10 week old chicks fluffed out, some blood in stool

[zoo2u]

HI i have 8 chicks that hatched in August. Five were put under mama hen and have been outside the whole time. Three my kids raised and were kept in our building till about 3 weeks ago. about 2 days ago, the cochin, started just hanging out in a corner, not a lot of energy, closing eyes etc. Pulled her last night, put her back in building on heat and vet said to give Baytril. There was a bit of blood in stool. She is upright, eats, drinks but just not a lot of energy. Now this morning her 2 buddies were all fluffed up and acting the same outside. I just brought them in with the cochin, same thing with them, a little blood in stool but they ate and drank immediately.
Could the chill in the evenings have been too much for these guys since they spent from August till 3 weeks ago outside? Or, could the different food have upset them? Any help is appreciated as these are my 3 kids chicks and one is for her 4-H project this year. Don't want to lose them! Oh and the 5 that were raised by mama are all acting fine.

 

[chicmom]

Hello-

What you're describing is coccidiosis. Most adult chickens have built up their immunities to it, but it's deadly to chicks. They get it from the soil, droppings etc......Anyhow, you will need to go to the farm store and get some Corid. I believe Sulmet will work too, but I'm not 100% sure on that. I've had great success with Corid for cocci. You put that in their drinking water for about 10 days, and they'll be just fine. You've gotta treat them quickly though.

Corid comes in a packet, for around $19.00, and there's a number on the package so you can ask what the proper doseage is per gallon of water.

Good luck to you! If you've caught it early, it will be pretty easy to cure. The cocci is actually some type of protozoa (organism) that is living inside the chicks, so antibiotics won't kill it. Now, sometimes if you've waited too long, antibiotics are good too because the cocci causes infection as well.

 

[Happy Chooks]

Quote:
I agree, it sounds like coccidiosis.

 

[Happy Chooks]

Quote:
I agree, it sounds like coccidiosis.

 

[Sumatra503]

It is mostlikely Coccidiosis. This is very common in chicks.

Just go to your local feed store and ask where the Coccidiasis medication is located. they can tell you the best meds and how to use them.

Cocci is generally treated with a drinking water solution. I've found that this is the best way to treat. Treat all of your chickens that were around the sick one. It will not hurt tham to be treated if they didn't have it, so just treat everyone to be safe.

The treatment lasts 10 days and the birds will start improving about 3 days in.

don't worry she will be fine once she is treated.

 

[zoo2u]

thank you so much for all your replies, this is why i love this site. my vet is pretty awesome as well and has them on nazuril? and baytril so i am hopeful this works. It's murphy's law these are the three my 3 kids chose for their chicks, 2 for 4-H. i hope so badly that they pull through. Its always sad to lose chicks but kills me even more to see the heartbreak on the kids.

But they look pretty perky and good tonite so i am staying positive.