Coccidiosis in my chciks. 11 Dead so far.

[Fallfamilyhomestead]

I had 15 white leg horn chicks. They are around 10 weeks old now. Last week I went out to find 5 of them dead. I wasn't sure what happened so I made sure to clean out the coop very well and give them fresh food and water. Well they keep dying. I am pretty sure its cocci. They are fluffy and lethargic on day one and dead on day two. I've also seen bloody stool. I have 4 chicks left that are acting healthy still. I started the corrid medication two days ago now and have still lost two more chicks. I'm cleaning out the coop every day now and giving them fresh water with medication every day. There chick feed is also medicated. I'm am sooo frustrated. I feel like I should be doing more, I just don't know what to do. I'm failing as a chicken keeper. Any suggestions or tips? Thankfully none of my older birds have died but I am also medicating them as well. They are kept separate from the chicks.

 

[Peaches Lee]

I'm so sorry for your losses! You are doing the best you can. The only thing I would add would be plain yogurt for their bellies as Corid can be rough. I'm wishing you luck!

 

[Tonyroo]

Sorry for your losses. That's rough losing that many chicks but it's part of chicken keeping. The diseases and predators are just part of it. Educating yourself and keeping sanitary practices do help a lot.

I actually lost 9 chicks out of 10, they were 8 weeks old to predators cause I let them free range. These were my experimental batch of chicks.

 

[rosemarythyme]

Unfortunately it does take a little while for the Corid to kick in so not surprised that some chicks didn't make it after you began treatment. If you have any that start showing signs of illness or lethargy, keep a close eye on them and make sure they're drinking the Corid treated water. I resorted to direct dosing the sickest bird because she simply wasn't drinking and she was able to pull through enough to start drinking on her own after about 24 hrs.

 

[Fallfamilyhomestead]

Unfortunately it does take a little while for the Corid to kick in so not surprised that some chicks didn't make it after you began treatment. If you have any that start showing signs of illness or lethargy, keep a close eye on them and make sure they're drinking the Corid treated water. I resorted to direct dosing the sickest bird because she simply wasn't drinking and she was able to pull through enough to start drinking on her own after about 24 hrs.

How do you direct dose? I have one thats lethargic now.

 

[Fallfamilyhomestead]

Unfortunately it does take a little while for the Corid to kick in so not surprised that some chicks didn't make it after you began treatment. If you have any that start showing signs of illness or lethargy, keep a close eye on them and make sure they're drinking the Corid treated water. I resorted to direct dosing the sickest bird because she simply wasn't drinking and she was able to pull through enough to start drinking on her own after about 24 hrs.

How did you direct dose? I have one thats lethargic.

 

[rosemarythyme]

Syringe some of the Corid water straight into the mouth. I would repeat this every few hours on the sickest bird(s) to ensure they're getting a dose, as they may not drink much if they're feeling unwell. Chickens can easily aspirate so be careful when doing this (I aim for the bottom beak and let them drink the droplets as they come out).

 

[Fallfamilyhomestead]

Syringe some of the Corid water straight into the mouth. I would repeat this every few hours on the sickest bird(s) to ensure they're getting a dose, as they may not drink much if they're feeling unwell. Chickens can easily aspirate so be careful when doing this (I aim for the bottom beak and let them drink the droplets as they come out).

Okay thankyou, I will try this.

 

[Fallfamilyhomestead]

I upped the dosage of the corrid. And so far haven't lost anymore chicks since Sunday, so three days straight. Hopefully the worst is past. Is there anything preventative I can do in the future?

 

[Ridgerunner]

Is there anything preventative I can do in the future?

I don't know how you raised them but I'll copy something I wrote a few ears ago that might help. My main preventative is to feed them dirt from the run while they are in the brooder and keep the brooder very dry. That gets them immune before they hit the ground. Some people that have tried that said it solved their cocci problem. But read this for details and why. It talks about medicated feed but that's not the part I want you to read.


First you need to know what the "medicated" is in the medicated feed. It should be on the label. Usually it is Amprolium, Amprol, some such product, but until you read the label, you really don't know. Most "medicated' feed from major brands for chicks that will be layers uses Amprolium, but there are a few out there mostly for broilers that use other medicines. I'll assume yours is an Amprolium product, but if it is not, then realize everything I say about it may not apply. And it is possible that the "medicated" is Amprolium AND something else.

Amprol is not an antibiotic. It does not kill anything. It inhibits the protozoa that cause coccidiosis (often called Cocci on this forum) from multiplying in the chicken's system. It does not prevent the protozoa from multiplying; it just slows that multiplication down. There are several different strains of protozoa that can cause Cocci, some more severe than others. Chickens can develop immunity to a specific strain of the protozoa, but that does not give them immunity to all protozoa that cause Cocci. Little bitty tiny baby chicks can develop that immunity easier than older chickens.

It is not a big deal for the chicken’s intestines to contain some of the protozoa that cause Cocci. The problem comes in when the number of those protozoa gets huge. The protozoa can multiply in the chicken’s intestines but also in wet manure. Different protozoa strains have different strengths, but for almost all cases, if you keep the brooder dry, you will not have a problem.

To develop immunity to a specific strain, that protozoa needs to be in the chicks intestines for two or three weeks. The normal sequence is that a chick has the protozoa. It poops and some of the cysts that develop the protozoa come out in the poop. If the poop is slightly damp, those cysts develop and will then develop in the chick's intestines when the chicks eat that poop. This cycle needs go on for a few weeks so all chicks are exposed and they are exposed long enough to develop immunity. A couple of important points here. You do need to watch them to see if they are getting sick. And the key is to keep the brooder dry yet allow some of the poop to stay damp. Not soaking wet, just barely damp. Wet poop can lead to serious problems.

What sometimes happens is that people keep chicks in a brooder and feed them medicated feed while they are in the brooder. Those chicks are never exposed to the Cocci protozoa that lives in the dirt in their run, so they never develop the immunity to it. Then, they are switched to non-medicated feed and put on the ground where they are for the first time exposed to the protozoa. They do not have immunity, they do not have the protection of the medicated feed, so they get sick. Feeding medicated feed while in the brooder was a complete waste.

I do not feed medicated feed. I keep the brooder dry to not allow the protozoa to breed uncontrollably. The third day that they are in the brooder, I take a scoop of dirt from the run and feed it to them so I can introduce the protozoa and they can develop the immunity they need to the strain they need to develop an immunity to. To provide a place for that slightly damp poop, I keep a square of plywood in the dry brooder and let the poop build up on that. I don't lose chicks to Cocci when they hit the ground.

There is absolutely nothing wrong with feeding medicated feed to chicks, whether the protozoa are present or not. It will not hurt them. They can still develop the immunity they need. But unless the protozoa are present, it also does no good.

If you get your chicks vaccinated for Cocci, do not feed medicated feed. It can negate the vaccinations.