6 week old chicks intestinal lining

[azygous]

Are you up for a little scientific reading? https://www.sciencedirect.com/topics/medicine-and-dentistry/coccidiostat

This details what @Susan Skylark has been posting brief bits of information about. It's hard to say what is causing resistance in your flock to these coccidia drugs as there are many factors involved such as your locale and your flock management practices.

But you have correct information about there being strains of coccidia that opportunistically take advantage of drug resistance, three to be exact. Read through that paper, and you might find a clue as to why resistance is happening in your flock.

 

[Emrosenagel]

I had a fecal test done at the beginning of the week that came back negative for worms and cocci. They’ve been on corid but are done with it now, they’ve had antibiotics and been wormed just in case. They are still shedding intestinal lining everyday. I’m kinda at a loss here and starting to get worried.
As far as behavior, they’re acting pretty much normal. The little rooster isn’t as active as the girl, but he is still crowing away and running around.
What can I do at this point? Take them to the vet? Wait and see? I’m worried they’re gonna get suddenly very sick like their sister did. If it isn’t cocci, worms or bacteria, what could cause this?

 

[azygous]

Bacteria. The chicks may have a low grade bacterial infection. It wouldn't hurt to run them through a round of antibiotics. Order this. https://jedds.com/products/amoxicil...63389&pr_ref_pid=6832885072061&pr_seq=uniform

During and following treatment, give them a probiotic. You can get them at the store where you find the tummy meds. Pop a couple tablets into their water each day.

 

[Emrosenagel]

Bacteria. The chicks may have a low grade bacterial infection. It wouldn't hurt to run them through a round of antibiotics. Order this. https://jedds.com/products/amoxicil...63389&pr_ref_pid=6832885072061&pr_seq=uniform

During and following treatment, give them a probiotic. You can get them at the store where you find the tummy meds. Pop a couple tablets into their water each day.

But they’ve been on antibiotics for the past week. Smz/tmp after their sister died. I guess it might be something that specific antibiotic doesn’t target?

 

[azygous]

If you've used a broad spectrum antibiotic, it would knock out most gram positive and gram negative bacteria. So, have you been giving them a probiotic to restore good gut microbes? If not, it's a good idea.

I may have mentioned in a previous post that excessive intestinal shedding can indicate that something is inflaming the intestines. Perhaps something they are eating is irritating to their them. You will need to discover if and what that might be. Are you using DE by any chance in the brooder?

In humans, the very stubborn bacterium H.pylori causes this type of inflammation and it's treated with Pepto Bismol. I'll take a cruise of the internet with Mr Google and see if this is something we can safely use on chickens.

 

[azygous]

It turns out that you can use it on birds in small amounts, but no one provides a dosage guideline.

Try the probiotic first and see if it helps. If after a week, the intestinal shed persists, try the Pepto Bismol. I would start by offering a quarter teaspoon of the PB to each chick and let them drink it as you hold it to their beaks. Do it twice a day ten hours apart for one week and see how that goes.

 

[Emrosenagel]

It turns out that you can use it on birds in small amounts, but no one provides a dosage guideline.

Try the probiotic first and see if it helps. If after a week, the intestinal shed persists, try the Pepto Bismol. I would start by offering a quarter teaspoon of the PB to each chick and let them drink it as you hold it to their beaks. Do it twice a day ten hours apart for one week and see how that goes.

Alright thanks! They are on probiotics right now. They’ve been free ranging since day three with their mom, so that may be the cause? I just never had this issue with chicks before, and the fact that I lost one makes me suspicious.

 

[azygous]

Yes, losing one is definitely cause for concern, even if it may just be coincidental. You've done everything a vet would do to try to resolve this without knowing what's causing it. Trying various treatments is a diagnostic tool in lieu of a test to determine exact cause.

Have they been on the probiotic for at least a week? And what is the probiotic you're using?

 

[Emrosenagel]

Yes, losing one is definitely cause for concern, even if it may just be coincidental. You've done everything a vet would do to try to resolve this without knowing what's causing it. Trying various treatments is a diagnostic tool in lieu of a test to determine exact cause.

Have they been on the probiotic for at least a week? And what is the probiotic you're using?

No, I just started it today. It’s the one in the little bag with the duckling on it. Goes in the water.

 

[azygous]

Look on the bag and see what the name of the probiotic is. You can get human probiotics which are probably more concentrated than what they offer at the feed store, but use it for a week and see what it does.