures might be from malnutrition but they are eating, so where is it going?! What can make a chicken not put on weight even when eating plenty - maybe even more then they should have since they have 24/7 access to food and clean water. I got some nutri-drench to add to the water to see if that helps but if I can't pin down the cause I'm afraid I will lose them all. There are no vets anywhere near that take care of chickens. That is not an option here.

I've been having the same problem with a rooster. Hes about 2 now and been pretty much sick the whole time. Same thing with yours, he eats drinks but he is a little less active and pale. Doesn't have worms and doesn't seem to be sick other than weight. I'm going to try biddie feed and some natural remedies and If they work I'll let you know!

 

[HeflinHenhouse]

Any updates? I have a 2yo lavender orpington that looks big but weighs half what my smaller birds do. Stopped laying in this heat.. im Feeding lots of fresh corn and yogurt and fruits on top of good layer feed. DeWorming them now. Just can't seem to put weight on her. Shes sweet as can be.

 

[HeflinHenhouse]

Any updates? I have a 2yo lavender orpington that looks big but weighs half what my smaller birds do. Stopped laying in this heat.. im Feeding lots of fresh corn and yogurt and fruits on top of good layer feed. DeWorming them now. Just can't seem to put weight on her. Shes sweet as can be.

 

[ArtisticWhimsy]

I would take a stool sample to your vet--don't say it is from a chicken, just get it checked for worms and coccidiosis. Some cocci may be present normally, but it shouldn't be overwhelming. There does not need to be blood in the stool for cocci--only 2 of the 9 strains cause blood. When worming, use Valbazen or SafeGuard liquid goat wormer, not wazine. It is not dangerous to worm first with these wormers, and repeat in 10 days for any worm eggs. Using wazine first used to be thought necessary, but now is not, and not worth purchasing as it only kills roundworm. Be careful using ACV and electrolytes routinely in chicks. ACV can irritate intestines, and electrolytes should only be used during extreme stress.

I couldn’t find dosing amount for chickens with the liquid goat wormer. Do you know how much per bird? Is it injectable, or orally given?

 

[Wyorp Rock]

I couldn’t find dosing amount for chickens with the liquid goat wormer. Do you know how much per bird? Is it injectable, or orally given?

To treat most worms that poultry can have except for Tapeworm you can use Safeguard (Fenbendazole) or Valbazen (Albendazole). Both are given orally by weight; they do not mix well with water.

Safeguard dose is 0.23ml per pound of weight given orally once a day for 5 days in a row.
---OR---
Valbazen dose is 0.08ml per pound of weight given orally once, then repeated in 10 days

Here's how to give oral medications:
https://www.backyardchickens.com/ar...dications-to-all-poultry-and-waterfowl.73335/