[steyningness]

Hi all, this is my first post so hope its OK!
x
About a month ago I got x3 12 week old chooks, x2 light sx hybrids and x1 warren hybrid. They all came from the same place and had been together since hatching I believe.  All was well until 2 days ago when I popped out for an hour and came home to find Maud (warren) sitting down looking unhappy, and she is still not right.  She sometimes gets up and has a stretch, but definitely isn't her normal self - she isn't pecking or scratching much, just spends a lot of time sitting down (most of the day) which isn't like her.  In the morning she doesn't come straight out of the coop anymore, she only comes out to eat and drink when the 2 others have gone into the garden.  I have checked and can't see anything obvious wrong. Could this be a sign of the others bullying her? The other 2 are bigger and much bossier, they spend a lot of time ruffling feathers at each other and am guessing they are getting towards laying age, could it be hormones (don't laugh)! Could it be that Maud is just feeling the urge to nest?

Or could she need worming?  The farm where I got them said they hadn't been wormed as he has never had a problem.  He was a really lovely guy and I don't think je was saying/doing this to save money.  I don't want to give them pesticides if they aren't necessary.  I have read conflicting advice about worming - some say routinely every 6 months and some say if healthy not to bother.

A friend also suggested that Maud might just need a friend and that 3 is always a crowd? I am totally new to this so I have no idea if this could be true?

Any advice would be very much appreciated thank you.

It's now a few hours after this post, and Maud seems a lot better, up and about and pecking again. However I have now found some droppings with some blood in.  Does this indicate coccidiosis? Or could it be worms? Not sure how I tell which out of the two it is, as blood in poo seems to be a symptom for both.  I don't really want to have to shell out on 2 treatments if only one or none are necessary.  Will Verm X treat coccidiosis or is it more just a worm preventative rather than a cure? So many questions, thanks and sorry!

[helens-hens]

Hi there

When you say blood in droppings is it actually blood or does it look like tiny bits of red flesh? If the latter then this could just be part of the digestive tract lining which they naturally shed periodically.

As far as worming is concerned people do have different views on this. Personally I am for worming with a chemical wormer such as Flubenvet. Worms, slugs & snails can all carry these parasitic wormselves which can then be passed on to your hens if they eat them. If a chicken develops a heavy burdon of worms it can kill it.

Hope this helps

[splash101]

To be honest i'd give the vermex a miss this time and worm them properly with flubenvet.
Vermex is a preventative so wont get rid of worms that may be in the system.

I've had chicks with coccidiosis They were listless, fluffed up, didnt want to eat , didnt move much from the spot they were standing in. Blood in the droppings.
If it is coccidiosis you will need to treat quickly as they can go downhill very quickly and will die within days and i believe is contagious.
Treatment (Coxoid) or similar is approx £6. If treated quickly they can recover quite quickly
Most places that sell chicken food / supplies will have Coxoid or similar, even our local pets at home store stocks it

I dont think the number of chickens is a problem, I've had groups of different numbers and one of the members on here has 1 chicken.

[steyningness]

Thanks lots for your advice.

I think that as Maud picked up a bit today and definitely no sign of fluffed up feathers that it isn't cocc. There certainly wasn't lots of blood, I guess it could have been shedding intestines but as I have only just read about that I just panicked and went for worst case scenario.  Will have a better look tomorrow.

I will take your advice and get some flubenvet to be on the safe side, as it seems a sensible thing to do and won't cause any harm.  My local vet said they have had lots of problems getting hold of it so don't have any, so I will ring around the bigger vets and if not try and source online?

Learning lots all the time, this forum seems invaluable,  its great to have ears that listen!