# Sick Pullet



## Cedarwinds Farm (Dec 2, 2019)

Anybody have a suggestion about this pullet? 
I noticed yesterday she didn't look right. Her vent is clean, and I can't feel anything wrong with her crop. In fact, I can't feel her crop at all. She seems a little too light. I am guessing she maybe hasn't been eating well for a few days. She does not seem very interested in the feed crumbles. She will peck around on green stuff, bugs, etc. She will drink. I have gone over her several times and can't find anything externally wrong. She does open her beak from time to time and stretch her neck. I have herbs, a container of electrolyte water, and a container of water with apple cider vinegar with her, in addition to the regular water. I haven't isolated her from the other chicks, as they aren't picking on her. Their feed is supposed to have grit, but I put a container of coarse sand, gravel, and dirt from the yard in the cage yesterday, as I wondered if a lack of grit could be part of the problem. I am just guessing here. I can't figure this one out! If I need to buy anything, I can do so while I'm in town after church today. I can't break the bank for one bird, but would like to save her if I can.


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## Cedarwinds Farm (Dec 2, 2019)

@AndersonRanch
@FizzyGoats
@MadHouse
@Tanya


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## MadHouse (Oct 3, 2019)

I do not know what it could be.
Worms, coccidia or internal obstruction come to mind.
How is her poop?


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## Cedarwinds Farm (Dec 2, 2019)

MadHouse said:


> I do not know what it could be.
> Worms, coccidia or internal obstruction come to mind.
> How is her poop?


I do not know about her poop, since she's in with all the others. This evening, I will set up a separate cage for her, so I can monitor that. It is not running or sticky, though, or I would be seeing it on her vent. I am thinking I may make some of the herbal tea that I used on my goat kids for bacterial infections and cocci. I figure it will not hurt


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## happybleats (Sep 12, 2010)

How does she feel flesh wise? If you're feeling boney breast I find this often is coccidia. I give toltrazuril to my birds in their water. In the mean time..mine love puree pumpkin with a little cayenne pepper in it. Gets them eating.


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## happybleats (Sep 12, 2010)

Definitely try an herb tea to address parasites. Wont hurt at all.


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## Tanya (Mar 31, 2020)

Ok. So from your picture she looks pale around the eyes and beak which indicates she has a parisite. I use Cayan peper and garlic with a spoon of ground black pepper. Electrolite water is a must and clean water. She will be picked on because she doesnt move. Try not feed her normal food. Scramble up an egg with a small amount of fresh grayed ginger (small amount of ginger) and deworming herbs. If by 3 days she is still pale you have sour crop on your hands.

Any one else care to add in.


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## Cedarwinds Farm (Dec 2, 2019)

Thanks, everyone! Yes, she's boney, so probably coccidia. I started an herbal tea steeping before I left home this morning, so will give her some this afternoon, and move her into her own pen. I will try the food suggestions, too. Those are all things I can do with what I already have on hand. I've got Corid 9.6% liquid for goats...can I make a dilution of that for the chickens?


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## FizzyGoats (Apr 14, 2021)

Poor little thing. Sorry. I didn’t get a notification. I wish I could add more but I think trying the herbs, pumpkin seeds (ground up), and spices is what I would do, along with separating her just so you can keep a close eye on her. Some organic farms use heavily diluted oregano essential oil as an antibiotic. If she’s not eating or drinking, you might want to give her some electrolyte or probiotics water via a dropper on the side of her beak. 

It’s so hard to figure out what’s wrong and to get them to recover. Is there a sour smell coming from her beak when you massage her crop? I wouldn’t push too much food until you know she’s hydrated and is still pooping.


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## happybleats (Sep 12, 2010)

I think you are the right rack with herbs and such. Add a pinch of clove to the cayenne pepper and pumpkin for added punch for coccidia.


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## littleheathens (Apr 27, 2019)

Yup, looks like cocci. When We had it we used Corid with success. The more gentle, herbal stuff is certainly worth a try first, but if one in the flock has it others may be struggling with it too. You can treat them all preventatively (this is when corid in water makes sense, IMO). Keep the water off the ground and fresh, and make sure they can't walk through their feed.


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## Dandy Hill Farm (Aug 5, 2021)

Great advice given! Hope she feels better soon!! I will add that I highly doubt she has sour crop since you can't feel anything in her crop. I just got done treating a hen that had an impacted crop which then lead to her crop turning sour. With sour crop, their crop will be soft, mushy, won't empty overnight like normal, and like @FizzyGoats mentioned, they will have a bad, sour smell coming from their beak. Hope you are able to make her feel better soon!


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## Moers kiko boars (Apr 23, 2018)

Im new to birds and learning
Could you answer, what herb tea? How much and do you add it to their water? Would Baytril 20% help? If added to her water?


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## Cedarwinds Farm (Dec 2, 2019)

She was looking a lot more perky by the time I got home this evening! I had actually had a hard time catching her, always a good sign. Anyway, I gave her some herb tea, and did separate her from the other chicks. I put a little bit of cooked egg in a bowl for her. I'm not going to mess with her too much more tonight, as they were already asleep when I got home, and I don't want to stress her out too much. I'll see how she is in the morning. Thanks for all the advice!
@Moers kiko boars
The herbal tea is just something I made up to give to scouring goat kids. The primary ingredients are sage, thyme, oregano, garlic, and rosemary. I read up about how most of those herbs are anti-parasitic, and oregano and garlic in particular are also antibacterial. There's also some info I found about rosemary being used to treat coccidia. So it should help to address a broad spectrum of issues. I cannot vouch for its effectiveness, as it's hard to know if an animal might recover on its own, if you never treated it at all. But I do feel that it helps, and it is isn't going to hurt anything. I originally came up with the idea when I had goat kids with scours on the weekend, and didn't have a whole lot of things on hand to treat them with. Those herbs were all growing in my garden, so it was easy to gather them and make a tea that I could either syringe feed or add to the kids' bottles.


