Loosing chickens fast!

[LadyGrey Struggles]

Good morning, everyone. I am in dire need of advice. I will preface by saying there is not a poultry vet near me, and the only mobile one I found, I cannot afford to come out to where I live. Saturday, a week ago, I purchased three young hens from a swap meet at a feed store near me. I have never purchased chickens before; all the chickens I currently have are ones I raised from pullets that were acquired through the local high school, and some that were given to me by a buddy to expand my flock. I have a mixed flock just for eggs for my family and they are all 3+ years old. I have two roos. One is a Rhode Island Red (in my picture) and the other I THINK is an Americana. I brought the young girls home and integrated them into my flock. I made a huge mistake by not quarantining them first, but they appeared healthy and are still seemingly fine. Last Friday, I noticed one of my girls had a swollen eye. I assumed the roos or one of the hens did it. A gentleman told me to put raw honey on it, and it would be fine. That is what I did. Went out of town and came home on Sunday and went to check on them. Weezy was dead (she had a respiratory infection 6+ months ago but had gotten better). I had two more hens with swollen eyes and lethargic, and my roo "Thor" was in a bad way! He had mucus coming from somewhere that was all over his face and chest, and at first I thought he was dead. He was asleep lying on the ground. I went to grab him up, and he flipped out as usual. He has progressively gotten worse. I have given them ACV, fish antibiotic, and moved them to one side of the run. The hens have no mucus and are not showing any sign of labored breathing, but are completely out of it. Yesterday, one of my other hens' eyes was swollen, so I moved her to the "sick" side. I tried giving Thor antibiotics that I had for my dog that I crushed and dissolved in water, but he barely swallowed any of it. I also gave it to the 3 hens. They swallowed it. The original sick 3 are not eating or drinking. I have read a million articles and cannot find an illness that fits. The Friday before they got sick, I also opened a new bag of feed and gave them their first cabbage. Monday I saw one worm in a pile of poo on the "well" side so I gave then Ivermectin in some scrambled eggs.

 

[Debbie292d]

Hi,

Did you happen to get a picture of the poop with worms in it? I'm no worm expert but from reading so many posts on here about them, I believe your chickens either have roundworms or tapeworms. With a picture, someone could tell you which.

They need to be treated ASAP as this could be the problem or part of it.

I'd halt the Ivermectin as overdosing is easily done.

Here's a post on tapeworm dewormers, but I'd wait to see if you can go get a picture of them.
https://www.backyardchickens.com/threads/treating-tapeworms-under-construction.1220309/

 

[LadyGrey Struggles]

Hi,

Did you happen to get a picture of the poop with worms in it? I'm no worm expert but from reading so many posts on here about them, I believe your chickens either have roundworms or tapeworms. With a picture, someone could tell you which.

They need to be treated ASAP as this could be the problem or part of it.

I'd halt the Ivermectin as overdosing is easily done.

Here's a post on tapeworm dewormers, but I'd wait to see if you can go get a picture of them.
https://www.backyardchickens.com/threads/treating-tapeworms-under-construction.1220309/

I only gave the ivermectin in the scrambled eggs, not topically. I also put DE on the ground. I did not get a pic of the worm because as soon as I saw it Helga gobbled it down -eww. It was cream/white-ish in color and looked like a grain of small rice. Thank you for the like I will check it out.

 

[Debbie292d]

I only gave the ivermectin in the scrambled eggs, not topically. I also put DE on the ground. I did not get a pic of the worm because as soon as I saw it Helga gobbled it down -eww. It was cream/white-ish in color and looked like a grain of small rice. Thank you for the like I will check it out.

I think it's tapeworms then as roundworms are like spaghetti, and tapeworms expelled are segments of them.

Let me find some worm experts though as I've never dealt with them.

@dawg53 @Wyorp Rock @Eggcessive

 

[LadyGrey Struggles]

I think it's tapeworms then as roundworms are like spaghetti, and tapeworms expelled are segments of them.

Let me find some worm experts though as I've never dealt with them.

@dawg53 @Wyorp Rock @Eggcessive

Thank you! I never thought the worms would be raging this much havoc on my chickens! I only saw the 1 worm. I did look at the other poo piles. I have raised house dogs and hunting dogs all my life and other than heartworms, it was just a matter of seeing a worm, treat the dogs. Never have I thought they would kill my birds. Oh, and the hunting dogs have never been anywhere near my chicks so could they have come from the 3 new birds?

 

[Debbie292d]

Thank you! I never thought the worms would be raging this much havoc on my chickens! I only saw the 1 worm. I did look at the other poo piles. I have raised house dogs and hunting dogs all my life and other than heartworms, it was just a matter of seeing a worm, treat the dogs. Never have I thought they would kill my birds. Oh, and the hunting dogs have never been anywhere near my chicks so could they have come from the 3 new birds?

My understanding is dog and chickens could both have worms but can't get them from each other.

Yes, it's possible they came from the new chickens though.

But some areas just seem like they get them easier than others. There are some people that worm their chickens every 6 months whether they saw a worm or not. We've gone nearly 9 years and never wormed ours.

 

[LadyGrey Struggles]

My understanding is dog and chickens could both have worms but can't get them from each other.

Yes, it's possible they came from the new chickens though.

But some areas just seem like they get them easier than others. There are some people that worm their chickens every 6 months whether they saw a worm or not. We've gone nearly 9 years and never wormed ours.

I have never wormed mine either and it is so frustrating trying to figure out what to give and all because I am having to use stuff off label since there is not a vet around. Can worms really get so bad so fast that birds actually die? I am shook!

 

[Debbie292d]

I have never wormed mine either and it is so frustrating trying to figure out what to give and all because I am having to use stuff off label since there is not a vet around. Can worms really get so bad so fast that birds actually die? I am shook!

Yes. Those worms are eating from inside, and the chickens aren't getting their nutrients they need anymore. They will slowly fade, get sick easier, etc. I think if you get rid of the worms, that may not be your only issue, but it'll sure help them start getting healthier again.

 

[Eggcessive]

I would look for any more worms on fresh droppings and take a picture. As debbie said, round worms are long thin and cream colored. Tape worms are small like grains of rice and may be moving. Tapeworms require praziquantel to treat them effectively. They make praziquantel tablets, droncit and drontal tablets with it, and for chickens, Equimax horse paste with praziquantel is cost effective. Dosage is 0.16 ml given orally once, and repeated in 14 days. Round worms are best treated with Valbazen 1/2 ml once and again in 10 days, or SafeGuard Liquid Goat Wormer 1/4 ml per pound given for 5 days in a row. Ivermectin has lost it’s effectiveness on worms in recent years.

 

[Eggcessive]

What state are you in? Most state vet labs will do a necropsy and testing on chickens that die, if the body is kept cold, not frozen. They will identify the certain respiratory disease present. Both MG and infectious coryza are respiratory diseases that cause swollen eyelids and serious respiratory symptoms. Did you notice a bad odor from the beak or face from the sick birds? Tylosin can be used to treat MG, while coryza is better treated with sulfadimethoxine or SMZ TMP (bactrim.) Here is where to find your state vet lab for a necropsy if you lose another.