Blood in stool, 5 week old chicks

[yeye5]

Thanks in advance for any replies and advice!

I have 3 five week old chicks that I got from a friend to add to my feathered family.
They are housed, for the moment, inside a huge cage-enclosure which is inside of my "silkie house". The silkie house is extremely secure, with roof, 2 stories, nesting box on the upper floor; the chicks in question have the large space on the ground floor.
A few days ago I thought I saw something odd on the paper covering of their floor. I had fed cranberries the day before so I thought I was just being paranoid.
This morning I saw the same, a too-red color where they'd usually poop. I changed everything in the enclosure, including the floor covering so I'd be able to see what was going on. When I returned an hour or so later there was an obvious dropping (poop) that contained lots of blood! The other droppings were more liquid than usual and they had some white stuff in them, no blood.

I HOPE I am not having an emergency! I fear I might be.
They've been eating Starter Feed, 18% protein, from a reliable manufaturer for the entire time they've been with me (since under 2 weeks old.
I didn't go to the feed store for meds because I have no idea what's causing this. I can go tomorrow to a variety of stores, some feed stores, others pet stores.

I've not noticed any changes in behavior, appetite, water consumption. Each of them is acting normally. I picked each chick up and looked over/felt his/her body--no noticable weight loss, no indication of pain nor discomfort. I looked at their little butts to see if any of them had blood on them. Nothing.

That is the circumstance here. I adore my little (and my big) chickens and I want to do everything possible to fix any issue. Please Do offer any ideas, advice etc!
I really appreciate this forum and the kind people here. I hope and pray that I'll be able to fix this somehow and that the little ones will be healthy and happy!
Thanks again!

 

[ChickenCanoe]

It could be from the cranberries but not a serious emergency.
5 weeks is the right age for chicks to consume too much coccidia oocysts.
Go to the feed store and buy some amprolium, usually sold as Corid.
That is a thiamine blocker and will starve the protozoa causing the problem.
Follow the directions on the label.
The sooner you treat them the better.

 

[yeye5]

Thanks!
I fed cranberries--2 or 3 of them--last week but not this week which is why I am certain I'm seeing blood. Unfortunately my regular local feed store doesn't open until Monday. Honestly and truly is it ok to wait until Monday? If the answer is no, I will run out and go find other stores right away! I'm in a very rural area but if it's needed I can drive into another city.
What do you think?
The good things is that they're all eating and drinking well. They have voracious appetites.
Good thing they don't have teeth...lol...because I feed them from my hand at first when I'm serving up new meals and they can peck pretty hard! They just started getting some laying pellets and a bit of cracked corn with their starter mix. They love it!

 

[yeye5]

OOps, I forgot to ask this.
Since I can't tell which of the 3 chicks is the one with blood, I'll treat all three.
If I do see which one it is, am I right to assume I should still treat all 3? They live together.
Also they have had medicated feed from day one.

Ernie is white, maybe leghorn maybe a different breed. I believe (based on tail shape) he's a cockerel.
Bert (or Bertha) is a barred rock and I believe she's a pullet.
Taz is an unusual deep tan color with several colors on her wings. I believe she's a pullet too.

 

[yeye5]

Well since I haven't heard back, tomorrow is the feed store search! It is All worth it to see my little peeps all fixed up! I'll update as we go. I hope we find the meds tomorrow early!

 

[Shezadandy]

Quote:
Starter or "all-flock" or "flock-raiser" are OK. I think 5 weeksis too young to get layer pellets- the extra calcium can harm their organs. Now, I'm not saying this could have caused the problem you're seeing- and please do query here on BYC and other places and reach your own conclusions about chicks and layer pellets, but I wanted to mention it just in case it's related.

 

[yeye5]

Thank you, Shezadandy..
I thought so as well. When I showed a friend (who also has chickens) the stool I had first seen, he insisted that they should be having this mix I described.
Sometimes when a person thinks he's right and is insistent, it's hard for me to dispute it. I should follow my own gut rather than doing something someone tells me to do.
The good news here is that they've only gotten it for 3 days--since the 1st incident of seeing and being sure it was blood. The time after I fed a couple of cranberries I thought that was the cause.
So I'll go back to their usual starter feed.
How long is it that they should have starter only?

I appreciate your feedback!

 

[Shezadandy]

Thank you, Shezadandy..
I thought so as well. When I showed a friend (who also has chickens) the stool I had first seen, he insisted that they should be having this mix I described.
Sometimes when a person thinks he's right and is insistent, it's hard for me to dispute it. I should follow my own gut rather than doing something someone tells me to do.
The good news here is that they've only gotten it for 3 days--since the 1st incident of seeing and being sure it was blood. The time after I fed a couple of cranberries I thought that was the cause.
So I'll go back to their usual starter feed.
How long is it that they should have starter only?

I appreciate your feedback!

The stuff I use for the brooder chicks is the purina start and grow (which also has visible corn in it) - bag says up to 18 weeks. Other brands have starter, and then a separate grower, and then layer-- those I'm not familiar with- I would check the bag for what's recommended. In my flock I've got some that are 14 weeks that are on the start and grow stuff - raised in the brooder- in the mean time a hen went broody and I gave her fertile eggs to sit, 5 hatched (and are 5 weeks) and they've been raised in the flock- and so I switched from layer pellets to all-flock for that group as soon as the babies hatched (with a close eye on the oyster shell bin). The all-flock is supposed to be good for all ages so long as there's a separate calcium source (oyster shells, ground up egg shells) for your layers to get their calcium.

 

[yeye5]

Shezadandy, this is all such great information! I really appreciate all that you're sharing!
I just copied the info on the bags of feed.

1) Nutrena brand Chick Starter Grower Feed; 18% (protein);Crumbles, medicated.
(www.NutremaPoultryFeed.com).
* feed 1-16 weeks
16+ weeks, feed layer feed.

2)Nutrena brand Layer Feed, 16% (protein), Pellet.
*16+ weeks feed layer pellets.

3 )"#1" Premium Quality Feed Products
Cracked Corn.
*no labeling re: ages to feed this product.

I have a question about the oyster shells: Are they good to use for grit?
Would they be good for, or bad for chicks under 16 weeks old?

I've just sent some photos from my phone to my email in hopes to be able to share the pics on this site.
My little ones are beautiful...so are my "big" ones, the adults in my flock!
I'm sure yours are too!

 

[Shezadandy]

Chicks under 16-20 weeks will not likely want oyster shell because they don't need the extra calcium. Unless your chicks are in with the bigs who need it, there's no need to offer oyster shell or ground chicken eggs for calcium until they're close to laying. They might have a taste for curiosity's sake but they won't go after it in earnest before then.

Oyster shell shouldn't be used for grit- another BYC member put it well- oyster shell instead of grit would be like trying to chew with teeth made of chalk. If your birds are outside and have little pebbles/rocks they can pick up, they might already be getting their own grit. If not, a small bag of "chick grit" can be purchased. The next step up is poultry grit or #2 grit depending on what brand and where you buy it. #3 grit is for like turkeys, too big for chicks, and probably too big for most chickens. If all they're eating is the starter food, they can do without grit for now, but I like to offer it anyways- it's when they start eating plant material or scraps or bugs that they'll need the granite in their gizzard to grind up what they eat.

Look forward to seeing your chickies!