Blood in chicken coop, what is it?

[HiEverybirdy]

That'd worry me because the blood's bright. Mine had Cocci in mid summer and roundworms a month later, and their poops looked like this both times.

The best thing to do is grab a sample and run it to a vet. Most vets will run a fecal test for $15-$30 even if you don't regularly go to that vet. If you want, call around to find the best price. Then all you have to do is run a baggy of the poo to them and wait 10 minutes for the results.

They can tell you what it is and exactly how to treat it so you don't waste valuable time & $$ trying to figure it out. Different worms require different medications, and they can tell you or give you exactly the right one to knock the problem out.

You could start dosing with Corid again in the meantime. Like @Wezdin says, coccidiosis is easy to catch, and if your flock had it before, you know it's in the soil. Cocci can also be freaky fast moving and Corid is low risk, so it's good to do that to keep anyone from getting worse (they can go from no symptoms to death in 24 hours).

However, if it's not coccidiosis, then the Corid is unnecessary, and it could cause vitamin deficiency and let the real problem get worse.

The new birdies just had a stressful journey to a new place, so their immune systems may be down enough to pick something up, or they could've brought something with them. Either way, you'll have to treat the whole flock for whatever it is or end up chasing whatever it is for way longer than necessary. Acting fast could save some birds. Good luck to you and the flock!

 

[PDXJULES]

If you do the fecal sample we'd love to hear the results and prescription. Some Chicken parents treat water for their whole flock every month with Corid, for a few days - especially if it has rained - as that is when the dang Organisms tend to hatch out again. I'm starting mine on another round today. I've never done deworming, but watching that advice with interest - as I've been trying to get my Rx kit ready for anything.

 

[Skyla]

How old are they?

I agree, I would treat all for Coccidiosis and depending on age de-worm them too.

In case you need it -
Dose for Liquid Corid is 2 teaspoons per gallon of water or Powdered Corid is 1 1/2 teaspoon per gallon of water. Give for 5-7 days as the only source of drinking water.
Don't add anything else to the water except for Corid.

I would get some Safeguard Liquid Goat Wormer and direct dose each bird at a rate of 0.23ml per pound of weight give once a day for 5 days.

Check out the newbies for lice/mites too.

The 2 youngest ones I got are a little over 3 months, the other 2 are months old. I'll definitely treat with corid just in case. When you say direct dose, do you mean to put it on them or directly into their beak? Is theirtherean option for using the safeguard in water? I checked for lice/mites, didn't see anything.

 

[Skyla]

That'd worry me because the blood's bright. Mine had Cocci in mid summer and roundworms a month later, and their poops looked like this both times.

The best thing to do is grab a sample and run it to a vet. Most vets will run a fecal test for $15-$30 even if you don't regularly go to that vet. If you want, call around to find the best price. Then all you have to do is run a baggy of the poo to them and wait 10 minutes for the results.

They can tell you what it is and exactly how to treat it so you don't waste valuable time & $$ trying to figure it out. Different worms require different medications, and they can tell you or give you exactly the right one to knock the problem out.

You could start dosing with Corid again in the meantime. Like @Wezdin says, coccidiosis is easy to catch, and if your flock had it before, you know it's in the soil. Cocci can also be freaky fast moving and Corid is low risk, so it's good to do that to keep anyone from getting worse (they can go from no symptoms to death in 24 hours).

However, if it's not coccidiosis, then the Corid is unnecessary, and it could cause vitamin deficiency and let the real problem get worse.

The new birdies just had a stressful journey to a new place, so their immune systems may be down enough to pick something up, or they could've brought something with them. Either way, you'll have to treat the whole flock for whatever it is or end up chasing whatever it is for way longer than necessary. Acting fast could save some birds. Good luck to you and the flock!

