Hen not thriving after coccidiosis

[Mrs. Light Sussex]

@Mrs Light Sussex She was treated with sulfatrim which is for the treatment of the cocci protozoa (which I presumed was an antibiotic, perhaps rightly or wrongly). She was one of 11 in the same pen who were all dead or dying when she was brought to me to take care of. Her poop was runny, foamy and full of blood but tbh the vet held out such a poor prognosis for her that they just gave me the medicine and didn’t bother with any tests (presuming she would be dead before they came back and with the poop photo I took in and the fate of all the other chickens, coccidiosis seemed the likeliest ailment). The sulfatrim is for pigeons and bearded dragons but they said they couldn’t give her anything else as her weight was too low for the usual medicine they prescribe (she weighed 800g) and it was a weekend emergency appointment, so I was grateful to try anything. I took her on as a sympathy case really as I have no experience in hen keeping at all and they couldn’t find any one else daft enough to take her. Just to be clear, she doesn’t have it any longer, but she has failed to thrive since. She eats but not like my next door neighbors chickens, she drinks very little too and is incredibly fussy and won’t eat the usual treats chickens seem to love except for mealworms in water which I give her twice a day.

You're right, sulfatrim is an antibiotic, actually it is a combination of two antibiotics sulfamethoxazole and trimethoprim. Sulfa drugs are sometimes used to treat coccidiosis.

You may want to give her lots of nutri-drench, the nutrients it contains are absorbed before they reach the gut so that should help her regain her strength and then appetite.

 

[Beryl’s Mom]

Thank you all for your advice. We are back from the vet and she wants me to try Entrobactin. She doesn’t think it’s coccidiosis causing the problems now as her poop is normal. It might have been helpful if the other owner had a post mortem done on one of the other 10 chickens that died but they didn’t so we are just having to eliminate the problem by ruling out the most likeliest problems first. The poop is being sent for testing so hopefully that will tell us some more. I will keep Beryl separate for the ducks and do another coccidiosis wash of everything just to be sure and I will get some nutri drench. Who knew chickens could be so much worry. Thanks again everyone, your advice was very much appreciated.

 

[anna-newhampshire]

Hi Beryl's Mom. I have pet quails and sometimes they have disagreements and I have to deal with loss of appetite. Nothing like a little wholesome people's food to get them eating well again. If she likes mealworms, she'll like cooked meat for sure (from your own meal, before you salt it, cut up appropriately). You could try ricotta or some other low salt cheese, or plain yogurt. There is a theory that poultry have trouble digesting dairy, but maybe she won't get diarrhea (my quails eat dairy with gusto and no ill effects). Some high quality fresh or cooked vegetables, fruits in season... see what I mean? The feed is convenient, cheap and adequate at keeping chickens alive and 'producing'. But this is a special individual, recovering after a serious illness...

P.S. Natural peanut butter
P.P.S. Does she like Haendel?

 

[Beryl’s Mom]

Thank you for your reply. I tried her with mince and veg yesterday and eggs but she refused it all. I have made bone broth for her to try drinking so when that cools down we will try that. She has also refused natural yoghurt, watermelon,grapes, melon, cabbage and pears. She wouldn't normally eat any of those except pears and grapes. However my dogs are enjoying eating all her leftovers! I will go and try her with some peanut butter now, see if that can tempt her.

Thank you for your advice. All of it is gratefully recieved.

 

[GratitudeGates]

The image I use for a avatar is Rita she is a mean girl too and use to beat up everyone. She got sick I treated her with Corid and it took her a few months to bounce back she was actually nice while ill..... we got two new chicks whom we housed separately and treated them too just in case as we have ducks too and I think they get sick from the muddy soils from around the many baby pools we have. I do think your hen can recover but I would give her her own space to protect her and make her feel protected and mine also like bananas and blueberries corn on the cob and watermelon. I hope your little one heals it is the saddest thing to see how mean they can get treated we called ours the mean girl she is the boss in the yard too until she mixes it up with our male duck Nolan....grins I just smile and say thats Karma Rita... keep us posted you are a sweetheart for going the extra mile. Sorry I just saw more info from above I missed

 

[anna-newhampshire]

You're very welcome but her lack of appetite is a real challenge...

Well, cuddles, maybe some syringe feeding, hope. She's young, she's only 2yo after all.

 

[GratitudeGates]

How is she doing?

 

[Aunt Angus]

I adopted a bullied, blind, sick hen about six weeks ago. She is approx 2 years of age and a bantam Ancona.

Bless you! My first thought reading this was, "She's good people!" I can offer no advice because I am a newbie, but what a sweet thing you are doing! That's one lucky chicken.