Been reading a lot. Will be getting my chicks Thursday. I live in Sacramento, CA. How do I know if this area is at risk for Cocci? Any help is.. Helpful!
What area's run the risk of Cocci?!
- Thread starter Morgan7782
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I think the biggest contributor from coccci is a dirty brooder. I think if you keep it very, very clean you shouldn't have a problem.
That said, I still feed medicated feed for the first 8-10 weeks. I work 45 hours per week, teach riding lessons 4 days a week, and have kids...you know the routine. I cannot clean my brooder twice a day - just being realistic! I change feeders and waterers twice per day and change the bedding (compressed pine shavings) as needed.
Hopefully, others will weigh in here and give you their opinions based on experience
That said, I still feed medicated feed for the first 8-10 weeks. I work 45 hours per week, teach riding lessons 4 days a week, and have kids...you know the routine. I cannot clean my brooder twice a day - just being realistic! I change feeders and waterers twice per day and change the bedding (compressed pine shavings) as needed.
Hopefully, others will weigh in here and give you their opinions based on experience
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- #3
Thanks! I live in an urban area, so I will be keeping the coop as spotless as possible. Along with that, I took the semester off school to raise these chickies. I want to keep a journal type thing, maybe learn some useful things about chickens. I am pretty much free time right now, so I am glad to know the way to avoid sickness is cleanliness. Thank you for responding!
I am also going with medicated chick starter too
I had my first cocci experience last summer. I had not been feeding medicated feed thinking why add medicine until there is a problem? I had 6 babies in the inside brooder and they were thriving. They hit that dusty, stinky phase and I moved them to the outside playpen coop. A few days later I went out one morning and found a dead chick. ????? I chalked it up to one of those things. The next morning there was another dead chick. I started researching, diagnosed the cocci problem and started the medicine. Another chick still died and a fourth was weak for days.
The lesson for me? I keep them on medicated feeder until it is time to switch them to grower/layer. My coop and run were visibly fine. Cocci is found in the soil. My understanding is that it is a bacteria that lurks in the soil until conditions are right. Then it erupts. I don't know that it has anything to do with cleanliness or lack thereof. I think it is just in the soil in some places and is released by certain moisture conditions.
Stay on the medicated starter. Maybe have the medication on hand. I think it is Corrid, but you'll want to search. If any show signs of cocci problems, start it immediately. Had I known, two of my three deaths could have been avoided.
I cannot tell you how sad it is to go out and find chicks that had been healthy and active the day before lying dead in the run. It's just not worth it.
Good luck with your new chicks!
The lesson for me? I keep them on medicated feeder until it is time to switch them to grower/layer. My coop and run were visibly fine. Cocci is found in the soil. My understanding is that it is a bacteria that lurks in the soil until conditions are right. Then it erupts. I don't know that it has anything to do with cleanliness or lack thereof. I think it is just in the soil in some places and is released by certain moisture conditions.
Stay on the medicated starter. Maybe have the medication on hand. I think it is Corrid, but you'll want to search. If any show signs of cocci problems, start it immediately. Had I known, two of my three deaths could have been avoided.
I cannot tell you how sad it is to go out and find chicks that had been healthy and active the day before lying dead in the run. It's just not worth it.
Good luck with your new chicks!
It is in the soil and if your birds have never touched it or have been exposed to adult bird droppings, indoor off the ground brooders are essentially sterile when it comes to needing your pets to build up immunities to what is in their environment. Not something you really want.
Generally, damp soils, warm soils, or dry soils that have been recently rained on will have cocci. It is only a problem if your birds are suddenly exposed to high amounts of the protozoa in the soil and eat lots to make them sick, or spend too much time on the same soil where feces and thus cocci buildup can be an issue. It is a protozoa that only reproduces in the gut of it's host animal. It is species specific. A google search on poultry and cocci gives a good amount of biology on cocci.
Generally, damp soils, warm soils, or dry soils that have been recently rained on will have cocci. It is only a problem if your birds are suddenly exposed to high amounts of the protozoa in the soil and eat lots to make them sick, or spend too much time on the same soil where feces and thus cocci buildup can be an issue. It is a protozoa that only reproduces in the gut of it's host animal. It is species specific. A google search on poultry and cocci gives a good amount of biology on cocci.
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- #6
Thank you all very much! You are helpful and nonjudgemental of us newbies
that means the world. I will definately do the medicated feed, just to be safe. And I will check around for the medication needed to tend to cocci. Better safe then sorry
Yup - my brooder is attached to a dirt run. It's often damp. Florida is, by definition, warm. And I have grown chickens in the adjacent run.
No lie. I live in a state that is a breeding ground for cocci!
However, I was advised on here to keep their living spaces clean if I wasn't going to feed medicated feed (which I have done since the beginning). I'm going to see if I can find that thread...
No lie. I live in a state that is a breeding ground for cocci!
However, I was advised on here to keep their living spaces clean if I wasn't going to feed medicated feed (which I have done since the beginning). I'm going to see if I can find that thread...
Quote:
Great post! I agree, they need exposure to build up immunity. I've never used medicated starter or lost a chick to cocci. If they get listless and puffed up, get Corid immediately and add to water. Any vet can test for under 10 bucks usually.
Great post! I agree, they need exposure to build up immunity. I've never used medicated starter or lost a chick to cocci. If they get listless and puffed up, get Corid immediately and add to water. Any vet can test for under 10 bucks usually.
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- #9
Sacramento is dry and hot, their run will be dirt, and maybe some straw mixed in if needed. I am trying to decide whether to raise the coop or not, and if so how high. Choices, choices, choices! I just cleaned the brooder, and their feeder. Will be getting them on Thursday, and tomorrow I am headed to the store to get shavings (pine correct?), a waterer, feed and the heat lamp. YAY!
I can hardly sleep I am so excited, how sad is that??
Coccidia is in the chicks' feces. It is also in the ground, but only as the result of contamination by feces. Healthy chicks pass the organism harmlessly in their stools. Complications occur when coccidia build up in the environment and then get ingested by the chicks in numbers that eventually overwhelm their system resulting in a serious infection. The way to avoid it is to keep the brooder clean, especially the feed and water. If the feed and water are kept free of poop and the brooder kept fairly clean (change the litter when it gets too poopy), then the chicks will ingest a small amount of the cocci by scratching and pecking in the litter. This is a good thing and will help the chicks develop immunity slowly. If the brooder, and especially the water and feed, is allowed to be overly poopy, they will ingest too much too quickly and overwhelm their immune system and become sick and many will die if not promptly treated--the key word being promptly. Once it strikes, it moves quickly, especially the younger the chicks are.
Medicated feed will help prevent it, but I prefer to keep things clean and let them build natural immunity.
Coccidiosis is most common between 4 and 14 weeks. After about 14 weeks, if raised on the ground, they will have built up sufficient immunity to substantially reduce the risk of infection.
UGCM
Medicated feed will help prevent it, but I prefer to keep things clean and let them build natural immunity.
Coccidiosis is most common between 4 and 14 weeks. After about 14 weeks, if raised on the ground, they will have built up sufficient immunity to substantially reduce the risk of infection.
UGCM
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