Well, that really sucks. I really regret getting these 2 new birds. I quarantined them but didn't notice anything wrong, and now they'll give the rest of my flock worms as well . I have called around before to do a fecal sample but it was just too expensive, I wasn't willing to pay $50. Their were only 2 places out of the probably 20 vets I called that were willing to do chicken poop too. I hope giving them the Corid doesn't make the problem worse, but I'll take the risk. Do you have any suggestions on what to use for deworming?

 

[Skyla]

If you do the fecal sample we'd love to hear the results and prescription. Some Chicken parents treat water for their whole flock every month with Corid, for a few days - especially if it has rained - as that is when the dang Organisms tend to hatch out again. I'm starting mine on another round today. I've never done deworming, but watching that advice with interest - as I've been trying to get my Rx kit ready for anything.

As I mentioned above, I don't think I can justify paying $50 for a fecal test, although I'd really love to so I can treat exactly what they have. I thought once you treated them, they were all good and didn't have to do it again? Sort of like a vaccine.

 

[Wyorp Rock]

The 2 youngest ones I got are a little over 3 months, the other 2 are months old. I'll definitely treat with corid just in case. When you say direct dose, do you mean to put it on them or directly into their beak? Is theirtherean option for using the safeguard in water? I checked for lice/mites, didn't see anything.

I would treat with the Corid and see how the poop looks.

I would be hesitant to treat birds that young for worms and I would not use Fenbendazole to treat them. They are still feathering in at that age. Get a fecal float to see if worms are even a problem and if they are, then use Albendazole (Valbazen).

I'm sorry I wasn't clear on the direct dosing - that would be orally. Safeguard settles out of water so it's not recommended to add to water stations. Direct oral dose or making a mash would be the better routes to take when you are using Safeguard. Here's info on the mash for your future use https://www.backyardchickens.com/threads/safeguard-mash-zero-day-egg-withdrawal.1254653/

 

[Skyla]

I would treat with the Corid and see how the poop looks.

I would be hesitant to treat birds that young for worms and I would not use Fenbendazole to treat them. They are still feathering in at that age. Get a fecal float to see if worms are even a problem and if they are, then use Albendazole (Valbazen).

I'm sorry I wasn't clear on the direct dosing - that would be orally. Safeguard settles out of water so it's not recommended to add to water stations. Direct oral dose or making a mash would be the better routes to take when you are using Safeguard. Here's info on the mash for your future use https://www.backyardchickens.com/threads/safeguard-mash-zero-day-egg-withdrawal.1254653/

Thanks so much for the information! I looked closer at their poop and noticed this, do you know what these white flecks are?

 

[HiEverybirdy]

Totally understand about not wanting to pay that much (and you have 20 vets in your area!? Lucky. We have 3 within 45 minutes). That's a lot for a fecal. Kind of shocking, because vets here are super pricey, and they're not as much.

Either way, it still could be cheaper than buying different medications to treat something they don't have. Not sure if they're laying, but the worm medications have withdrawal periods, so you'll also be throwing away their eggs for 2-3 weeks. It sucks, honestly. You really don't want to waste time with the wrong treatments.

However, I didn't mean to imply it's definitely worms. It could easily be coccidiosis that they picked up due to stress. Cheapest option is of course Corid (no egg withdrawal), and the problem might quickly go away. If you don't want to front for the fecal, I'd dose with Corid before even considering worming, but that's just me. I can't stand throwing eggs away.

It's great you're so observant to even see that suspicious poop. Those white flecks are pieces of feather shaft that fall as they groom. Good luck again!

 

[Skyla]

Totally understand about not wanting to pay that much (and you have 20 vets in your area!? Lucky. We have 3 within 45 minutes). That's a lot for a fecal. Kind of shocking, because vets here are super pricey, and they're not as much.

Either way, it still could be cheaper than buying different medications to treat something they don't have. Not sure if they're laying, but the worm medications have withdrawal periods, so you'll also be throwing away their eggs for 2-3 weeks. It sucks, honestly. You really don't want to waste time with the wrong treatments.

