Thank you for your question.

I am sorry to hear about Alan's loss and Flossie's current suffering. If we are seeing more then one bird affected over time, then we do have to consider this to be a flock problem rather then an individual one. It goes without saying that this is certainly something you will want to get on top of as soon as possible. The problem which I am sure you will appreciate with birds is that they do a very good job of covering up when they are sick. This is because as a prey species, attention to your illness will make you a target for predation. So, we often don’t catch illness until it is quite advanced. So, if we are seeing diarrhea, then now is the time to get it under control before any associated signs develop (ie. weight loss, anorexia, dehydration and its effects).

As I am sure you can appreciate diarrhea is a very vague clinical sign in the chicken. It can be caused by a whole range of agents, including bacteria (ie salmonella, e.coli, pasteruella, etc.), viruses (ie rotavirus, coronavirus, adenovirus, etc), parasites (ie GI worms but also coccidia, giardia, crytposporidia) toxins (ie lead, zinc), diet (less a case here), and even stress. So, we really need to approach this diarrhea phenomena and narrow down the potential causes and to make sure we are addressing any disease agents that can be spread to people.

First, while the diet sounds adequate, it is worth checking their grazing area for potential dietary components that can be inciting diarrhea. As well, be on the look out for potential toxic plants and agents that might be coming into contact with the birds.

If your birds aren’t routinely or recently wormed, consider treating them now. You will want to use a broad spectrum product, like Flubenvet, which will cover gapeworm, large roundworm, caecal worm, hairworm and gizzard worm. And while it won’t tackle coccidia, giardia, histomonas, or the protozoal parasites, removing worms from our differential list will make an initial dent on our discovering the culprit in this outbreak.

To further narrow down our differentials, it is advisable to discuss with your vet about submitting a fresh fecal sample to the lab (either they can send it for you, or advise you of your local vet lab). This can be checked for common parasitic and bacterial causes of diarrhea of the chicken. As well, the bacterial culture will be tested to determine which antibiotics they are sensitive to (so if it is a bacteria but doesn’t respond to this antibiotic, we will know what can be used to clear it). And if this is a bacterial or parasitic complaint, knowing what the causative agent is will help you treat it effectively and stop this continual spread of this agent within the flock.

And since we are losing hens to this, if Flossie isn't improving and passes on, you may wish to consider submitting her to your vet for an autopsy performed in the practice. If they cannot find an obvious cause of her death, they can collect samples to submit to the lab for the pathologists to evaluate. The pathologists will be able to examine the tissues under the microscope and determine the causative agent that lead to her death. As well, if bacterial or viral causes are suspected, these can be cultured to determine what is present and what treatments will effectively clear them. They can also check the tissues for toxic levels of heavy metals, if we are worried that the bird's water/feed and environment are being contaminated. This will both give you closure on her loss, but also help you know if this is something that threatens the whole flock.

Outbreaks are serious issues and it sounds like you are struggling to get to the bottom of the cause for this. Therefore, consider the above steps rather then just treating in the dark. This way you will be able to shed some light on the culprit and once you know the causative agent, you will be able to protect the flock and your family effectively.

I hope this information is helpful.

Please let me know if you have any further questions.
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Thank you,

Dr. B