Help!!! Bloody poop chicks

Enilcita28

Chirping
Mar 14, 2019
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63
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I have some 4 weeks old chicks and I just noticed today that at least three were sick (lethargic, neck in and wings down) and also noticed bloody poop. I'm treating them with CORID. What else can I do?
 
It does sound like coccidiosis with the lethargy and bloody poop. 4 weeks is about as early as it can rear its ugly head as it takes some time for the parasites to build enough to cause problems.

Corid is the answer. Keep the chicks on it. Remember to change the Corid water daily. You also want to clean the brooder well. Disinfect with powdered hydrogen peroxide (like Oxi-Clean). Dump all bedding in a place chickens will never be (better to burn it). You want to get rid of the oocysts that are in the bedding that continue the cycle.

After the round of Corid, you could put them on chick saver nutrients and vitamins as Corid will deplete vitamin B (its how it kills the coccidia...by depriving them of vitamin B so they starve).

Good luck with treatment.
LofMc
 
It does sound like coccidiosis with the lethargy and bloody poop. 4 weeks is about as early as it can rear its ugly head as it takes some time for the parasites to build enough to cause problems.

Corid is the answer. Keep the chicks on it. Remember to change the Corid water daily. You also want to clean the brooder well. Disinfect with powdered hydrogen peroxide (like Oxi-Clean). Dump all bedding in a place chickens will never be (better to burn it). You want to get rid of the oocysts that are in the bedding that continue the cycle.

After the round of Corid, you could put them on chick saver nutrients and vitamins as Corid will deplete vitamin B (its how it kills the coccidia...by depriving them of vitamin B so they starve).

Good luck with treatment.
LofMc
Thanks for the advice. They are in an open pen and no bedding, just dirt. You think it was too soon to transfer them from the brooder to the coop? They are separate from the other chickens. We rake poop often.
 
I was recommended here to use 1/4 tsp undiluted given via syringe to each chick showing symptoms, as well as in the water. Ours was severe as well with bloody stool. We didn’t lose any with this protocol and did it for 5 days. They showed no improvement at 3 days
 
Coccidia oocysts (the egg cysts) live in the soil. (The bird pecks at the soil, eats the oocyst, which travels to the gut to continue the reproductive growth to produce adult coccidia which burst, harming the gut, releasing more oocysts which are deposited in the soil with the poo.)

How much of a build up in your soil depends heavily on past traffic load, their coccidia load, and environment (coccidia like wet, moist, soil).

Your area may simply be a bad location for coccidia. Some places simply are. You should have had the chicks on medicated chick feed to help them build their immune systems as they were introduced on the soil. If you did, and that didn't work, it means that your soil is pretty loaded, or these chicks were especially vulnerable as some breeds are. The medicated feed is low dose amprolium, the same med in the Corid but at a much lower dose...amprolium starves the coccidia from vitamin B causing it to die off while the bird continues to live building immunity...however only SOME die off as you can't get rid of it completely...you simply allow the immune system of the bird to come into harmony with the current coccidia load...put birds on new soil (new strain of coccidia), environment gets warmer, puddle forms by water bowl, next set of birds on loading soil...you can get a problem.

The big farms field rotate to prevent overload build up letting certain fields remain fallow for a year or two (especially helpful in areas with killing cold winters). For us smaller backyarders, using bark dust can be very helpful because that can be scooped and replaced (making excellent compost btw). This works well in my pacific northwet (Oregon).

With just dirt, especially if you raised chicks/chickens there before, in a vulnerable soil area, you will likely have trouble with coccidia build up unless you do some sort of "field rotation." Coops and brooders can be disinfected with hydrogen peroxide (about a 30% concentration), however soil can't be. Sunshine goes a long way, as does killing frosts, but field rotation is usually best.

LofMc
 
Two additional comments to go w the great advice you were given.
1. Make sure you don’t give them any extra vitamins while they are getting Corid. Save that for after only as it can counter the medication.
2. If you mix corid water into a small cup of their chick feed as wet mash, you can get additional Corid into them faster in case they aren’t drinking a ton right away.
Glad you started treatment so quickly! Good luck!
 
Coccidia oocysts (the egg cysts) live in the soil. (The bird pecks at the soil, eats the oocyst, which travels to the gut to continue the reproductive growth to produce adult coccidia which burst, harming the gut, releasing more oocysts which are deposited in the soil with the poo.)

How much of a build up in your soil depends heavily on past traffic load, their coccidia load, and environment (coccidia like wet, moist, soil).

Your area may simply be a bad location for coccidia. Some places simply are. You should have had the chicks on medicated chick feed to help them build their immune systems as they were introduced on the soil. If you did, and that didn't work, it means that your soil is pretty loaded, or these chicks were especially vulnerable as some breeds are. The medicated feed is low dose amprolium, the same med in the Corid but at a much lower dose...amprolium starves the coccidia from vitamin B causing it to die off while the bird continues to live building immunity...however only SOME die off as you can't get rid of it completely...you simply allow the immune system of the bird to come into harmony with the current coccidia load...put birds on new soil (new strain of coccidia), environment gets warmer, puddle forms by water bowl, next set of birds on loading soil...you can get a problem.

The big farms field rotate to prevent overload build up letting certain fields remain fallow for a year or two (especially helpful in areas with killing cold winters). For us smaller backyarders, using bark dust can be very helpful because that can be scooped and replaced (making excellent compost btw). This works well in my pacific northwet (Oregon).

With just dirt, especially if you raised chicks/chickens there before, in a vulnerable soil area, you will likely have trouble with coccidia build up unless you do some sort of "field rotation." Coops and brooders can be disinfected with hydrogen peroxide (about a 30% concentration), however soil can't be. Sunshine goes a long way, as does killing frosts, but field rotation is usually best.

LofMc
They were on medicated feed. We live in the swampy part of central Florida, that may be a factor. Let's see if they thrive after the CORID treatment. Is they chicken booster good for baby chicks?
 
Two additional comments to go w the great advice you were given.
1. Make sure you don’t give them any extra vitamins while they are getting Corid. Save that for after only as it can counter the medication.
2. If you mix corid water into a small cup of their chick feed as wet mash, you can get additional Corid into them faster in case they aren’t drinking a ton right away.
Glad you started treatment so quickly! Good luck!
Yes, as soon as I noticed them sick I started CORID, thanks God I had some. They are drinking plenty and eating, but I don't think they are really gaining weight even though they eat/drink. So I am certain they are infected with some sort of parasites. I'm treating for cocci but if it doesn't work... I don't know what would be the next to try. They are so young.
 

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