# Worm overload /cocci?



## Maryellen (Jan 21, 2015)

Could my.chickens have cocci and a worm overload that is causing the secondary issues? Some of my hens have green colored poop. Normal.shaped poop but green. My one sick hen has poop on her butt feathers that is yellowish, I'm cutting the feathers off tonight when she is more calm. 
I am wondering if this is the cause of the 4 getting sick.
Thoughts ? Ideas? 
I'm asking cause when I spoke to the state this morning she asked me if I dewormed my chickens and if so what I used. ...


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## seminole wind (Aug 22, 2015)

Okay. So worm them and treat for cocci. I've had green colored poop that was normal.


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## Maryellen (Jan 21, 2015)

I've been reading green is ok . But I'm paranoid now the one sick one just died


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## robin416 (Sep 8, 2013)

Diet changes or additions can be a cause. I would collect several fresh samples and take them to the vet to check under the scope. That will both tell you if there is anything there and if there is how to treat it.


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## dawg53 (Aug 25, 2015)

ME. You're getting fecals tested anyway, you'll know if it's worms or cocci for sure.


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## Maryellen (Jan 21, 2015)

No diet change. Last 3 birds were added a few weeks ago . 
The weather here goes from 28 at night to 50 during the day to 38 at night 44 daytime, rain, cold. Frost,rain. 
I have a new hole in the run , so a rat is present. We put smoke bombs in, and I remove the food at night when I get home from work. 
I know karen here didn't you have your silkie die and the test results had some rat disease show up ?so now im.thinking that. But it's only hitting my under 6 month old birds. My one old bird who is 8 got sick but a round of denagard and she got better... 
I'm at a loss here


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## Maryellen (Jan 21, 2015)

Robin vet fecals are $15 each vs the state at $3 each. I don't get paid till the 30th so I'm limited on funds as I have to pay for the state testing and I know one test the woman said for MG is $61.


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## robin416 (Sep 8, 2013)

You collect from several places but take in a single sample. In other words, it's not worth keeping them separate since you don't know what bird it came from. 

Take some of the ag rodent killer and put it in the holes you find. It's out of the reach of the birds and easily accessible to the rodents.


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## boskelli1571 (Oct 30, 2017)

Maryellen said:


> Could my.chickens have cocci and a worm overload that is causing the secondary issues? Some of my hens have green colored poop. Normal.shaped poop but green. My one sick hen has poop on her butt feathers that is yellowish, I'm cutting the feathers off tonight when she is more calm.
> I am wondering if this is the cause of the 4 getting sick.
> Thoughts ? Ideas?
> I'm asking cause when I spoke to the state this morning she asked me if I dewormed my chickens and if so what I used. ...


What secondary issues are you referring to? There is a 'poop chart' on BYC and the Chicken Chick - have you looked at those?
Which hens are getting sick - older or younger ones?
The fecal tests will help you to know a bit better. If you can't afford fecals right now, get yourself a high power magnifying lens and check through some poop yourself  if there is a huge worm load you should be able to see some.
Rats can cause disease but it's usually an overload of rats that's the problem.They poop in the food and pee everywhere..... If you take up food at night and change water daily, it likely is not the rat.


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## Maryellen (Jan 21, 2015)

4 young hens. 2 died. The poop on the chicken chicks site I looked at and compared to my hens, all looks normal.range on her site and my hens.


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## dawg53 (Aug 25, 2015)

Concerning worming: Birds can have worms without seeing them in feces. The only time you'll see worms in feces is if they are dead or dying and are excreted. Why would a parasite want to leave its host? The only other time is when the digestive tract is so overloaded with worms that there isnt any other place to go except out the rear end. 
Visible worms that can be seen in feces are the large roundworm and cecal worm, and of course tapeworm segments. You cant see capillary worms, gapeworms or gizzard worms. It's always possible to have a bird(s) infected with several types of worms at the same time. This is why a fecal test is important. 
I prefer the shotgun approach; a wormer that kills them all or most types of worms. Saves money.
This is just for your information.


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## seminole wind (Aug 22, 2015)

No, ME, I had no rat illnesses. But rats do carry worms and parasites. Years ago I had a few odd illnesses go thru here. One was that 3 young polish died and bled out. I assumed it was necrotic enteritis. The rest then got a one-eyed infection. 3 died from that and then I just gave the rest everything, corid, tylan and sulfadimethoxine ,and wormed and that ended it. The one-eyed infections was just plain weird. They were all about 15 weeks at the time. One survivor had a strange looking eye for a whole year.


