12mo mixed flock treated for coccidosis post 2 hurricanes. Advice needed.

[FLHomesteadFam]

Hello fellow chicken lovers! We are a homesteading fam in Central FL who has been raising chickens for about 10 years with amazing success. We love both of our chicken flocks dearly as well as all the rest of our livestock. We were directly in the path of both hurricanes that ripped through FL recently and one of the downfalls we had was animal losses due to coccidosis a few weeks after Ian's arrival. After 100 year flood levels appearing on property and then being hit with another hurricane a few weeks later our soil never had the chance to drain. The soil was wet, temps were high and the parasites came out to play. We lost some goats and a few chickens from our younger flocks who were all about 8mo old. We have experienced coccidosis in goats prior during a previous hurricane, but never with chickens. The blood in the poop was an easy sign to tell with the chickens and we started Corid quickly. Blood stopped about 2 weeks post treatment start, but we continued treatment for 6 weeks as per advice from the vet. The soil is still wet, not sopping, but we do live in FL and we generally have wetter soil than most. My other flock of birds ages 3-5yo seem to have made it through the storm without any health concerns. The problem I am having is that it's been almost 2 months post the 2nd hurricane and not one of these birds have started laying. They are a mixed breed flock so we shouldn't be dealing with specific genetic predisposition. We have added game feed into their feeding schedule for the last month to increase needed nutrients. No change. My questions are around Coccidosis and Corid treatment. Does the disease or the treatment affect egg production and if yes, what have you seen happen in your flock in terms of starting up again? And once you stop Corid, how long until you can consume eggs? I read a ton of info out there with mixed info from consuming eggs a few weeks after last dose to 5mo later. Huge difference considering the current egg prices out there. But, I do not want to feed anything potentially dangerous to my children. Also, how long do you wait to see laying before you know the anatomical intestinal issues may have caused permanent issues that cannot be fixed? Or, I'm wondering if something could be potentially wrong with this flock entirely from hatchery breeding. My flocks have always starting laying at around 6-8mo no matter the bird or time of year since we are pretty warm year round. I appreciate any advice that this community can give on the topic. Big thanks in adance!

 

[azygous]

The hurricanes and coming down with coccidiosis are enough accumulated stress that it can definitely affect onset of laying. But short days also can contribute. Patience is necessary until they work the stress out of their systems.

There is no egg withdrawal for Corid as it's merely a vitamin B-1 blocker and perfectly harmless, though it's doubtful it will show up in the eggs.