Cocci?

[kiwiegg]

Hi everyone. Just moved my chicks out of their brooder a couple of days ago and they seem very happy in their new coop. A couple of days before that I noticed a strong poop smell that was much stronger than normal. I started to see runny poop, a caramel brown color. I am trying to keep the waterer, feeder and litter clean as possible but brooders seem like an invitation for disease - hot and cramped. The only reason I am thinking someone has cocci is that it fits the description best in Gail Damerows book "Raising Chickens". Problem is that she recommends taking a stool sample to vet as there are many different types of protozoa that can caiuse this and therefore different kinds of meds to put in water. I dont want to sound heartless but I dont want to start trips to the vet! If I need to sacrifice one chick to save the others I will. I have been in the coop a few times but have not seen the offender yet.

My main question is, if one of the chicks has cocci can it be easily spread to others or is it an individual condition? What is the best course of action? Do I need to find and isolate the chick/
Thanks for any help!

 

[bucky52]

i have ten.7 week olds.i'am in day five of treating with corid.and yes if you have one with cocci.you need to treat them all.

 

[kiwiegg]

What are you treating them with? How did you figure out which type of ptotozoa is effecting them? Apparently treating the wrong type does more harm than good (?)

 

[Ridgerunner]

If one has it, the others will eat its poop and get it to.

The biggest risk if getting cocci is when they first get access to the ground. The protozoa lives in the ground. The protozoa can multiply in wet manure. The problen is not that they have the protozoa. Small amounts of the protozoa can give them immunity but they need constant exposure to small amounts for two or three weeks before they develop that immunity,

The problem occurs when the number of protozoa in their system gets out of hand. That's where a wet brooder or run is so dangerous. The protozoa lives in that wet mess and they eat it, getting way too many for their health.

The different protozoa have different strengths too. Some are more dangerous than others. And an immunity to one does not give immunity to all.

I put dirt from my run in the brooder about Day 3 to introduce the protozoa they will have to deal with when they hit the gorund and give them a chance to develop immunity. I keep my brooder really dry and have never had a problem doing this, even when they hit the ground.

But, yes. If one has it, they all have it.

 

[kiwiegg]

OK, so do I just get some sort of generic cocci med to mix with water? They have not been near dirt yet and must have got this in the brooder. I plan on letting them outside tomorrow.

 

[Ridgerunner]

If it is really cocci, Sulmet or Corid are the most usual treatments. They should have dosages on the container.

Certain medicated feeds are coccidiostats. These reduce the reproduction of the protozoa in the digestive tract to help keep the numbers down. It is not a treatment, more of a preventative, but it is not a perfect preventative. If your brooder or run are wet, they can still have problems.

You really need to look at the label to see what the medicine is in the medicated feed. Some are coccidiocides which kill off the protozoa so they cannot develop the immunity. If they have it bad, that is a treatment, not a preventative. There are different medicines in medicated feed. A common one is Amprolium or something similar. In certain dosages it is a preventative. In other doses it is a treatment.

I don't do it since I introduce the protozoa in the brooder at a very young age, but some people feed the coccidiostat when they first hit the ground to help prevent problems. A lot of us don't use any medicated feed, but if you have a history of problems, it can be a good idea.

 

[kiwiegg]

Getting advice from a feed store is like asking Home Depot how to build a house. The feed storee told me not to worry about medicated food as I was picking up chicks from hatchery and had never had chicks here before. I did not realise that this was such an uncommon condition as it's very difficult to find out what to do. I was just out in coop and figured out which chick is doing the slightly watery brown poop. I also found out that I can get Sulmet today from Fleet Farm.

Do I isolate the sick chick and give only her Sulmet or do I leave her in the coop and give Sulmet to all of them? I have started them on purina medicated start and grow as I'm desperate now!

ANY help would be greatly appreciated.

 

[cafarmgirl]

Getting advice from a feed store is like asking Home Depot how to build a house. The feed storee told me not to worry about medicated food as I was picking up chicks from hatchery and had never had chicks here before. I did not realise that this was such an uncommon condition as it's very difficult to find out what to do. I was just out in coop and figured out which chick is doing the slightly watery brown poop. I also found out that I can get Sulmet today from Fleet Farm.

Do I isolate the sick chick and give only her Sulmet or do I leave her in the coop and give Sulmet to all of them? I have started them on purina medicated start and grow as I'm desperate now!

ANY help would be greatly appreciated.

Personally I would use Corid rather then Sulmet. Sulmet is very harsh on their systems, my avian vet strongly recommended against it. And yes, if you treat her you should treat them all. It will protect them from an overgrowth of the protozoa and they will be able to build up their immunity in the process.

I don't know the dose for Sulmet. My feed store had the Corid 20% soluble powder. Dose is 1/2 teaspoon per gallon of water for 5 to 7 days.

 

[kiwiegg]

Thank you very much cafarmgirl. I saw Corid at TSC but it was for cattle! I will check Fleet Farm and take your suggestion not to use Sulmet

 

[cafarmgirl]

Thank you very much cafarmgirl. I saw Corid at TSC but it was for cattle! I will check Fleet Farm and take your suggestion not to use Sulmet

That is correct, it is not labeled specifically for chickens.