Am I a failure

[ten chicks]

if its coccidia I would burn all the materials that come out of your brooder including the dead chicks.
use a 50/50 bleach and water mix to clean whatever you don't burn.
coccidia is highly contagious and will spread to all your other chickens and can even spread to dogs.
If the chicks haven't touched the ground yet, don't let them. once it gets into your yard it is almost impossible to get rid of.
I hate to say this, and you don't have to take my advice, but I would kill the other chicks and start from scratch. also let the person you got them from know that they sold you diseased chicks.
I thought I got a great deal on an OEG rooster and 2 hens once. I got them home and put them in the coop with my younger chicks. next thing I know I had a full blown outbreak of coccidia. I lost over 15 chicks before I figured this out and started treating them. I lost over $100 in chicks, medicine, and supplies to clean and sterilize my coop.
Just when I thought I had it under control my dog ended up with it and spread it to her litter of puppies. That cost me over $1200 in lost puppies, vet visits, and medicine.

You do not understand about coccidiosis. You DO NOT need to kill chicks!!!! Cocci is a parasitic infection of the intestinal tract. It is the leading cause of death among chicks,but is easily controlled using a coccidiostat. Cocci is spread by droppings,which get into feed/water via droppings(cocci thrives in brooder setups)but it is also spread by wild birds/bringing new birds into flock,your own hands/clothes/shoes/feed utensils,etc. Most birds have some cocci in their small intestines,ONLY becomes a problem if they have an overload/outbreak,then we use a coccidiostat to bring it under control. It is a parasitic infection NOT a contagious a disease.

Symptoms of coccidiosis are: runny/watery poop(may or may not contain blood,depends on which strain it is)fluffed feathers,lethargic,not eating/drinking properly. The key to preventing deaths is to administer a coccidiostat(all chicken keepers should keep a coccidiostat on hand) immediately,even if you only suspect cocci,treating with a coccidiostat will not harm chicks,but not treating will result in deaths. Birds are only immune to the strains they have had prior exposure to.

Purchase Corid(amprolium) or might be called Amprol(amprolium)depends where you live(Amprolium is the medication,but the brand names differ from country to country). Amprolium is a thiamine blocker,parasite needs thiamine to survive/reproduce,stop reproduction and parasite comes under control. Dose for Corid/Amprol 9.6% liquid is 2 tsp per gallon of water,dose for Corid 20% powder is 1-1.5 tsp per gallon of water. Treat ALL chickens for 5 days,make sure medicated water is their ONLY source of drinking water. DO NOT give vitamins during treatment as they interfere with the ability of coccidiostat to work,give vitamins after treatment is complete.

For cleaning use diluted cleaning ammonia as bleach is not effective in killing parasite.

BOTTOM LINE, NO NEED TO KILL CHICKS and it is not necessary to burn anything!

NOTE: Coccidiosis is species specific,meaning that the cocci your chicks had is not the same cocci your dog/pups had. Pups are frequently infected with coccidia from the feces of their mother and are most likely to develop coccidiosis b/c of undeveloped immune system. Dog kennels/pounds/breeders etc do have outbreaks of coccidiosis,this is common.

 

[Sonya9]

Most birds have some cocci in their small intestines,ONLY becomes a problem if they have an overload/outbreak,then we use a coccidiostat to bring it under control. It is a parasitic infection NOT a contagious a disease.

Thank you for clarifying, misinformation that says "kill all the chicks" over something like this needs to be corrected.


My chicks are unvaccinated and on medicated food because I have already let them go into the yard for short periods and I just ASSUMED there is probably Coccidia in the yard already!

My vet has tested for Coccidia in a couple of rescue pups that had upset stomachs, he mentioned it was common at the time because of all the rain. He didn't say I should "KILL ALL THE PUPPIES AND BURN DOWN THE HOUSE TO ERADICATE THIS DISEASE", he would have just treated them IF they showed signs to get it under control (they had a bit of diarrhea but it went away and wasn't determined to be Coccidia).

Wild birds and other animals spread it around our yards anyway, you can't completely avoid it just treat it as needed.

 

[ten chicks]

Just keep an eye on them as chicks on medicated feed,can still have an overload/outbreak of coccidiosis.

