2 day old chicks have red/brown stool or urates - should I medicate?

[songbird]

Hi again,

Today is the second day we have had our 22 chicks, which arrived by mail yesterday. A couple of the bantams are weaker than the others - one in particular. Yesterday, I noticed that someone was leaving little circles of reddish-brown something. I can't tell if it is stool or urates. Today, there are many little similar spots of red/brown something. Is this bacterial enteritis, secondary to shipping stress? Or is it something else? All the chicks are eating/drinking/sleeping, but as I mentioned, a couple of bantams are small and weak and I am about to separate them from the rest. I can't tell which chicks have the abnormal poo. Should I medicate their water with tetracycline, assuming that it's bacterial overgrowth? I hate to give antibiotics if there is no bacterial infection, but something is defintiely wrong.
We do not have any other chickens or birds, so they did not pick up something new here.
Thanks!

 

[LynneP]

Are you feeding a starter crumble containing a coccidiostat?

I'm wondering if they may have cocci.

Also, phone the provider to see if they have an alert about other chicks in those shipments...

 

[JennsPeeps]

It's awfully early for them to have cocci, which is transmitted through soil. They've probably never been exposed.

Keep an eye on them. I wouldn't worry too much at this point unless you see true signs of stress: panting, lethargy, etc.

You're right to separate the banties until they're strong, then they can go back in with the others.

 

[raroo]

You can sprinkle powdered milk in with their food and replace their water with milk for a couple hours. My chicks were showing red in their poo a few days after introducing them to outside soil. This is what I did and it worked without having to use medicine. It only takes a few hours to know if its working. I did this until their poo was normal again after a full day with no milk. It took several days, and you can tell within a few hours of taking away the milk, as the poo will become abnormal again.

 

[chickensioux]

I would keep an eye on them for right now. Do you have any vitamin and electrolytes in their water? Sugar is a good energy booster too. Make sure the weaker ones are eating and drinking. Feed them with a syringe if you need to. You can soak feed in water and make a gruel for them and put very small amounts at a time in their mouths. I did this every two hours for three days with one of mine and she is fine now.
They could just be overly stressed from shipping. Good luck and keep us posted.