blood in poop? what to do?UPDATE & ??'s pg 2

[threehorses]

DHLunicorn is great help.

Good, I'm glad to pass on the info. I hope all goes well.

 

[chickeypoo]

sad night last night.. went to give yogurt and what not.. already had two dead.

sad day

came home from work... three more are dead... and it looks like a couple more may be close

. i will continue the meds in the water... and yogurts and other things. i have never had a chick die from cocci so.. i just feel awful that they were hit so hard and i didn't realize it till too late. i am angry with myself for not trying harder to get things done.. angry for letting this happen...

though my question is will they get cocci even if they have never been on the dirt before? can they get it from wet/dirty/poopy bedding? i use pine shavings for bedding. what else can cause bloody poo? maybe i should get the sulmet? antibiotics? hmm.

Thanks
Sue

 

[threehorses]

E. coli infections or other intestinal bacterial infections can technically cause bleeding because of irritation. but generally with ones this age it's coccidiosis.

You know, I've read that cocci are actually in all dirt samples - whether or not there are poultry there. But I've often wondered exactly HOW cocci get into chick cages that are disinfected and with no bedding, no dirt, etc. I'd really like to look more into that and figure out how that happens.

This might be a great area for dlhunicorn who I bet might know? I'll let you know when I know.

The other thing is that a lot of poultry is, unfortunately, guessing. We really don't know for sure that this even IS coccidiosis without a fecal being done. That being said, even testing fecals for cocci are notoriously hard and many vets treat symptompatically once all other bacteria/worms have been ruled out. It's not easy to get the oocysts to show up on the scope.

In the mean time, I'm so very sorry that you've lost more babies. Please don't blame yourself as this is part of the learning process. That's one of the reasons why I'm so big on giving probiotics early. In my flock, I keep Probios (brand) or whatnot around and if I see anything at all the birds get it. Other than feeding medicated feed and watching for any sign, that's really the best I can do.

I can say that coccidiosis in my flock tended to present whenever conditions were hot, humid, wet, and the chicks pooped in their waterers or feed - or stepped in either. I don't brood my chicks on the ground and they're all started in wire-bottomed cages after the first two days of standing. I disinfect inbetween, but then again I rarely get coccidiosis anymore because of my probiotic program so.. maybe it's exposure to older birds?

 

[chickeypoo]

i don't have older birds in with the babies or any where near them.. really. the young ones are in the garage and the older ones don't go in there... it's where the car is *supposed* to go.. but i didn't want to introduce them to the flock in the cages they are in. unfortunately i don't have wire bottomed cages. i wish i did. i have what was an old rabbit plastic bottomed, wire topped cage. i did clean and disinfect before putting babies in. maybe i shall do that tomorro when i get home from work. it does look as though im losing two more of my absolute faves.. the one pooped on top of the cage(in the cover of a bin i had it sitting on) and it didnt' have any blood in it. but then the other i had looked like it may have had some. the one without blood ate a bit.. a lot at first.. then tapered off like it was tired. i turned the heat light on.. it didn't get too warm today. sadly i didn't know it was supposed to be so cool. so i am leaving the heat light on the younger/smaller ones. and the one chick on top of the cage(the weaker non eating bloody poop one) jumped into the cage when i ran to check the grill(no more than 30 seconds) and was under the heat, so maybe that is part of it.

the worst of all part of this whole situation is the fact that yesterday with the nice sun in the garage i put them partly in the sun and partly not, and they all(even the now dead ones) stretched their little wings and slept in the sun(looking dead lol) and nothing was wrong then really. some looked more tired than the rest. and today when i got home and saw more dead all i thought was, well, at least they got a good sunny day to stretch out and enjoy. i wish they could have had many more days ahead but unfortuately (oooh bad spelling lol) that ended way shorter than hoped. so hopefully i did catch most of the sick chicks and i am medicating the ones that aren't showing any type of symptons(the older ones that are housed separately)

can you show me a pic of your brooder, perhaps ill set something up that doesnt' have bedding. i only used the pine bedding as the bottom of the cage is plastic and i didn't want spraddle legs. so, i guess ill have to set up a brooder that is wire bottomed.. is yours wood on the sides? or wire as well?

is cocci transferable to humans? i do wash my hands well and i preach that to the kids, but well, im sure you know how kids are

but i just worry, i know there are other things to catch as well. so anyway, i should go and thank you again for helping me out.

