"The Coccidiosis in Chicks" thread

[Jacqdiva]

2 just died. I am not too hopeful for others now!

 

[TeaChick]

Yes I don't know what I am fighting here. I have a group of chicks with Araucanas and Orpingtons that I suspect have coccidiosis. Some just gasp and others have a cough/sneeze, runny eyes, and there are some with blood in their faeces. I have them quarantined. All other groups of chicks and adult birds are so far ok. I sent my husband to the livestock store and they sold him some drops called cocci vet by Vetafarm. It says for pigeons and ornamental birds. I googled it and it actually says it can treat all birds. The active constituents are amprolium 80g and Ethopabate 5.1g, the bottle is 50ml. Does anyone have experience here. I am in Australia and I hear you all talk of corrid, but the store didn't know anything else to prescribe. Advice ANYONE?

Amprolium is the active ingredient in Corid. I'm sure you can order it from somewhere, but IDK what kind of pet/vet suppliers you have in Australia.

All the other things you said you were doing, those are all good things to go (except that @ronott1 said to avoid the vinegar until you're done treating).

If it were me, I would give them scrambled eggs every day. Here's what I put in them: minced garlic, oregano, yogurt (or kefir or whey), sometimes mint. I would also keep putting about a teaspoon of honey in their water every time I fill it, or make up a gallon with at least a tablespoon in it maybe as much as 1/4 cup. (Oh, you're on metric down there, aren't you? A teaspoon is 5cc/5mL; 1/4 should be 60cc/mL.) I would keep fermented feed available to them or I, if I couldn't ferment it then I would at least moisten their feed.
When I have sick chicks, I check on them often (as I'm sure you are) and which ever one(s) seems like it's feeling puny, I dip their beaks into the water and then set them back down right by the waterer. I think the worse thing is if they're feeling just too badly to get to the waterer and then they get dehydrated (and with the medication being in the water, they're not getting that either).

May I recommend, although you have the ones that look sick quarantined, that you treat all your birds? Coccidiosis is the kind of thing that you don't know any given bird has it until it's too late and all the birds that have been with that bird have definitely been exposed and are probably sick but don't look it yet. Looking sick is a late symptom of anything.

Also, Cocci is something that lives in the soil; it's more readily available to the birds to be picked up when it rains or in other moist conditions. I have it on my property, so I will be treating the chicks I just got in as soon as their feet hit the ground, literally; when I put them in their little playpen area of the coop their going to share with the older chicks that are already in there, I will begin putting Corid in their water as a preventative. (Well, I understand it's not a preventative, it's treating b/c I know it's there and I'm just not waiting until they get sick, but treating upon exposure. Hopefully, I won't lose any this time.)

Anyway, I hope that you and your birds come out of this well. I'm so sorry about your losses!!! I lost 6 out of 16 of my last set of chicks to this. It's really hard to care for them and then lose them so young.

 

[TeaChick]

2 just died. I am not too hopeful for others now!

 

[Kae Pasa]

i had read on aother thread about giving chicks with diarhea, some milk an after 24 hours they would be better. have any of you herd of this?

 

[TeaChick]

i had read on aother thread about giving chicks with diarhea, some milk an after 24 hours they would be better. have any of you herd of this?

Hang on, I'll have to get the link from my email. DH emailed me a powdered milk flush for chicks with coccidiosis:
Here it is:
https://www.backyardchickens.com/t/186479/milk-flush-for-coccidiosis




@Jacqdiva
How are the little ones doing???

 

[Jacqdiva]

T

Amprolium is the active ingredient in Corid.  I'm sure you can order it from somewhere, but IDK what kind of pet/vet suppliers you have in Australia.

All the other things you said you were doing, those are all good things to go (except that @ronott1
said to avoid the vinegar until you're done treating).

If it were me, I would give them scrambled eggs every day.  Here's what I put in them: minced garlic, oregano, yogurt (or kefir or whey), sometimes mint.  I would also keep putting about a teaspoon of honey in their water every time I fill it, or make up a gallon with at least a tablespoon in it maybe as much as 1/4 cup.  (Oh, you're on metric down there, aren't you?  A teaspoon is 5cc/5mL; 1/4 should be 60cc/mL.)  I would keep fermented feed available to them or I, if I couldn't ferment it then I would at least moisten their feed.
When I have sick chicks, I check on them often (as I'm sure you are) and which ever one(s) seems like it's feeling puny, I dip their beaks into the water and then set them back down right by the waterer.  I think the worse thing is if they're feeling just too badly to get to the waterer and then they get dehydrated (and with the medication being in the water, they're not getting that either).

May I recommend, although you have the ones that look sick quarantined, that you treat all your birds?  Coccidiosis is the kind of thing that you don't know any given bird has it until it's too late and all the birds that have been with that bird have definitely been exposed and are probably sick but don't look it yet.  Looking sick is a late symptom of anything.

Also, Cocci is something that lives in the soil; it's more readily available to the birds to be picked up when it rains or in other moist conditions.  I have it on my property, so I will be treating the chicks I just got in as soon as their feet hit the ground, literally; when I put them in their little playpen area of the coop their going to share with the older chicks that are already in there, I will begin putting Corid in their water as a preventative.  (Well, I understand it's not a preventative, it's treating b/c I know it's there and I'm just not waiting until they get sick, but treating upon exposure.  Hopefully, I won't lose any this time.)

Anyway, I hope that you and your birds come out of this well.  I'm so sorry about your losses!!!  I lost 6 out of 16 of my last set of chicks to this.  It's really hard to care for them and then lose them so young.

Thank you so much! I have my little ones on meds too but they are all heathy anyway. This was great info. I have one older araucana chick that looks bad. The other 2 are drinking the medicated water. The one that look healthy have to stay put unfortunately as the can't go in with any others. Fingers crossed!

 

[TeaChick]

T
Thank you so much! I have my little ones on meds too but they are all heathy anyway. This was great info. I have one older araucana chick that looks bad. The other 2 are drinking the medicated water. The one that look healthy have to stay put unfortunately as the can't go in with any others. Fingers crossed!

I do hope everything goes well and that you don't lose anymore!!!

and, especially

!!!
I don't have a whole lot of extra time to spend sitting around pouring medicated water into a sick chicken (I have lots of chickens, homeschooling children, husband works from home, plus I have to take care of myself at least enough to be able to take care of everyone else...), anyway, what I'm saying is that I don't have a lot of time to sit around pouring meds down one sick chicken, but as much as I can, I do go dip their beak in the medicated water often and put the sickest ones right next to the waterer or I move the waterer to the part of the brooder or coop that they seem to be partial to.
Wishing you all the best!!!

And do please keep us posted!!!