After Coccidiosis in our Brooder

[RebeccaS2010]

First the backstory: We purchased 11 different chicks through three different sources in the past 4 weeks because we were looking for some specific breeds. We had some respiratory issues from a couple purchased from our local store, then lost three with different symptoms than the respiratory issue. We have started treating for coccidiosis because chicks were lethargic and had bloody diarrhea and two of the ones that we lost died suddenly without any obvious symptoms. We are on day 3 of CORID, and we are treating both our brooder babies and our older flock so we don’t have to worry about cross contamination.

So, two questions after this backstory:
1. should we wait until this round of brooder chicks are out of the brooder before purchasing more, or could I add more to the brooder after finishing the CORID and disinfecting the brooder? Chicks are already a range in ages from 1-4 weeks.
2. Is one round of CORID for 5 days sufficient treatment to wipe out the coccidiosis or do I need to do a follow up treatment after a few days off?

 

[coach723]

You can do the first round of treatment for 5-7 days. If they are slow to recover then do a second week at a lower dose, treatment chart below. Always use the severe outbreak dosing.
You can also give any that you know are symptomatic an oral dose in addition to the medicated water for up to 3 days, dosing for that is here:
https://www.backyardchickens.com/threads/corid-oral-drench-instructions.1211991/
I personally would wait until these ones are out before adding more. If you add new ones you may end up having to treat them all again. And they grow so fast that adding babies in with 5 week olds could be a problem for the smaller ones.
For future brooder batches, I recommend giving them a shallow saucer (I use a plastic plant saucer) of dirt from your yard (not from the chicken run) to the brooder starting day one to expose them to all the microbes in your soil while their immune systems are maturing. You can dump and give fresh dirt daily. Doing this has greatly reduced my incidence of outbreaks in my flock. It allows them to build immunity same as if they were hatched outside with a broody hen. Have the meds on hand just in case, so you can treat quickly if needed. Once they recover they will have some resistance to whatever strain(s) they were exposed to.

 

[RebeccaS2010]

You can do the first round of treatment for 5-7 days. If they are slow to recover then do a second week at a lower dose, treatment chart below. Always use the severe outbreak dosing.
You can also give any that you know are symptomatic an oral dose in addition to the medicated water for up to 3 days, dosing for that is here:
https://www.backyardchickens.com/threads/corid-oral-drench-instructions.1211991/
I personally would wait until these ones are out before adding more. If you add new ones you may end up having to treat them all again. And they grow so fast that adding babies in with 5 week olds could be a problem for the smaller ones.
For future brooder batches, I recommend giving them a shallow saucer (I use a plastic plant saucer) of dirt from your yard (not from the chicken run) to the brooder starting day one to expose them to all the microbes in your soil while their immune systems are maturing. You can dump and give fresh dirt daily. Doing this has greatly reduced my incidence of outbreaks in my flock. It allows them to build immunity same as if they were hatched outside with a broody hen. Have the meds on hand just in case, so you can treat quickly if needed. Once they recover they will have some resistance to whatever strain(s) they were exposed to.
View attachment 2322720

Thank you so much! And the dirt idea is brilliant!

 

[coach723]

You're welcome. Best of luck with them, hope they all recover well.