[Julie in Somerset]

Hi, I need some advice. I have been keeping chickend for a year, Started with 4 ex batts, only have one left. I have 2 POL hens i bought in April and 3 ex free range birds I got in May. One of the free range birds died suddenly on Tuesday (my 1st Ex batt death was similar). In the morning she was hunched up, quiet, thirsty, wasn't eating and passing yellowy runny poo. They are kept in an enclosed roofed run on hemcore and I poo pick the coop and the run daily.

Around dinner time she laid down and allowed me to pick her up. The ex free range birds aren't very keen on human contact. I isolated her and at tea time I decided to bring her in for a closer look. While my OH was holding her and I was looking in her beak she threw her head around wildy and died.

Another hen keeper thought it might coccidiosis. Should I give Coxoid or any other medication regularly as a preventative? Or am I becoming a hen hypochondriac? Can anyone advise me as after a year I feel I know less about chickens than when I started.

[Flowerpower136]

It does sound like coccidiosis.  Was very worried that one of my ex batts had it and was about to dose her with Baycox (as recommended and would have been provided by our local gamekeeper), but she perked up.  Thankfully must have had some resistance to it.  Am however keeping an eye on the cocci type poos.  The odd one is OK, but anyone doing more than their share will get a dosing.

Definately treat her for it, because if she doesn't have any resistance, she could die, and the treatment won't do any harm.  Don't know about 'preventative', but would definately treat her now as a cure.

Hope she perks up and gets over it.

[Aunt Sally]

Coccidiosis poo's generally have blood in them. 

Have you wormed your chooks with flubenvet recently Julie ?

[nzdunn]

i was just gonna ask that wot does one of those poos look like.   nicky

[Aunt Sally]

Lots of poo pictures here  http://chat.allotment-garden.org/index.php?topic=17568.0

Enjoy 

[poultrygeist]

Could the yellow runny poo have been a broken internal egg ?

I know it's a bit late but thought I'd throw in a wild guess.

Rob

[Julie in Somerset]

Thanks for the replies, I wormed all 6 of them at the end of May with Flubenvet. I have never seen any blood in the poo. As the hen that died was 2+ I thought she wouldn't get coccidiosis as she was a free range commercial bird. The yellow didn't look like egg matter and she had laid 2 days before she died.

I have the rest of them on Coxoid now but they are showing no signs so far. Hens are a mystery to me.