The Poultry Keeper

rowingbeau · Joined: 29 May 2007 Posts: 37 Location: Devon

Help needed - not sure if these are related or not
1) legbar died 3 weeks ago due to 'otitis' - ear canal infection, head abcess.
2) Another legbar ill, dodgy leg, (vet said nothing wrong with leg) watery poo, very ill, treated with antibiotics and lots of TLC in the house! (gladly recovered)
3) Discovered pale combed legbar yesterday, suspected ill - treated house for red mite and found our first redmites there Sad

Only a few though and other hens fine.

That hen died this morning on way to vets - had a 'fit' or heart attack? dead in a second - her poo yesterday was yellow, runny sort of lemony, sulphur colour. Not drinking, downhill super fast.

Any advice? Sad

Henwife · Joined: 31 Jan 2006 Posts: 3224 Location: Monmouthshire

How old are the birds? Do you know anything of their parentage? At PoL Cream Legbars will die on you out of sheer bloody mindedness, although natural selection means eventually this 'dies out'. the ear and abcess problems sound like sheer misfortune, the other two rather more worrying. Have you wormed them and have you treated them for external parasites? I don't pay a lot of attention to bird droppings as free ranging birds eat all sorts of things - what goes in comes out.

rowingbeau · Joined: 29 May 2007 Posts: 37 Location: Devon

thanks - they are 1 yr old. Have re-wormed them tonight with flubenvet - verm x perhaps not enough?
Keeping a very close eye.
Have dusted for red mite but no other mites visible.

Henwife · Joined: 31 Jan 2006 Posts: 3224 Location: Monmouthshire

I swear by Flubenvet, it might be a bore to make it stick to the pellets, but it works. I also use Noromectin cattle pour on for external parasites, which needs a prescription from the vet as it's not lienced for poultry. Others use either Frontline drops or the spray on for cats - whichever is used, finding bare skin is the secret!

monicalock · Joined: 26 Mar 2008 Posts: 22 Location: aldershot, hants

oh dear - this sounds very familiar. we have 4 POLs and the only legbar has not started laying yet. we wormed her twice but she still has the runs despite only eating pellets and her favorite treats. vet says she's quite small/light and prescribed baytril but not a lot of improvement really. does this mean legbars are quite weak generally? Sad

Henwife · Joined: 31 Jan 2006 Posts: 3224 Location: Monmouthshire

Just give her time. If she's wormed and free from external parasites I wouln't worry much about the state of her guts. Mine have ad lib layers pellets, a handful of feed wheat morning and evening for each poulty group plus whatever they pick up when ranging. In some of the runs I am still waiting for anything to grow after the winter depradations, but the cream Legbars are doing well. Once they've got beyond PoL they usually do; it's a case of not giving them any stress from about 20 weeks until they are laying regularly - and they are late starters at about 30 weeks. After that mine go great guns.

monicalock · Joined: 26 Mar 2008 Posts: 22 Location: aldershot, hants

thank you, we will watch this space patiently

rowingbeau · Joined: 29 May 2007 Posts: 37 Location: Devon

Hi - remember my earlier post?
Well I insisted on seeing a vet for further advice today after all hens now showing signs of illness.
She says she is sure it is coccidiosis.
The symptoms fit although no blood in poo, just watery, yellow for some, pale combs, tired, not eating that well.

They were on Fluben vet and Tylan to make sure but have had Coccidiostat tonight by mouth.
It is a sheep/cattle one!
Vet checked dose with manufacturer.
Watch this space - I am hopeful they will pick up although legbar no. 3 very ill.
Vet says it is unusual for free ranging (very large pen) hens to get this.
I think we are being shi* upon from a great height.
Have done everything poss. Even cancelled our anniversary romantic break... Crying or Very sad

3rd anniversary today... Anyway, they are my babies.
Will keep you informed - would be useful to know if anyone has had coccidiosis in their camp?
xx

Kitsune · Joined: 13 Mar 2008 Posts: 1334 Location: Manchester

If there is no blood in their poo they probably have a higher intestinal coccidiosis rather than the caecal type - there are 9 different types of coccidia all with different sites in the intestinal tract they colonise.

you can find a lot of good info at the merck veterinary manual here
http://www.merckvetmanual.com/mvm/index.jsp?cfile=htm/bc/200800.htm

Do you have many wild birds visiting? Have you had chickens in the same pen for a long time?

Henwife · Joined: 31 Jan 2006 Posts: 3224 Location: Monmouthshire

I have a large (and expensive) bottle of Baycox for treating coccidiosis in chicken. I got it through my vet as it is a POM, but it does mean that it takes 2 days to clear up the problem if it strikes. I do know there are a number of types of coxi that affect chicken, & Baycox covers the majority, if not all.

rowingbeau · Joined: 29 May 2007 Posts: 37 Location: Devon

thanks for the replies - all seem well today, the day after treatment.
Our hens are in a 300m square pen ( ten hens) which has not previously had poultry on. All recently purpose built, on organic arable field we bought last year, right next to house. Cost us £1k to set it up!

Pheasants and wild birds frequent visitors....
Don't know about future treatment, if it is cocci but will get some baycox in and treat ground with biosuper when I can find some. Smile

Kitsune · Joined: 13 Mar 2008 Posts: 1334 Location: Manchester

Sounds like a good setup! Hope this is the end of it for you, sounds like you're doing everything right Smile