Analyze this poo, please!

[Andora]

I know this is disgusting, and I am probably driving people crazy posting about my birds' poop...but I can't decide what to do.

I have four pullets and two hens. I've seen normal poop come out of everyone except for the houdan pullet and the polish pullet. Those two pullets are also more sleepy than normal, though they are still eating and drinking and walking around some.

They have nasty poop. This morning underneath their spot on the roost there was water with white in it. Just now the houdan left this:

http://eingefangen.smugmug.com/photos/373119885_8bYwU-L.jpg

(I posted it as a link in case you don't want to look at chicken poop...)

Sorry it's a horrible picture, I was leaning into the run holding the camera out to avoid crawling in to get a close up! There is blood in it, you can see it if you look closely.

Is this what cocci looks like? Is it from something else? The two birds that are sick are both from the same place, the other healthy birds are from somewhere else, but I've had them both for several months now and these are just now getting sick so that may be unrelated. All of the pullets had this type of poop about a month ago, and it went away after Sulmet. (Two birds died.) Why would it come back suddenly?

 

[speckledhen]

Yes, that is what cocci looks like. It could be cocci or a bad worm infestation, either one, or both. I have had to treat and re-treat for cocci with Sulmet and Corid both. The oocycts are in the soil permanently and there are about seven kinds of them. The birds can be immune to one, but not to the other. Be careful using Sulmet over and over; alternate with Corid (amprolium concentrated) If they are on Corid, you can worm them during that time, but dont do it at the same time they are on Sulmet-too hard on them. Also, sulfa drugs make intestinal bleeding continue even when the cocci is gone, I've read.

 

[Andora]

I called Southern States and TSC, and neither carry Corid or Amprolium.

I still have Sulmet...it took me forever to find some last time, I had to drive an hour away!

Do you think I should go ahead and start treating with the Sulmet and order Corid online?

I don't think they have worms, since I put DE in their food...it must be a returning bout of cocci. My other two pullets died very fast with it last time around. *sigh*

 

[Andora]

Do you know of anywhere affordable online to buy it? The only thing I'm seeing is $75 big bottles, which is definitely not in the budget...

 

[Mrs MIA]

http://www.firststatevetsupply.com/store/advanced_search_result.php?keywords=Amprol&osCsid=a96a1bb4297cc423c0ae30f040884893

I had to go with this, for the $$ and the size.

I would start with the Sulmet, 2 Tbsp to 1 gallon of water for the first two days, then back it off like the instructions say. If you order the Amprol today, you can get it expedited, or it will be the end of the week before you receive it.
Reduce protein intake while treating, and add electrolytes in their water. I have been told that the polyvisol will counteract the meds. Don't know if that is true for sure, but I wasn't going to take chances.

 

[dlhunicorn]

How old are your birds, what is the weather like and what are you feeding them (including treats)?

 

[Andora]

Thanks SpeckledHen and Mrs. AK-Bird-Brain!

dlhunicorn--
The pullets are about 13 weeks old. The weather has been hot and humid until today, it's much cooler. It hasn't rained much in the last few days. Their coop stays dry, and the run has sand in it to help keep mud down. They're eating Dumor feed, which I just read wasn't that great. I'm going to look for something else. I put some oyster shell and DE in their feed and grapefruit extract in their water.

They eat corn for treats, along with some occasional kitchen scraps like rice noodles, apple peel, oatmeal, cooked rice, peas...but they really haven't had much lately except for plain corn--the frozen kind, not salted canned corn. They don't eat any scratch or anything yet, simply because I haven't bought any...

They go out in the yard for a few minutes at least each day and peck around, but these two pullets don't seem to enjoy eating weeds like my other birds. I have a theory that their big poofy tops make them semi-blind and they don't quite get that there are yummy things in the grass.

 

[Mrs MIA]

My polish is the same way... she misses out on a lot!

Someone will likely ask if the DE is food grade ~ I don't use it in their food, only for dusting, so I don't know what the symptoms are. But, I will say that we have had an extremely wet, cool summer here in AK, and the chicks that got cocci had never been outside. My schedule got screwed up and I didn't clean out their shavings as soon as I should have, and it got a little too damp in their pen. I also suspect that I might have tracked something in by accident. I try to be careful and not spread poopies on shoes, but it is hard sometimes. First thing I did was move them to fresh shavings, which I fluff every day, then the sickest ones were separated to a wire brooder box where I could keep them warm, and monitor their poopies and what they were eating/drinking.
Hopefully the Sulmet will stop it in time...

 

[Acre of Blessings]

Quote:
The rice and noodles could be what you are seeing. Also the red could be broken down apple peel. Just a thought before a panic.

 

[Mrs MIA]

The two that are "sleepy"... are their feathers fluffed up, and do they look like they're pulling their heads in like a turtle?