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## Maryellen (Jan 21, 2015)

From now on I'm worming more. Just as a precaution. I wormed spring and fall before, but now I'm going to worm more then 2x a year ..
So far the 3rd hen is ok right now just doing that sneeze cough thing once in a while. Tomorrow night 6 birds will be brought in the crates for monday .


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## Maryellen (Jan 21, 2015)

I use valbazen, wazine, safeguard goat dewormer and safeguard horse paste. I have ivermectin here to I just picked up. I don't know what else to buy


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## dawg53 (Aug 25, 2015)

All you need is the valbazen and safeguard liquid goat wormer for rotation purposes. Dont waste your money on the rest of that stuff.
Your soil conditions dictate how often you should worm your birds. Birds kept on the same soil need to be wormed more often.
Warm moist soil requires frequent worming, and worm eggs can last for years in frozen soil.
Always worm birds before chickens start laying in the spring. Everything comes to life in spring when the weather starts to warm up, including worms. 
Dont let anyone fool you when they say chickens can handle a small amount of worms. One female roundworm lays thousands of eggs a day which are deposited onto the soil to be picked up by other birds. One worm is one worm too many and there is no immunity to worms.
We worm dogs and cats monthly for a reason.
Try worming once every 3 months. I worm my birds monthly.
Generally I recommend a 2 week withdrawal period after worming. However, we eat the eggs after worming and I'm still here typing, so I wouldnt worry about it unless you're selling eggs to be eaten.
Besides, albendazole and fenbendazole pass quickly out of the guts of chickens.


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## boskelli1571 (Oct 30, 2017)

Maryellen said:


> I use valbazen, wazine, safeguard goat dewormer and safeguard horse paste. I have ivermectin here to I just picked up. I don't know what else to buy


You should not use Wazine on egg laying hens if you intend to consume or sell the eggs. The package insert states right on it 'not to be used in egg laying hens'. An interesting read is Tillys Nest - to worm or not to worm.


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## dawg53 (Aug 25, 2015)

I've used wazine 17 many times and it's a liquid. Wazine 52 is a soluable powder and can be purchased in Canada. Both gets rid of large roundworms in poultry. It acts like a flush and can cause intestinal blockage if a bird is loaded up on large roundworms. That's why I prefer valbazen, it slowly kills worms over a period of several days.
Once wazine is used in poultry, there's a 14 day slaughter withdrawal period. It's not to be used in chickens producing eggs for human consumption. I've eaten eggs after using wazine. I dont recommend it if someone is susceptible to a possible piperazine reaction. Same is true for other wormers.
Egg buyers should be notified what wormer was used to worm chickens.


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## Nm156 (May 16, 2015)

Goatzilla


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## Maryellen (Jan 21, 2015)

I don't sell eating eggs anymore, I just eat them myself. I'll stick to.the safeguard goat and valbazen thanks!!
Mine free range every day except in torrential rain and blizzards. I did have everyone locked up for a month as a hawk was staying in my trees


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## chickenqueen (Jan 9, 2016)

The hawks and falcons don't bother my adults,which are all bigger breeds but they hunt the sparrows and rodents in the yard.Our daytime raptors are on the small side but I believe eagles are coming closer,then I'll have problems.Last year I lost a couple of hens to a dog.I left the carcasses on the transformer at the end of the driveway. We came home after dark and something white was eating one so, of course, I had to investigate.It turned out to be a really big owl.It was really cool but I scared it off investigating.It was definitely big enough to carry off a Cochin.


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## boskelli1571 (Oct 30, 2017)

chickenqueen said:


> The hawks and falcons don't bother my adults,which are all bigger breeds but they hunt the sparrows and rodents in the yard.Our daytime raptors are on the small side but I believe eagles are coming closer,then I'll have problems.Last year I lost a couple of hens to a dog.I left the carcasses on the transformer at the end of the driveway. We came home after dark and something white was eating one so, of course, I had to investigate.It turned out to be a really big owl.It was really cool but I scared it off investigating.It was definitely big enough to carry off a Cochin.


We have 2 Beagles that 'free range' so we don't get too many ground predators.
We do have owls, hawks and a pair of eagles in the area. The crows do a good job of keeping the hawks away tho'


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## dawg53 (Aug 25, 2015)

I've lost several birds to hawks; two big Barred Rocks, a Hamburg and a Red Star. I've lost quite a few to snakes.


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