Cocci?

[kiwiegg]

Thank you cafarmgirl - you rock! Is it possible they will get over this? I'm beginning to get attached to them already!

 

[FirewifeJess]

Are you certain they have anything wrong at all? My chickens have ALL different sorts of poops, and I do know that one chicken can produce many different types of poops in one day. Please take a look at THIS chart to ensure you aren't jumping the gun medicating all your chickens if they don't need to be medicated. That could do more harm than good too! At first I was also very worried about seeing all different types of poops but now I've figured out that they aren't sick, they're just chickens! Meal worms especially cause runny brown poops for my girls.

 

[kiwiegg]

Thanks Jess. This is such a tough one. I may be over-reacting and like you said, may do them more harm than good...OR...if I don't do anything I would hate to see all my girls sick. Thanks for the poop pics link - great fun! some of those "normal poops" look pretty crazy.
Like I mentioned earlier, I have identified one chick for sure with this poop. Should I wait to see if any others start this stink runny stuff before I medicate with Corid but feed them the medicated purina start and grow?

 

[kiwiegg]

So would it be better to medicate if they don't in fact have cocci or not medicate and they end up with cocci? I feel like I need to make a decision either way and its really difficult to decide

Sorry for this rambling thread but thought I would put it out there!

 

[FirewifeJess]

If I were you I would begin medicated food and don't treat for Cocci yet...my gut instinct. My girls routinely have crazy runny brown, green, and "normal" looking poop, all within the same afternoon.

 

[FirewifeJess]

Oh! One more thing...just because the poop smells bad, doesn't mean it's diseased just yet. I mean, realllllly rank could be a problem down the road, but a few times I got worried too about the smell of the poop, but I think sometimes it just stinks more than others! It IS, afterall, POOP!

 

[kiwiegg]

Thanks Jess. It's really the fact that 15-16 chicks are doing a formed "normal" poop and 1, possibly 2 are doing this runny stuff. I'm just being a first time chick parent and worrying a lot! I think I will just use the bag of med food and not medicate the water unless I see more chicks poop changing. This would make a nice dinner table conversation.

 

[cafarmgirl]

If I were you I would begin medicated food and don't treat for Cocci yet...my gut instinct. My girls routinely have crazy runny brown, green, and "normal" looking poop, all within the same afternoon.

I agree. If they are acting normal, active, eating and drinking normally go with the medicated chick starter and just watch them carefully if you are suspicious. The medicated chick starter contains the same med that Corid does, just in a lower dose, which is Amprolium. All it is is a thiamin blocker, it creates an unfavorable environment for cocci to overgrow, hence the name coccidiostat. They will still have some cocci but the low dose in chick starter helps prevent overgrowth which makes the chicks sick. This is how they develope immunity. If you start to notice them acting unwell, acting slow, drinking a lot more then usual and having real diarrhea then you could move to Corid.

 

[mygreenkitty]

Does any of the poopie have blood in it? Do any of the chicks act sick - lethargic or huddled under the light like they're cold?

"The most easily recognized clinical sign of severe cecal coccidiosis is the presence of bloody droppings. Dehydration may accompany cecal coccidiosis. Coccidiosis caused by E. tenella first becomes noticeable at about three days after infection. Chickens droop, stop feeding, huddle together and by the fourth day blood begins to appear in the droppings. The greatest amount of blood appears by day five or six and by the eighth or ninth day the bird is either dead or on the way to recovery."

I had a couple of chicks die from this a couple months ago before I realized what it was, and by then they were just huddling under the lamp looking cold. I think it had progressed too far by the time I finally medicated them. I treated the rest with Corid, and they are all fine. I sure hope yours don't have it, but if you treat them before they get bad, they should be ok. Good luck - I know how you can get so attached to them so quickly!

 

[kiwiegg]

Thank you everyone - your input has been very helpful and I have a plan now

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