Coccidiosis??

[inwelynn]

About a month ago, I posted for help with two chickens who went suddenly lame at 5 and 7 weeks old. Well, they are both still hanging in there, and the hen has actually improved tremendously! She stands on her own, balances while she preens herself, and can even take a few steps at a time!

Of course, the same day I saw the biggest improvement, I found a bloody poop. I didn't think to take a picture, but it looked exactly like period blood, complete with little clots. I watched both chickens until I saw each of them poop twice, and never saw another trace of it. This morning, I found another bloody poop. My question is...if this is coccidiosis, would I be seeing blood with every poop? At this rate, I'm only seeing it once every 36 hours, maybe once once every 10-15 poops. Is that like coccidiosis at all, or am I looking at something else?

 

[Eggcessive]

I am not sure what you would do with the ammonia, but wazine is useless in my opinion.

I think some references recommend ammonia for cleaning in the event of coccidiosis, so that may be what the poster was meaning. I think it would be better because of the strong smell of ammonia, just to keep the bedding clean and dry, and raise waterers to shoulder height to prevent droppings getting into the water.

 

[Eggcessive]

Blood is not always present in cocci. Can you get a fecal test for cocci? Can you post a picture of the droppings? Cocci can be a chronic illness in chicks, and if it goes untreated, they can die or at least be prone to poor health, decreased laying, and lower weight. Most chicks suffering have sleepiness, are hunched or puffed up, refuse to eat, and have runny poops with mucus or blood. If you are seeing any blood at all, I would begin a 7 day treatment of Corid from your feed store. Dosage is 2 tsp of liquid Corid, or 1 1/2 tsp of the powder per gallon of water for 5-7 days. Corid does not harm them, and is not an antibiotic. Many chicks have become lame during a bout of cocci due to dehydration. This has been reported by several people who have lost chicks and had them necropsied. Here is some info to read about coccidiosis:
http://www.the-chicken-chick.com/2012/12/coccidiosis-what-backyard-chicken.html

 

[inwelynn]

Thanks. I will get Corid tomorrow. The lameness came on almost 8 weeks ago, and their appetites and attitudes have been fine. It's just their legs that stopped working. Would coccidiosis killed them after this long? I'll pick up medication to have on hand either way. If they don't have cocci, will treatment hurt them?

 

[Eggcessive]

Corid treatment will not hurt them, even if they don't have cocci in their guts. But if you are still seeing frank blood, there is probably cocci, enteritis, or even capillary worms happening. A fecal float, even without taking in a bird, would give you a lot of information. I would also get a gram stain, which vets know how to perform, and that can identify if there is enteritis. Enteritis many times comes after a cocci infection. Antibiotics are used to treat enteritis. The fecal test will cost money, but can help narrow down what is going on, saving money on unnecessary medicines. You can call around to vets for prices, or use your regular vet who may do it as a favor.

 

[inwelynn]

I'm a couple hours from any vets, and too new to the area to have one who will do it as a favor. I really appreciate your advice, though! I will call around, and see what kind of options I have. I also have a great microscope, plus the tools and knowledge to do fecal floats on my goats, so maybe I'll read a bit more about chickens parasites, and see if I can't identify what I'm dealing with from home! I've never dealt with chicken disease until these two, so I didn't even think to use the tools I already have to check their guts. I should've done this weeks ago! Thank you!

 

[casportpony]

I'm a couple hours from any vets, and too new to the area to have one who will do it as a favor. I really appreciate your advice, though! I will call around, and see what kind of options I have. I also have a great microscope, plus the tools and knowledge to do fecal floats on my goats, so maybe I'll read a bit more about chickens parasites, and see if I can't identify what I'm dealing with from home! I've never dealt with chicken disease until these two, so I didn't even think to use the tools I already have to check their guts. I should've done this weeks ago! Thank you!

If you can do goat fecals, you should be able to do chicken fecals. If you have questions about poultry fecals, ask @KsKingBee , he does his and is quite the pro now.

 

[KsKingBee]

If you can do goat fecals, you should be able to do chicken fecals. If you have questions about poultry fecals, ask @KsKingBee , he does his and is quite the pro now.

Start out by reading this thread and if you have any questions just ask.

https://www.backyardchickens.com/t/1047614/doing-fecal-floats-at-home

 

[inwelynn]

Ok. I did a round of fecal floats today. The only suspicious things are both on this image. 100x. The birds are stronger, hungrier, and more active than they've been in 6-8 weeks. They honestly don't look diseased at all. The blood is persisting, though. At the rate of about once per day. Any opinions?

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[inwelynn]

Oops. That's the poop pic, not the microscope slide...