6 week old chicks pooping ALL blood no stool

[Leihamarie]

Hi there, it's me again with another chick emergency, jeeze! Has anyone had experience in chicks pooping straight up blood? I have 5 chicks that are being brooded indoors. They have hemp bedding (started on pine shavings but moved to hemp a few weeks ago) I ferment their feed, give probiotics, they are vaccinated for Mareks and they have access to the lower level of a double decker brooder that is filled with bagged manure-free soil. Yesterday my Welsummer pooped an all burgandy collored stool. Upon closer inspection it was blood. I mixed up some liquid Corid (2tsp/gallon of water) and everyone seemed fine. Active, alert and eating/drinking. This morning the Welsummer didn't want to move and this afternoon she died. Now two of the other chicks who were fine this afternoon have taken to laying down, not wanting to eat or drink and have lots of blood in their stool.

I called my vet who was closing and he suggested the emergency room which is for dogs & cats. I have nowhere to run a stool sample into and I'm panicking. They've been on Corrid for 24 hours. I mixed up some Durmycin as well in case it's bacterial and I'm alternating oral syringes to get as much of the solutions in each sick bird as possible but I don't know what is happening to these babies.

Can anyone tell me what the heck might be going on?!? Even better, what to do about it?!?

 

[rebrascora]

I would give your chicks a drop of the concentrated liquid Corid directly into their beak twice a day. It's possible they are not drinking enough of the medicated water to tackle the problem, especially if you are fermenting their feed because it is already moist, rather than dry food that encourages them to drink. Also, once they are sick, they stop eating and drinking as you are finding.
I'm really sorry you lost the welsummer but hopefully you will be able to save the rest.

 

[Leihamarie]

Thanks, I'll do that. When will I know if it's working? Should I also make up a concentrated batch of durmycin-10 and do the same? The vet mentioned possible e-coli as well since I do ferment their feed and recommended getting medicated chick starter and activated charcoal. The feed store is 30 minutes one way. Also, I've read that tetracycline antibiotics are the treatment for e-coli. I don't want to leave for the feed store and come home to more dead birds. At this point one of them will only eat mealworms, and is panting. She just pooped out the attached picture. It's solid burgundy and it SMELLS... REALLY BAD! I've offered scrambled eggs, yogurt, moistened crumbles and all she'll eat is meal worms.

 

[rebrascora]

I'm unfamiliar with antibiotics...I don't treat my chickens with them, but blood in poop at that age, especially when they have access to soil in the brooder is almost certainly coccidia and Corid should treat it, but you need to get the medication into them directly rather than hope that they drink enough of the medicated water, which they won't if they are already getting water in with their food.
I would not bother with medicated feed now, because you are treating with a much stronger dose of Amprollium (the medication in medicated feed) by using Corid.
I cannot say if they have an E coli infection as well but if they have been getting fermented feed, I would be surprised if they do.

 

[Leihamarie]

Hi there! Just wanted to follow up for anyone ever reading this thread in the future.

I took the chicks in to the vet and the fecal confirmed that it was Coccidiosis, and specifically the Eimeria Tenella, which is a cecal coccidia that "causes hemorrhagic cecal coccidiosis in young poultry". Wikipedia link

This is why it seemed sudden, acute and with a LOT of blood. The vet prescribed Toltrazuril which treats this eimeria but the Amprolium (Corid)I put them on as soon as I saw blood was probably working... just at a slower rate.

He also gave them iron injections directly into the breast muscle to help with anemia due to blood loss.

The vet will also send the samples out to the lab for a more thorough analysis and if there's any additional findings, I'll update this post but for SURE this was at the very least confirmed coccidiosis.

So far I haven't lost any more of the babies after the Welsummer that died within 24 hours after showing the first symptom.

They are still not out of the woods, but are on the mend and at least I know what it is that I'm dealing with now!

here's another link on the poultry site to read more about this Eimeria and it's causes & treatment options: http://www.thepoultrysite.com/diseaseinfo/33/coccidiosis-caecal-e-tenella/

 

[rebrascora]

Many thanks for the update. It is really helpful to have that diagnosis so that we can all learn from your experience. I hope the rest of them pull through, now that you have them on the correct medication.

 

[RicGail]

Hi there! Just wanted to follow up for anyone ever reading this thread in the future.

I took the chicks in to the vet and the fecal confirmed that it was Coccidiosis, and specifically the Eimeria Tenella, which is a cecal coccidia that "causes hemorrhagic cecal coccidiosis in young poultry". Wikipedia link

This is why it seemed sudden, acute and with a LOT of blood. The vet prescribed Toltrazuril which treats this eimeria but the Amprolium (Corid)I put them on as soon as I saw blood was probably working... just at a slower rate.

He also gave them iron injections directly into the breast muscle to help with anemia due to blood loss.

The vet will also send the samples out to the lab for a more thorough analysis and if there's any additional findings, I'll update this post but for SURE this was at the very least confirmed coccidiosis.

So far I haven't lost any more of the babies after the Welsummer that died within 24 hours after showing the first symptom.

They are still not out of the woods, but are on the mend and at least I know what it is that I'm dealing with now!

here's another link on the poultry site to read more about this Eimeria and it's causes & treatment options: http://www.thepoultrysite.com/diseaseinfo/33/coccidiosis-caecal-e-tenella/

Hi, I was wondering if you know if there is a withdrawal for a hen if I use this med. I am hearing there is a permanent ban on hens eggs if given this med..

 

[Arya28]

I know a lot of people have their own opinions about how to treat coccidiosis, but we've had some luck with natural remedies. We use oil of oregano (which is actually being studied as being approved as a natural antibiotic for chickens. Plus it kills the Protozoa that cause coccidiosis if you get in their system soon enough). Also, cinnamon and aloe juice. In Africa they don't have corrid, so they crush up aloe leaves and give it to their chickens to cure coccidiosis. It might not work, but it worked for us a few times once we knew what we were doing. And it might be worth a try if the corrid isn't working. So sorry about your chick and good luck.

 

[Wyorp Rock]

Hi, I was wondering if you know if there is a withdrawal for a hen if I use this med. I am hearing there is a permanent ban on hens eggs if given this med..

Hi @RicGail if you are referring to an egg withdrawal period for Corid (Amprolium/Amprol) there is NO withdrawal period. Where are you hearing there is a permanent ban on using it - do you have links to your sources, I would be interested to read that.

 

[Eggcessive]

Hi, I was wondering if you know if there is a withdrawal for a hen if I use this med. I am hearing there is a permanent ban on hens eggs if given this med..

Are you referring to toltrazuril? There is a warning not to use the eggs on chickens who are treated with toltrazuril (baycox.) But as Wyorp Rock said, there is not egg withdrawal for Corid (amprollium.)