What does cocidiosis actually look like?

[Bpohlmann93]

How do I know if I'm dealing with a hen with cocidiosis, or liver issues? All the information I've found so far seems to coincide with both. Her comb and such is paler than normal. Her feathers are so dull. And she's definitely not feeling well. She's got more liquid when she goes to the bathroom than normal. I think it's Called polyuria? And she has diarrhea. She's had that since yesterday. But today there was blood in it. So now I'm thinking cocidiosis maybe? In the pictures her comb and stuff look very bright. But they are paler than normal. Any advice would be appreciated. Also is she suffering? Or savable?

 

[EggSighted4Life]

I think it's Called polyuria? And she has diarrhea. She's had that since yesterday. But today there was blood in it. So now I'm thinking cocidiosis maybe?

All pee passes with droppings.. and get more in hot weather.. what is your temps? What other symptoms are you seeing? Have you ever wormed?

Do you have a picture.. some shed intestinal lining may appear similar to blood.. but coccidiosis blood is a LOT.. and only 1 or 2 of the 9-11 strains known to effect poultry *may* appear as blood in droppings, and not every dropping even then.

Is she still eating and drinking? What is her age, breed, and feed routine including treats and supplements? When was her last egg? Are you in the US?

Is she staying with her flock or separating herself? What you describe so far.., doesn't constitute "suffering". But let's see if we can help you assess the situation.

ETA: coccidiosis often looks like a bird standing around with feathers puffed up, head and neck pulled in toward the chest and little to no appetite or drinking. If veterinary fecal float is an option then it's easy to find out if the "load" is too heavy for her immune system.. since coccidia are always present.. and "osis" in the instance of coccidiosis indicates an overgrowth of their population.

 

[Eggcessive]

Can you tell us how old the hen is, if she is laying eggs, and perhaps post photos of her poop and herself as she looks? Is she eating or drinking? Hens don’t pee, but pass uric acid crystals in the droppings (ie-the white cap.) Coccidiosis is possible in a run down sick chicken, but it is most common in young chickens 3-12 weeks old. Many vets will check a fecal float on some fresh droppings brought in.

 

[EggSighted4Life]

She seems to be drinking alottt.

Sometimes indicative of a crop condition and definitely will cause watery droppings.

She's now kind of wheezing a little it sounds like.

Also *sometimes* caused when crop condition causes aspiration.

Have you checked how her crop is feeling? Is it squishy, full and firm, or flat?

This was the one bloody one she had.

That's intestinal shedding.

 

[Eggcessive]

The fluid also could come from ascites fluid if not from the GI tract. Is her lower belly under the vent enlarged and full?

 

[Bpohlmann93]

Okay. I can try that. She seems like she would much rather be out there. And also I'm new to this whole chicken mom thing. But I did have two big water dishes out there. One did have plain water in it. And the other had the vitamins. Then food same. Cuz I read roosters only really eat what they need. So with the food I had two also, one with the mash and one with just plain food, I probably should have specified that with the other comment. Lol But your probably right. I over worried with the new chickens being brought in I think. Lol

 

[Bpohlmann93]

I have a chicken with chronic water belly (not really sure why, but the milk thistle and dandelion root helps her, thankfully). She is noticeably swollen if I put my hand underneath her (between her legs and a little bit back as well), even without being compared to other chickens, but if you aren't sure, you can check a few others as well to see if there is a difference.

Apologies if I missed this, but have you checked her weight and body condition? If you feel her front, you should be able to find her keel bone - it shouldn't feel like there is a ton of extra padding around it, but she also shouldn't feel extremely thin either. Also, have you checked for mites? Infestations can happen quickly and can cause birds to look generally unwell if they get bad enough. Too much protein can also cause loose poops, although this is less likely if she is looking and acting unwell. Yeast issues (sour crop and vent gleet) can do the same, and can be hard to catch before the birds starts showing the really obvious symptoms.

Something else to watch out for would be a respiratory infection of some kind, since you mentioned that she was wheezing.

I hope this helps!




Definitely watch if you put her out that they aren't picking on her - sometimes if they are feeling unwell, other members of the flock will start to pick on them and could hurt her if this is the case. If they're leaving her alone, she will likely feel better being with her flock, unless she is really unwell.



Do you happen to have a photo? It might just be grit or something from her crop that is being expelled. Sometimes, things like that are more noticeable when they aren't well, especially with paying closer attention to them.

For eggshells, I normally crush into smallish pieces, not finely ground but not giant either.

Thank you! I was thinking of still giving her milk thistle. I wandered about the protein since I switched their feed. I was hearing alot of bad things about Purina so we switched to the kalmbach. And I thought maybe since I had the feathering plume feed (even though it doesn't say it has extra protein in it) and the layer feed with 17% percent extra protein, they were getting too much. But she's the only one acting strange. And I think mites maybe a possibility. I just checked by their vents and stuff yesterday. It doesn't seem to bad. But I do believe they may have them. I treated their coop when I cleaned it out with what I had on hand. I usually use it when I clean out their coop. Beifen i/t. It's not my favorite but it what I have. I ordered ivermectin to treat them directly.

 

[Bpohlmann93]

So I just wanted to say thank you to everyone on here for the advice! She is doing better from what I can see. Not 100 percent sure we're done with everything yet since her poops are now yellowish tan and have that bloody stomach shedding in them. But they are atleast not straight water. No vomiting since I've been home. And all the chickens are on a normal diet. No extra anything. Thank you again so much for all the advice!!! you guys are awesome!

 

[Bpohlmann93]

This is like alot of pee. I seperated her. She was running around acting normal yesterday. But since I'm not sure what's going on with her I chose to seperate her, since her poop was on and off liquid and she hasn't been laying. And she's had alot of poop on her butt which also isn't normal for her. She had normalish droppings yesterday on and off/ then some weird yellow/ tanish ones, but then today there were droppings and mostly water. She seems to be drinking alottt. And now just kinda a little bit here and there. I gave her some milk thistle and poultry cell. She's now kind of wheezing a little it sounds like. I will attach pictures of the one bloody poop She had. And some of the other ones I wadded up on the puppy pads. I've changed her puppy pads 4 times today already.

 

[Bpohlmann93]

This was the one bloody one she had.