How Quickly Does Albendazole Work?

[Chookno5]

I have 2 bantam chicks aged 14-16 weeks. One of them is poorly. I noticed yesterday it had diarrhoea and today when I let it out on the grass it's not really moving and when it does it falls over. It's also hunched up and miserable looking. It does still seem interested in mealworms so maybe not off food. Any suggestions??

[Egluntyne]

Sounds like it needs to see a vet if it is unable to stand.

[Daphne]

Are there any other symptoms like chesty breathing, straining to poo etc etc? Assuming not, then is there any blood in the poo/nest box - it could be coccidiosis which will kill if not treated very quickly indeed; symptoms can include loose droppings, being hunched and lethargic and closing eyes although birds don't normally fall over. You can get coxoid to try to treat it from good feed merchants (but the bird needs to be drinking or have it syringed) or something from the vet. Alternatively, the lack of balance could be a leg sprain/break or some sort of ear infection, or if coupled with paralysis of wing/leg/foot it would indicate mareks which is usually fatal and untreatable in most cases. Unfortunately both cocci and mareks affect growers disproportionately. If there is no visible blood or nothing else obvious, my best advice would be to get it/them to the vet; if there is blood then I might still go the vet route, your bird sounds very ill.

[Chookno5]

There is definately no blood in the poo but it is very watery and stinks. We've managed to syringe some water into the chick but not interested in food. I spoke to the vet who seemed to rule out Coccidiosis as there is no blood in poo but couldn't really offer any other help. I spoke to the breeder who has suggested keep warm, try tuna/cat food/boiled egg etc to temp it to eat.