[lisam]

I have a flock of 12 week old light sussex crosses.  So far this week 4 have died!!  Symptoms are tail down, eyes closing over like sleeping, there eyes also look like they are cross eyed, dropped wings.  They are all a good weight, have shiny feathers and are eating and drinking well.  I have another 2 that dont look to good tonight, both have the cross eyed thing!!!  They are free range and fed on grower pellets, some corn and grit have access to clean drinking water and have very clean housing!!!  The vet when i spoke to him today was not much use!!   Have been on every website looking at symptoms but every website is differant.  Is meriks a really common disease and how easy can birds get it?  Any advice would be fab.

[lara]

Hi Lisam, welcome to the forum, shame not under happier circumstances, sorry I can't help with your chooks, but lots of very knowlegable folks on here,  hopefully problem will be solved soon, regards Lara.

[shetlandpaul]

hunt down your animal health people and ask if they know a vet with more experiance. a pm on one of the hens would be a good idea. i would isolate the ones that are showing signs but with half the flock down with it. prepare to lose it all. have they access to any poisionus plants. sounds like a nasty bug so i would avoid contact with other birds at the moment.

[lisam]

I will try and get one PM'd next week as i dont want the rest of the flock to get whatever they have.  The only thing that i think could be poisonous is there is some red mushrooms growing on some long grass in my garden, i have been removing them as they grow but may have missed some.  Would they eat a mushroom?  I almost hope it is that as i can easily sort that out!!  Thanks for your advice

[shetlandpaul]

they will eat anything. if its the red toadstools that i think they are they would do the job but i have no idea what it is because there syptoms are really not matching any of the normal infections.

[lisam]

I have never seen any of them eating the toad stools but they obviously will eat anything so i could be that.  Really wierd as none of my other birds have any symtoms and they are all on the same ground.  Have removed all toad stools today (i think i have them all!!)  They forage in the woods so to be honest they could have found something in there, i have had a good look and everything look safe!!  I take it meriks is a totally kettle of fish?  No one else has died or had to be despatched today which is good, i just dread opening their house in the moring in case someone has fallen off their pirch in the night!!  Thanks for your advice.

[smiffy]

is there any blood in the droppings ?  it could be coxidiosis (sp) Its very common in young birds, can be caught from wild birds and vermin etc

get some baytril from the vet, administer in the water, it works very quick. Always use a growers pellet with a coxide premix

[lisam]

All droppings are normal, no blood.  FOund another dead one tonight.  THought she looked a bit off about an hour before and dead by the time i had put the kids to bed!!  None of them have abnormal droppings and seem very healthy until they get sqwint eyes and dropped wings.  I think i have read every disease and illness on the internet but it could be so many things.  Will take the dead one for a pm on monday at the vets and then i will know for sure.  just hope the others survive that long!!!

[shetlandpaul]

it may seem drastic but as it looks like your going to loose your flock. it maybe best to cull them disinfect there coop and leave it empty for a while. possibly restock with a commercially grown layer they will have had most of the inoculations as chicks. sounds drastic but it could be more humane in the end.

[lisam]

The results of the post mortem show coccidiosis.  Wish i had taken one of them for a pm sooner!!  The symptoms are nothing like anything i have read and they probably have the cleanest chicken house going!!!  Must be all the warm damp weather.  At least now we can treat it and get it sorted.  thanks for you advice.

[Rosemary]

Always use a growers pellet with a coxide premix

Sorry about your hens. Organic standards don't allow routine feeding of antibiotics, as mentioned above, as it may lead to increased resistance. Better to identify and treat.