Giardia!!!

I just got 4 pullets and after noticing brown, runny droppings, I had a stool sample test positive for giardia. The only local vet that treats chickens can't see them until next Wednesday, and I'm wondering if I can do anything for them before then. The vet won't prescribe anything without seeing them, and I'm so afraid my kids will get sick. Any experience in this area would be so appreciated. Thanks!

Hmm. I've never heard of chickens suffering from giardia -- it's not listed on any of the chicken illness sites I look at -- but if they drink contaminated water that's where they'd get it.

Are you sure the poops weren't just normal, runny, dark brown cecal poops? About one in a dozen poops are like that, and they smell terrible but they're normal.

In any case, I'd make sure the kids washed up really well after touching a chicken, but you'd do that anyway.

I checked this site, and they say that poultry doesn't carry giardia... so maybe it was just a passing thing??

http://lomaprieta.sierraclub.org/pcs/articles/giardia.asp

I have known of ducks and chickens having giardia.
They were not mine, so I am not sure of the meds they used.

Make sure you handle as little as possible and keep separated. Wash hands and shoes after bing with them.

No experience with this, but I put 1 to 2 drops of Mrs. Stewert's Bluing per gallon of water for all my animals. It is non-toxic and kills bacteria. DH has used this for "many" years, and told me to use it when we started to raise chickens.

http://www.mrsstewart.com/

Jean

Hi Kayri,

I was a veterinary technician for about 13 years and have seen this particular parasite many times.

It is a microscopic protozoan parasite that is transmitted from feces to mouth.

So, yes, it can be passed from the chickens to yourself or your children without the proper hygiene. I would wear latex gloves when cleaning out their coop or handling anything that comes in contact with their feces. Wash throughally after being in contact with them. The parasite doesn’t live that long out of the body and exposed to air so that is a good thing. But I would definitely clean and disinfect their coop during treatment to ensure they don’t reinfect them selves.

The treatment for Giardia is an intestinal antibiotic which will need to be given orally for a period of time. So, I don't know of anything you can do in the mean time.

Don’t know if you are interested or not… but here is a picture of it under a microscope. It looks like it has eyes… but it doesn’t.




Please let me know if you have any questions!

Hi,
Just wanted to say that if you have not gotten to the vet yet, write me as I have a holisitic rememdy available for giardia that might help you out.
Kristi

I contacted giardia many years ago myself. I used a tincture called parasite cleanse it contained wormwood, cloves, black walnut, quasia. I still use it today to control parasites.

For the next person finding this thread--

I am now treating my hen for giardia---I suspected blackhead (histomoniasis) due to her runny poops with yellow urates. But fecal came back giardia positive.

Metronidazole is what you need (flagyl--look for Fish Zole 250mg, from the local fish/pet store). For a 6 lb bird give 1/3 pill (80mg) every 12 hours for 14 days.

Safeguard dewormer treats giardia as well, but do not try to worm a sick animal--it will likely hasten their death. Use the Metronidazole first until they are healthy enough for deworming.

Also, metronidazole kills the good bacteria, too. So give probiotics (like yogurt) after finishing the metronidazole to replace the good bacteria in the gut.

Quote:
Ditto.

One of our chicks just tested positive for giardia - 5 weeks old. Have only had tap water...... Vet prescribed flagyl - very expensive!

Now I am sick with intestinal symptoms and really wondering if I could have it!