 

[cafarmgirl]

I hope everybody reading this thread who is new to chickens reads ten chicks post #11 very carefully, it is spot on. There is NO reason to kill chicks because of suspected coccidiosis!

 

[casportpony]

if its coccidia I would burn all the materials that come out of your brooder including the dead chicks.
use a 50/50 bleach and water mix to clean whatever you don't burn.
coccidia is highly contagious and will spread to all your other chickens and can even spread to dogs.
If the chicks haven't touched the ground yet, don't let them. once it gets into your yard it is almost impossible to get rid of.
I hate to say this, and you don't have to take my advice, but I would kill the other chicks and start from scratch. also let the person you got them from know that they sold you diseased chicks.
I thought I got a great deal on an OEG rooster and 2 hens once. I got them home and put them in the coop with my younger chicks. next thing I know I had a full blown outbreak of coccidia. I lost over 15 chicks before I figured this out and started treating them. I lost over $100 in chicks, medicine, and supplies to clean and sterilize my coop.
Just when I thought I had it under control my dog ended up with it and spread it to her litter of puppies. That cost me over $1200 in lost puppies, vet visits, and medicine.

Yikes, this is definitely one of the craziest posts I've seen, lol. FYI, dogs cannot get coccidiosis from chickens, they get a different type, just like turkeys, ducks, peafowl, each get different types.

-Kathy

 

[seminolewind]

Coccidia is a micro organism that lives in the intestines. if an infected animal is weak, sick, or stressed out the Coccidia can take over.
Giving the medicine will help the animals immune system fight off the Coccidia but it won't kill it.
your chicks will still be carriers of the disease and will spread it.

X2. You can not avoid Coccidia unless you keep your chicks on linoleum floors, and wash it with bleach every 5 minutes. The medicated feed is not a guarantee. Lg is right, it's always around. With the next batch,you would be better off boosting their immune system with some vitamins right away.

 

[red horse ranch]

On 2-9-14 I purchased 5 Dominique's locally. They stayed in a cardboard box with a heat lamp for about 4 days then I borrowed a friends brooder. After 1 week, one chick died then in another week, another one died. Through various posts I determined it to be cocci. I'm 4 days into treatment with Corid and my three remaining chicks are 3 1/2 weeks old. This morning - another dead chick. Could someone please offer any advice? They are in a brooder with a heat lamp, pine shavings, water, non-medicated feed. These cold nights have resulted in an 80 degree brooder despite the lamp. Did they get too cold? I just need some guidance please, this is killing me.

If it was getting down to 80 degrees in your brooder then I suspect the chicks just got chilled. This will kill chicks pretty often. It may also have lowered their immunity to disease if in fact they did have cocci. I see no need to kill any remaining chicks. They've had a tough enough start already!

 

[Sonya9]

If it was getting down to 80 degrees in your brooder then I suspect the chicks just got chilled. This will kill chicks pretty often. It may also have lowered their immunity to disease if in fact they did have cocci. I see no need to kill any remaining chicks. They've had a tough enough start already!

To the op can you insulate the brooder? It has been cold here too and I put a blanket or two over the brooder at night to prevent drafts and keep in the heat.

Also if I suspected coccidiosis I would take a poop sample in to my vet and have it looked at. I would also add a second waterer with "save a chick" in it for electrolytes. Personally I would also ditch the pine shavings. I know they are supposed to be safe for chickens but they are considered toxic for many reptiles (along with cedar) so there is a chance they could be a respiratory irritant even if only a mild one.

The thing that strikes me as odd is that these chicks keep dying at varying intervals.

I am a chicken newbie but have raised plenty of other types of babies over the years.

 

[dblankin]

The information presented is amazing! I can't thank this community enough.

I HAVE NOT KILLED MY TWO DOMINIKERS!

They are separate from my new chicks but are doing a little better. I will get poop pictures but it does not appear runny to me.

 

[Tappy4me]

The information presented is amazing! I can't thank this community enough.

I HAVE NOT KILLED MY TWO DOMINIKERS!

They are separate from my new chicks but are doing a little better. I will get poop pictures but it does not appear runny to me.

Glad to hear they are doing better! I hope they continue to improve!