Coccidiosis or ?

[jc12551]

I have several brooders of chicks of different ages (two months or less) from a local hatchery and from TSC (Mt. Healthy). Two weeks ago they started dying at a rate of four or five per day. Sudden onset, huddled appearance, not drinking or eating, pasty butt, loud peeping. Followed by floppiness, gasping for breath. No blood in the stools. I thought it was the crazy weather, 85 one day and 30 the next; I have an unheated brooder shed where I always raise my bought chicks and where my brooder go. After the first week it dawned on me to step up my corid preventative dose to outbreak dose. The deaths slowed down to one or two per day. It is day seven and I switched them to a vitamin/probiotic. I lost four this morning and have three more that will be dead before dark. The ones that are going to die have crusty white butts. Three of the dead from today were fine looking an hour before they died.

HELP!

What else to do?

 

[jc12551]

Any suggestions?

 

[Eggcessive]

Are your brooders heated with lamps and temperatures controlled for the ages of the chicks? What dosage of Corid are you using? I suppose you could be dealing with a resistant strain of cocci, or something else entirely. I would make sure there is no mold in the brooders from wet shavings, and be vigilant about keeping waterers/feeders up high enough and free of droppings. Different ages do better being kept separate.

 

[jc12551]

Are your brooders heated with lamps and temperatures controlled for the ages of the chicks? What dosage of Corid are you using? I suppose you could be dealing with a resistant strain of cocci, or something else entirely. I would make sure there is no mold in the brooders from wet shavings, and be vigilant about keeping waterers/feeders up high enough and free of droppings. Different ages do better being kept separate.

The brooders are by age and heated according to age. I have been changing out bedding twice per day, the waterers and feeders are kept up and as free of droppings as possible. The feed is fresh and I don't see any mold anywhere.

My biggest concern is that I have a shipment coming this week.

 

[jc12551]

1.5 top per gallon is the dose I gave for a week.

 

[Eggcessive]

Well, I have had trouble keeping chicks warm enough at night in an outside coop brooder because of the extremes in temperature. I like to keep them inside for 3 weeks, but many people only keep chicks in outside coops from the beginning with success. Shipping stress can cause deaths up to a week or so later, but I wouldn't think they would still be dropping off after 2 weeks.