Coccidiosis

[siulung]

I had four chickens. They were just over a year old. It all started just over a week a go. One chicken died and one became ill over night. Before I could get her to the vet she died too. The two remaining chickens were checked thoroughly and one showed signs of illness the other didnt. They were taken to the vets who diagnosed Coccidiosis. I was given a medication to put in their water. (1ml in 1 litre of clean water everyday) Despite this I still lost the chicken. I have one remaining chicken. I scrubbed and washed everything with Jeyes fluid. When it was dry I sprinkled DE in the run (which is sand and gravel) and in the bed area. The surviving chicken so far is showing no signs of illness. I am still giving her the medicated water a day. I want to get more chickens but I am nervous they will become infected too. Could anyone offer advice on if it is ok to get more chickens and how long I should leave it before getting them? Would my surviving chicken be ok with three young chickens? Also is putting apple cider vinegar in their water and DE in their food enough to keep them healthy or is there other stuff I need to do. They are fed on a ground complete chicken food. I hope am not being too vague. I am not that experienced with chickens and I feel I did something terribly wrong and it was my fault they died. I just dont want to get more if I am doing something wrong. Thank you for taking the time to read this and I heartly appreciate any suggestions anybody could offer me in this matter. Kindest regards.

 

[my sunwolf]

I had four chickens. They were just over a year old. It all started just over a week a go. One chicken died and one became ill over night. Before I could get her to the vet she died too. The two remaining chickens were checked thoroughly and one showed signs of illness the other didnt. They were taken to the vets who diagnosed Coccidiosis. I was given a medication to put in their water. (1ml in 1 litre of clean water everyday) Despite this I still lost the chicken. I have one remaining chicken. I scrubbed and washed everything with Jeyes fluid. When it was dry I sprinkled DE in the run (which is sand and gravel) and in the bed area. The surviving chicken so far is showing no signs of illness. I am still giving her the medicated water a day. I want to get more chickens but I am nervous they will become infected too. Could anyone offer advice on if it is ok to get more chickens and how long I should leave it before getting them? Would my surviving chicken be ok with three young chickens? Also is putting apple cider vinegar in their water and DE in their food enough to keep them healthy or is there other stuff I need to do. They are fed on a ground complete chicken food. I hope am not being too vague. I am not that experienced with chickens and I feel I did something terribly wrong and it was my fault they died. I just dont want to get more if I am doing something wrong. Thank you for taking the time to read this and I heartly appreciate any suggestions anybody could offer me in this matter. Kindest regards.

They may have been overloaded with coccidiosis, but that doesn't sound like the cause of death. Coccidiosis is rarely the thing that kills older hens, and usually it does so with evidence of bloody poop and/or prolapse. The thing to do would have been to take one of the sick hens and have her necropsied to figure out what is really going on, but with only one left sounds like you wouldn't want to sacrifice her, especially if she's not showing symptoms

It does NOT sound like it was your fault that these chickens died!!

The bad news is that it does sound like something more serious, but without any detailed symptoms to go on I couldn't say what it is. Heck, even with more symptoms there are still a huge range of things that could be going on. Were there any symptoms in the hens that died? Did they get tired? Paralysis? Trouble breathing? Weird poops? Any of this could be helpful!

 

[siulung]

Sorry I knew I was being vague. The first chicken to die was a surprise she was a bit lethargic and looked sort of scraggy. When I found her dead, there was a lot of blood around her vent area. But I hadn't seen any when she was alive. The second and third became ill Saturday night. They had blood around the vent area and became listless and looked like they had been in a thunderstorm. The vet was shut, so I could not get help until Monday morning The second chicken died Sunday. I took the last two chickens to the vets Monday morning.

 

[siulung]

So there was evidence of bloody poop and listlessness. Not wanting to eat. Their feathers and comb looked pale and scraggy. It happen almost over night. They didnt not show these symptoms for more than 24 hours before dying. There was no paralysis or trouble breathing though.

 

[my sunwolf]

I have NEVER heard of cocci killing multiple full-grown hens so quickly, but from the blood around the vent area and the lethargy it does sound like it.

So sorry for your girls

Hopefully someone else can be of more help.

 

[siulung]

I am avid for checking the chickens over and I never saw anything wrong with them. They always have apple cider vinegar in their water and a little DE mixed in their food. They never had mites, fleas or worms as I made sure i kept them that way. They always have fresh bedding and I keep their run clean. So was shocked how fast they not only became so sick but how fast they died. I feel like a complete failure I am now terrified of getting more but I know the remaining chicken needs company....

 

[Ridgerunner]

I’m sorry but that just doesn’t sound right. Coccidiosis should not kill that many adult chickens that fast without more signs. It’s not unusual for chickens to test for the Coccidiosis protozoa. They usually develop an immunity to it but can still be carriers. I don’t know if that vet specialized in small mammals, large mammals or what, but a good avian vet is hard to find. Just because they had the Coccidiosis protozoa doesn’t mean that’s what killed them. They usually don’t die that fast. A wet brooder, coop, or run is usually associated with Coccidiosis problems.

With things happening that fast, I suspect something else instead of Coccidiosis. Is there some way they could have gotten into rat poison or something like that? Maybe moldy feed? I’m not there looking at them but I tend to think poisoning more than Coccidiosis.

I’m really sorry that happened. Good luck on figuring it out.

 

[siulung]

I dont leave any type of poison out anywhere in my garden as I have dogs and cats as well. Unless someone came in the garden and put something in the run without my knowledge, my gate has a padlock on, but you just never know. Half of the run is covered with a clear plastic to let the sunshine through but it never gets wets, The other half is uncovered and does get wet but the sand and gravels keeps it from getting water logged from what I can see. Their food is never left to get mouldy and the water is changed regularly. The vet never tested them. She just saw all the blood from the vent area and it also looked gunky. Sorry for my non descriptive terminology. The vet is I suppose what you would call a pet vet. Now I am thinking if I dont know what it is getting more chickens is definite no no ???

 

[Cindy in PA]

With "blood around the vent" it could have been vent picking. This can start with for seemingly no reason & if the hen that gets picked loses enough blood it can kill fast. Once they start to pick, it's hard to stop & they all get in the act. Maybe that's why only one hen is left?