Coccidiosis? Double Check me, please.

[MMelton67]

Thanks for the warm welcome over on the intro sub.

I've spent an hour or so today reading various threads on coccidiosis because I think my beginner flock might have it. Though, not seriously I don't believe. Going to bullet point the sequence of events in hopes of keeping this post short. lol.

• 8 Lavender Orpingtons and 8 Barred Plymouth Rocks hatched on June 19th from Hoover's Hatchery.
• Marek Vaccine and Cocci spray were purchased and applied per the box they came in.
• All chicks arrived alive and seemingly healthy on the 21st
• I have been feeding them an unmedicated chick starter and using 'Chick Boost' supplement in water.
• Initial brooder was a 24x36 home built cage with 15x15 heating plate.
• By July 1, it was obvious they needed more space so I built a 2nd one, same size and split them up by type on July 3.
• I was completely removing the chicks to a box and cleaning the brooder(s) daily at first but on or about July 12, went to every other day.
• I spotted the 1st bloody poop on July 18th. Only 1 dropping amongst all the rest. 1st in the Orpington brooder. Then, on the 19th, one in the Rock's pen.
• After finding the common remedy (Corid) and dosage for chickens I started dosing on the 20th at 1 teaspoon per gallon.
• At no time have they stopped drinking or feeding at their usual rate.
• No one is displaying any abnormal behavior.
• I realized, through more reading, that 6 sf was not quite enough space for 8 chicks at their age.
• On July 21, I moved them into a 4'x8'x2' tractor on the concrete floor of a garage. They immediately seemed to like the bigger space.
• On July 22, I moved them out of the garage onto a half gravel/half dirt drive for the day. Dust bathing commenced with vigor from all parties.
• I'm moving them out every day now unless it's raining. Then back in at night. They are in 90% shade.

This morning, I saw exactly one semi-liquid/semi-red dropping. All others are normal looking.

From reading other threads, it looks like they're going to be ok. I am planning to continue the current dosing for a total of 7 days and then reduce the dosage by half for another 14. In that time, I'm going to be finishing the coop and run build out.

Please comment/critique your opinions on if they really do have coccidiosis and if my plan is good.

so much for short, lol

a few pics

 

[coach723]

The correct dose of Corid is 1 &1/2 tsp of the powder or 2 tsp of the liquid per gallon of water for 5 - 7 days. If you want to do a second week the dose is 1/3 tsp of the powder or 1/2 tsp of the liquid per gallon for the second week.
It's hard to say if it's coccidiosis or not without seeing the droppings. But Corid is very safe, so if in doubt, treating is the right thing to do.

 

[MMelton67]

Thanks. I'd gotten my original dosing from Meyer's website.
https://meyerhatchery.com/products/Corid-9-6-Solution-p263466541

I've seen the recommended dosage you cite in the threads I'd seen here earlier today and it *is* pretty much is the same *isn't it?*

I went with the 'half' dosage from Meyer's recommendation because I'd only seen 1 or 2 droppings a day out of 16 chicks.

Should it be 2 tsp per gallon no matter the apparent level of infection?

I'll take a pic of any off color droppings I see in the morning. I just finished moving them in for the night and didn't see anything off where they were. But, they're on concrete with wood chips overnight. So, it will be apparent if there are any more odd ones.

Thanks, again!

*edit*
lol, the asterisks are my edits to clarify what i wrote, not any emphasis on the words themselves...old habits from a forum a long time ago in a galaxy far, far away.

 

[coach723]

I always use the severe outbreak dosing (which is what I gave you), it's too hard to know without a fecal what the count is, and they can hide symptoms well. It's a safe medication and it's better to make sure it's gotten than to have them get sicker and die.

 

[MMelton67]

I always use the severe outbreak dosing (which is what I gave you), it's too hard to know without a fecal what the count is, and they can hide symptoms well. It's a safe medication and it's better to make sure it's gotten than to have them get sicker and die.

Gotcha. So, do you think I should increase the dose tomorrow for the next X or Y days?

The Meyer's website was the first thing that popped on a google search last week ( I just joined BYC today ) and as I knew them to be a reputable hatchery, I went with it. My error I guess was considering only 2-3 droppings out of dozens to be 'minor' in scale.

fwiw, part of my consideration was that I read someplace else (not sure where) that you could kill them with too much Amprolium. So, I erred on the 'minor' dose.

Thanks for your feedback!

 

[coach723]

You would have to give massive doses to cause harm. It's not an antibiotic, it's a thiamine blocker (or mimic, depending on the author). The coccidia need thiamine to process and absorb nutrients, they take up the amprolium instead and they starve and die. Sometimes a thiamine deficiency could happen in the treated birds, but the treatment time is not that long, so the risk is not huge. I've never seen it happen in my flock. If it did, you would just supplement thiamine after treatment. That is why it's always said to not give vitamin supplements during treatment, giving more thiamine can reduce the effectiveness of the medication. I would up the dose to the severe outbreak amount. Depending on how many days you have left, you may need to do at least 5 days at that dose to be sure. That is what I would do.

 

[MMelton67]

So, I'm still seeing one or two instances of droppings that look like this. Both of these are from yesterday, day 5 of the increased treatment level. They were the only two instances of off color or loose stool. This is a flock of 16, 15 pullets and 1 cockerel (accidental male, we ordered all female.)

Is this coccidiosis or something else?

Not sure if I should continue treatment and at which level. Thanks for any help with this.

 

[coach723]

Those could be regular cecal droppings. Those happen about every 10 droppings or so.
Are they all acting normally? Everyone eating, drinking well, etc? They are a little foamy which may or may not be something, or could be from drinking a lot if it's hot. Is getting a fecal test doable for you? Another reason for foamy/runny droppings could be other internal parasites, like roundworm.
More on cecal droppings: https://the-chicken-chick.com/whats-scoop-on-chicken-poop-digestive/

 

[MMelton67]

@coach723 thanks! It looks exactly like the pictures of cecal droppings in that link.

Those two pics were from a 12 hour or so span of time where they were the only two droppings that looked like that. all other droppings looked as expected.

They are all acting fine; eating up to 8 cups a day of starter crumble...maybe a bit more. I just clean and refill the jars twice a day. Also going through water a lot...the last 10 days with Corid in it. This past week has been very hot though. The Plymouth Rocks are crafty and escape artists.

I just did find a 2nd vet (other than my dog's vet) in town that can do a fecal test for chickens. So, if I see anything other than these types again, I'll run a sample in.

I had them on Flock Pro Chick Boost from the start. I stopped it for the Corid treatment. Seems like I should go to fresh water for 24 hours and then resume the Chick Boost. They are still just 6 weeks old now and Flock Pro says to give them the chick boost till 8 weeks.

Thanks, again!

 

[coach723]

The chick boost has a lot of sodium in it. There are other probiotics that don't have the sodium, you might consider those. Or give the Chick Boost for 1/2 the day and then switch to plain fresh water for the rest of the day. Even in hot weather it's possible to over do the supplements. I never give my chicks anything past the first few days, except fresh water, unless there is a reason. It sounds like they are doing well.