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## FizzyGoats (Apr 14, 2021)

I’m glad she is doing better! Did you give her your herbal tea?


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## Tanya (Mar 31, 2020)

How is she doing now?


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## Moers kiko boars (Apr 23, 2018)

@Cedarwinds Farm thankyou for all the info!


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## toth boer goats (Jul 20, 2008)

How are things?


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## Cedarwinds Farm (Dec 2, 2019)

She is looking even more perky than she did last night. Her crop was full last night and empty this morning, so that's working as it should. I've given her herb tea in her water, and mixed some cayenne with her food.


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## Dandy Hill Farm (Aug 5, 2021)

That's great! I hope she continues to improve for you!!


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## toth boer goats (Jul 20, 2008)

Glad things are better.


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## SweetPea21 (Sep 19, 2021)

littleheathens said:


> Yup, looks like cocci. When We had it we used Corid with success. The more gentle, herbal stuff is certainly worth a try first, but if one in the flock has it others may be struggling with it too. You can treat them all preventatively (this is when corid in water makes sense, IMO). Keep the water off the ground and fresh, and make sure they can't walk through their feed.


I have the same problem with one of my chickens and just go some powdered corid to put in their water. You said you had used it before and I was just wondering about the dosage


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## littleheathens (Apr 27, 2019)

Is there dosage instruction on the package? Mine was liquid (I've never used powdered), and I think I followed the label but I don't remember what that was.


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## SweetPea21 (Sep 19, 2021)

littleheathens said:


> Is there dosage instruction on the package? Mine was liquid (I've never used powdered), and I think I followed the label but I don't remember what that was.


The instructions are for cattle and I didn’t know if it needed to be halved or whatever for chickens. Thank you though


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## Dandy Hill Farm (Aug 5, 2021)

@SweetPea21, here's dosage instructions I found online for the Corid 20% powder.

For seven days, mix 1 1/2 tsp.to 2 tsp. of Corid with one gallon of water. Some people even mix the corid water with their food to make sure they get enough.

Then do 1/3 tsp. per gallon for 1-2 weeks.

Make sure to make it fresh each day.

I have not tried this for myself. I only found the info off of Back Yard Chickens. Hope your pullet will pull through!!


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## SweetPea21 (Sep 19, 2021)

Dandy Hill Farm said:


> @SweetPea21, here's dosage instructions I found online for the Corid 20% powder.
> 
> For seven days, mix 1 1/2 tsp.to 2 tsp. of Corid with one gallon of water. Some people even mix the corid water with their food to make sure they get enough.
> 
> ...


Unfortunately she passed tonight but thank you for the info as I will be administering it to the rest of the flock


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## MadHouse (Oct 3, 2019)

SweetPea21 said:


> Unfortunately she passed tonight but thank you for the info as I will be administering it to the rest of the flock


So sorry to hear.


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## NigerianNewbie (Jun 6, 2018)

🌈 Sorry the hen crossed the rainbow bridge.


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## happybleats (Sep 12, 2010)

Awe..im sorry. Might be good idea to treat your flock just in case. Corid in their water is a good start. I would also do pumpkin. With whole being available I like to get it fresh, scoop the seeds and junk out...blend that with a little yogurt, cayenne pepper and a few parasite fighting ess. Oils, (you can use herbs like clove, Cinnamon and oregano) blend until smooth and pour back into the pumpkin ....like a bowl. Set out for the chickens.. they devour it. Depending on how many birds you have I would set one half out day one and the second day 3 or when they finish the first. If you have ducks, know they do feel the heat of cayenne pepper 😉 

Beat wishes


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## Dandy Hill Farm (Aug 5, 2021)

SweetPea21 said:


> Unfortunately she passed tonight but thank you for the info as I will be administering it to the rest of the flock


Oh no, so sorry to hear your girl passed! Yes, I think it would be a great idea to treat the rest of the flock, I've heard Corid is very safe. @happybleats gave great advice too!


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## Moers kiko boars (Apr 23, 2018)

So sorry you lost her.


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## FizzyGoats (Apr 14, 2021)

I’m sorry she didn’t make it. It’s so hard once they actually show you they are sick to get them better.


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## Cedarwinds Farm (Dec 2, 2019)

SweetPea21 said:


> Unfortunately she passed tonight but thank you for the info as I will be administering it to the rest of the flock


So sorry she didn't make it!


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## Cedarwinds Farm (Dec 2, 2019)

I just wanted to give a quick update. The little pullet is doing a lot better. I put her back with the rest of the flock, and she seems to be recovering well. A few of my other pullets started acting a little sluggish, so I just went ahead and started all of them on Corid. It was a nice, dry, sunny morning this morning, so I kicked them all out of the chicken house. I think some fresh air will do them good!


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## MadHouse (Oct 3, 2019)

I am so glad she recovered!!


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## happybleats (Sep 12, 2010)

Awesome news Cedarwinds!!


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## NigerianNewbie (Jun 6, 2018)

Yippie, that's so wonderful! 👏


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## FizzyGoats (Apr 14, 2021)

I’m so glad she’s doing well! Thanks for the update.


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## Dandy Hill Farm (Aug 5, 2021)

Yay!! So glad to hear she is recovering!! Good job!


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