9 day old chicks COCCIDIA HELP

[Feathered babie]

January 19th I purchased 10 baby chicks from Rural King. They started dying I’ve lost 3 and today 1. After finding out about the coccidia late (I’m new to this) I started them on Corid H2O yesterday. One of them I had to basically give triage care. It seemed to have worked it perked up was weak but eating and drinking when I offered while holding. He made it through the night today and seemed better this morning. When I checked him again not too long ago h was getting stiff, gasping and neck backwards. I am heart broken an can’t stop crying for these little souls. I’m so scared for the rest they are doing great eating drinking but this one passing tells me they’re not safe. I’m doing everything I should be I don’t sleep taking care of them this is a nightmare. Someone please help. How long should I do the treatment for I found online 5-7 days but 5 being the regular 7 with less Corid to avoid reinfection. What amount of Corid to what amount of water has worked best for you. Anything that helps I need help this is so unfair to these little souls. Thank you

 

[debid]

Please show us your brooder setup.

Treating for cocci won't harm them if that isn't the problem after all but it would be good to rule out other things like overheating.

 

[thecatumbrella]

What amount of Corid to what amount of water has worked best for you.

You have the liquid Corid, correct? The dosage is 2 teaspoons per gallon of water. Make a fresh batch every day. It should be the only water the entire group drinks for 5-7 days.

With chicks, I will make 32 ounces at a time. This scales the dosage down to 1/2 teaspoon of Corid per 32 ounces.

If you have POWDERED Corid, the dosage is different (and I don't immediately have that on hand).

 

[AshVau22]

Pictures of brooder set up, what feed are you feeding is feeder full at all times. What are you using for heat? Temperature of brooder? Do they have an area to get away from heat ? What kind of bedding are you using? What has there poop looked like picture would be good. Any blood in droppings?

 

[rosemarythyme]

x3 on needing more info on your brooder, feed, and what symptoms you're seeing in the chicks that aren't doing well. At 9 days old it's very unlikely to be coccidiosis but since you've begun treatment best to follow it through as thecatumbrella noted above.

 

[Feathered babie]

Please show us your brooder setup.

Treating for cocci won't harm them if that isn't the problem after all but it would be good to rule out other things like overheating.

They have the liquidy diarrhea and very smelly. Today I lowered their temperature to 92 degrees because of their age but for the cocci treatment I was told warmer is better so I was keeping them at 95 degrees which was recommended to me for chicks. They turn 10 days old tomorrow. I use the storage plastic bins for brooders and I make sure that they have cooler zones to go to if they get too hot. I had the red lamps 250W off to a corner of the brooder. I learned that chicks infested in cocci don’t know how to self regulate or even move when too hot or too cold. The first one to pass showed neuro like symptoms like not knowing where to peck didn’t know where to eat unless you put the food tight infront of it- that one was the tiniest. The second one was the strongest of all small but mighty was doing great the stopped eating and drinking also had the diehrrea. At the time I tried to feed it and offer water with a syringe. What they had in common was that they all lost muscle mass so fast got tiny. Two of them showed signed of improvement and then relapsed bad and died the next day. Today is day two of Corid I have the liquid form and the pups are more solid except for one that still has the diarrhea which is common on this day of treatment. All 5 left are happily eating and drinking, playing, and resting a lot. I’m afraid that lowering the temp to 92 as recommended for their age will interfere with Corid since they need warmer temps during treatment. My set up is below. The second brooder is the same setup. What temperature would you recommend with this set up?

 

[rosemarythyme]

If high is currently 95F what are the cooler areas at? I'm not a fan of bins as they're not really big enough to give them enough temperature variance. Diarrhea makes me wonder if they're drinking a lot due to overheating.

Is the bulb in the heat lamp specifically intended for brooding chicks?

When you brought the chicks home from the store did you give them anything for shipping stress?

 

[thecatumbrella]

I'm glad people asked you to post brooder pics (and I'm glad you did), because it's very possible they're overheating. I also started with that exact same tote. In the end, it's just too small, and the chicks really can't get away from the heat entirely.

Do you have a big box store near you? Can you run out and get the larger version? I can't remember what the gallons are, but it's quite long in comparison to the one you have. This gives them a warm area and a room temp area for food/water.

Another (better) option is to see if your local farm store carries a heat plate for brooding. You set it to back height of the tallest chick. They'll go under it when they're cold and run out when they're ready to eat/drink. I also don't trust heat lamps around plastic bins. It's going to heat the plastic, which will potentially cause it to off-gas. Birds are sensitive to things like that. Especially little babies.

Edit:
I believe this is the tote size I use.

 

[Feathered babie]

You have the liquid Corid, correct? The dosage is 2 teaspoons per gallon of water. Make a fresh batch every day. It should be the only water the entire group drinks for 5-7 days.

With chicks, I will make 32 ounces at a time. This scales the dosage down to 1/2 teaspoon of Corid per 32 ounces.

If you have POWDERED Corid, the dosage is different (and I don't immediately have that on hand).

Yes I have the liquid Corid and the dosage I’m making is according to the instructions on the bottle. It says you can easily overdose so I’m scared since my chicks are so young 10 days old tomorrow. So the measurement I started with yesterday and today is: for 6 cups of water 1.2 ml Corid. 6 cups is enough for my chicks so I don’t waste so much water or Corid since it has to be made new everyday. Is my measuring right? Am I underdosing? I was also told that for a gallon of water it’s 1 teaspoon of Corid but most posts here say 2 teaspoons of Corid per gallon of water I’m confused and worried that they’re 10 days old tomorrow).

 

[debid]

They're definitely overheated. 250W lamps were designed to heat a 6' circle in an unheated barn in spring. It's too much heat for a house brooder and far too much for a plastic bin where the heat will absorb and then radiate from the surfaces. They can't sense a cool zone because the space is too close to being all one temperature.

They will get diarrhea, wasting, and electrolyte imbalances quickly from too much water and not enough food when overheated.

I used 175W outdoors and it was too much in a small space at 30F ambient, had to drop to 100W. Then I switched to a contact type of heater and it was SO MUCH EASIER to warm them enough without overheating. I highly recommend going to the store and getting a little heating plate style brooder.