Sue

 

[Glenda L Heywood]

it is not transferable to humans
BUT HUMANS CAN CARRY IT IN ON THEIR SOLes Of THEIR SHOES
WHICH IS WHAT HAPPENED TO YOURS

and cocci only takes 4 days from start the birds look humped up shivering, and off by them selves and only drink water
thus the watery manure

then in 4 days they are dead

so if you did not see the extreme situation from day one then they were doomed

each and every morning during the morning feeding is when the coci birds would not be gathering to eat thus they were the ones starting

so it is a hard lesson to learn and I sympathis with your plight

do give the wet mash probiotic with Vit E now after medicating for gut flora

any questions email me

 

[Glenda L Heywood]

Also the coccidiosis spores grow in the dirty wet bwdding that you had carried in on your shoes from out side

thus when feeding and caring for chicks always daily clean under the waterer as they spill water and coccidiosis spores grow

when using the wet mash probiotic I tell folks that the chickens will eat it with applesauce put on top and given
so put applesauce and a boiled egg yolk mashed good in with yoguart and they will then eat it

they do not like a sticky substance on their beak
but chickens even sick chickens will eat the wet mash

and I always did this with sulmet or corid for first two days

1 qt of dry crumble feed
1-1/2 qt water
corid 9.65 is 2 tsp per time used

mix good and feed 2 tsp of the mix per chick per time
do this for two mornings
then clean out the wet feeders and restock the dry feed

for sulmet
1 qt of dry crumble feed
1-1/2 qt water
2 tsp of sul met per time
mix good and feed 2 tsp per chick

all the while put the corid or sulmet into the drinkling water for 5-7 days

yes the bloody manure will quit much after 2 days but do medicate the water the full 5-7 days

then feed the wet mash probiotic

any questions email me

 

[chickeypoo]

well, i dunno about carrying the cocci on the soles of my shoes into their bedding(they are in smallish cages).the bedding doesn't come near my shoes. i put the bedding from the bag straight into the cages for them. the only other place that has bedding is in the coop. and like i said, the chicks don't come near my shoes. or the bedding that may have been on it. so unless it was floating up from the dirty wet bedding... i dunno what else there could be.

they ate pretty good tonight. I will try the wet mash thing. can i do it at night as well? or should it just be done in the morning. i ask as i leave for work at 430ish in the morning and don't get home till almost 5 at night. so.. i am gone during the day. i wish i dind't have to work. i could have gotten a lot more done in the wee morning hours, than what i did when it got so hot.

it was hot and humid last week. awful hot and humid. we all suffered. and that is part of the reason i didn't get much done last week. i get really ill when it's so hot out. it went to reasonably comfortable one day and the next it was 98 degrees and 96% humidity. now today it was nearly cold.

 

[Glenda L Heywood]

yes feed them the wet mash medicated two nights but the medicated water all 5-7 dyas
sorry that this had to happen to you
any questions email me

 

[threehorses]

Quote:
On the "where" see that's the mystery. I think I'm going to make it my mission to solve that, even if I have to call some university folk.

On the eating, as to when, which ever part of the day works best. Ideally I find first thing in the morning to be the best time because they wake up hungry. But "ideal" things don't always happen to me. /sigh

On the heat - I bet that had something to do with it. I find it always has with my chicks. I've never ever had a case of coccidiosis in the winter time in brooder conditions. And as for the heat, please always be sure to take care of yourself as well when you're tending the chickens. Hydrate 10 minutes before going out in it, rather than when you're in it. And afterwards. Now *I* sound like an old mother hen, don't I? But seriously - I've found doing the above really helps me to not get sick in the heat. So hopefully it'll make you more comfortable, too.

 

[chickeypoo]

i always drink plenty of fluids before during and after working in the heat(i work in a factory which it seems super heated in the summer lol) so anyway, it's fine to be a mother hen

lol. anyway, i have never had chicks in the winter time so.... i can't speak from experience lol

i am glad that i have this place. my two sick chicks did drink some of the water from the wet mash. so.. hopefully things get better. it's a turken and a grey ameraucana. but both mixes lol. and since i don't have the father anymore.. i won't ever get chicks like them cuz he was a mix and im not even sure with what anymore. well, i should run. it's bedtime for me.
Thanks
Sue