However, I didn't mean to imply it's definitely worms. It could easily be coccidiosis that they picked up due to stress. Cheapest option is of course Corid (no egg withdrawal), and the problem might quickly go away. If you don't want to front for the fecal, I'd dose with Corid before even considering worming, but that's just me. I can't stand throwing eggs away.

It's great you're so observant to even see that suspicious poop. Those white flecks are pieces of feather shaft that fall as they groom. Good luck again!

Yeah, we have a crazy amount of vets near here. I was very surprised at the cost of a fecal too, and even more surprised most of the vets refused to do one. The egg withdraw time was definitely a huge smack in the face, and the prices for different treatments that might not even be for the worms they might have. I just started giving them Corid tonight, I'll keep checking on them for any signs. Honestly really hoping its just coccidiosis, its definitely a lot easier to treat then worms it seems. Thank you, I've been paranoid since I got these new birds that they might bring sickness to the flock so i've been extra observant. Good to hear the white flecks are just from the feathers, I was scared it had something to do with worms.
I have noticed some of my girls have been acting a little lethargic here and there, puffing up and just sitting there, but besides that they're still really into food and attentive and have red combs. Is this cause for concern? Or does it not always mean sickness if they just kind of zone out for a bit and close their eyes? It's been pretty cold here, plus their molting and the stress of moving into a new coop on top of new birds.
Thanks so much for your responses, you've been incredibly helpful!

 

[HiEverybirdy]

Yeah, we have a crazy amount of vets near here. I was very surprised at the cost of a fecal too, and even more surprised most of the vets refused to do one. The egg withdraw time was definitely a huge smack in the face, and the prices for different treatments that might not even be for the worms they might have. I just started giving them Corid tonight, I'll keep checking on them for any signs. Honestly really hoping its just coccidiosis, its definitely a lot easier to treat then worms it seems. Thank you, I've been paranoid since I got these new birds that they might bring sickness to the flock so i've been extra observant. Good to hear the white flecks are just from the feathers, I was scared it had something to do with worms.
I have noticed some of my girls have been acting a little lethargic here and there, puffing up and just sitting there, but besides that they're still really into food and attentive and have red combs. Is this cause for concern? Or does it not always mean sickness if they just kind of zone out for a bit and close their eyes? It's been pretty cold here, plus their molting and the stress of moving into a new coop on top of new birds.
Thanks so much for your responses, you've been incredibly helpful!

Seems like being paranoid is a good way to keep chickens alive My 2¢ are you're on the right track with Corid. Puffing up is a classic sign of coccidiosis, so that's a clue.

On cold days, sometimes ours do like to fluff a little and nap in place. I always give them the side eye when they do that! But given the other clues like bloody poop and recent stress, Corid seems wise in your case. A lot of times, chickens apparently try to "be cool" even if they're low so they don't get picked on, so by the time you see puffing, they may be sicker than you think.

Do keep an eye on them. It struck me that we had and experience I should share. We had chicks who'd been outside about a month when there were 3 suspicious poops in their coop. The poop was a little rougher than what you shared. The blood was really bright. Based on context (age, weather, previous cocci in the yard, etc.), my gut said to start Corid right meow. I felt silly going to the trouble of switching everybody's water when all the chickens were still acting downright perky, but I did it anyway, thank goodness.

By the next morning, one wouldn't leave the roost to eat or drink. I snagged her immediately and gave her a stronger Corid dilution with a medicine dropper. She was too weak to protest. It was crazy how fast she'd gone downhill and just as crazy that she was back to herself by lunch! And the same happened with another chick the next morning!

After those 2 close calls, I continued to watch them and put a regular dose of Corid in their water for a week. We haven't had coccidiosis since, though ours are aging out of the highest risk time. I did thoroughly clean their coop and dig out the top level of ground where they'd been living to reduce the pathogen load for them.

Every experience with chickens is different--no telling if this is helpful but thought I'd share. Keep us posted if you think of it.