Bloody poop, cocci suspected, please help me nip this!

[Bocktobery 10]

I need some help on how to go about this...

How it started... Two days ago, I noticed my broody hen (with her chicks) had very bloody poop. this is not intestinal lining, but liquid red blood all over the fecal matter. She started to go down hill over night and by after noon yesterday, she passed. By the evening, I noticed the chicks were pooping blood as well. I had started medicating them for cocci a few hours before I noticed the bloody chick poop. They are still pooping blood today, but seem ok. Not real sick yet, but I'm expecting the same outcome as their mother, unfortunately.

Then there is this morning... Under my roosts- two separate bloody poops. So its now got some in my flock. I put Corid in all the waterers this morning.

This is all I have done so far, but my question is how do I proceed?

I know I need to empty the bloody poop out from under the roosts in the chicken coop and to clean out the bedding and wash everything with ammonia (?) but my question is, should I wait to do this after the 5 day treatment or should I do this now? I had just cleaned in there not too long ago (like three weeks ago) where everything was washed down. I was thinking if I empty it now, would I not have to do it all again the next day? The medication does not seem to be helping the chicks.. there is still blood in the poop, so would this not occur also in my chicken coop with the flock. It would get very expensive fast, and I don't have the time or energy to clean a huge shed out every day.

I have oxine too.. would that be better than ammonia? What about bleach? And I know you aren't supposed to mix bleach and ammonia, but what about oxine and ammonia? oxine and bleach? What is safe what is not? Help!

Is there anything else I can be feeding the chickens to help them alleviate this? Like maybe garlic? or like maybe soak some bread in water with corid in it and feed it to each of them, making sure they at least get something of the medicine? All look ok so far, but I know this is far far far from ok. Frankly, I'm terrified, I've worked so hard at managing this flock... to make matters worse, I have brand new peeps hatching in an incubator right now... How do I keep them safe? Can they be in the same room (but not int eh same brooder) as the chicks who were with the broody hen that got sick and died? How spreadable is this? Can breathing in dust do it alone?

Also, can I sell these chicks? I don't want to give anything to other people's flocks, but I cannot keep these. I was planning on selling them. They are olive eggers and creme legbar chicks.

Should I just let nature take its course? Is the whole thing doomed? Is burning the bedding and the bodies (of those who might die) the best idea?

I just want to note something... never have I had a problem like this before. I have always put apple cider vinegar in their water every day to help stave off something like this... About three weeks ago I ran out of it, and could not get to the store... and this is what happens. I think that speaks volumes as to how good of a prevention ACV is for cocci. I wish I had not taken it so lightly when I ran out.. .maybe I would not be having this problem.

PLEASE help!

 

[Eggcessive]

I would stir the litter around, and add new litter as needed. All chickens are exposed to coccidia, and have to be to deveop a tolerance to it. Some strains of cocci are much more deadly, and when chickens start showing symptoms, they have probably had it for a couple of days. There is no need to burn the bodies or bedding--it's not like some deadly disease, but it is in your soil now. Just do a preventative dosage treatment on your chicks every 3-4 weeks until they are starting to develpop immunity which takes place between 11 and 20 weeks of age. After treating your chickens with the high dosage of the high dosage of 2 tsp Corid per gallon, give them several days of vitamins and a little buttermilk for probiotics. Here are some good links to read about the disease, and I hope things start to improve soon:
http://www1.agric.gov.ab.ca/$department/deptdocs.nsf/all/agdex4616
http://www.merckvetmanual.com/mvm/poultry/coccidiosis/overview_of_coccidiosis_in_poultry.html
http://www.the-chicken-chick.com/2012/12/coccidiosis-what-backyard-chicken.html

 

[Bocktobery 10]

Thank you so much Eggcessive for your help and the links.


I'm not sure what a preventative dosage treatment for the chicks would be. I don't really understand that. Could you elaborate? Also, you say 'preventative'.. is this for the chicks that just hatched today? Or for the ones already pooping blood (who lost their mother yesterday)?




So far, from what I can see, there are no new bloody poops from the chicks. (the ones that lost their mother to cocci). So maybe the meds are kicking in? I did not see any new bloody poos from my flock outside either, yet they have quite a range to wander and I did not look.

Thanks again.

 

[Eggcessive]

Most newly hatched chicks don't get cocci for a couple of weeks, but that is when they haven't been exposed by their broody hen mother. Many use the preventative dose in chicks before they see symptoms. It can be given every 3-4 weeks for 5 days, while giving some vitamins and probiotics after each 5 day treatment. When you see symptoms, you should use the severe outbreak dosage for 5-7 days. The following is borrowed from Casportpony, and is to be put into 1 gallon of water:

The preventative dose (.006%) for Corid Powder is 1/3 teaspoon.
The preventative dose (.006%) for Corid liquid is 1/2 teaspoon.

The moderate outbreak dose (.012%) for Corid Powder is 3/4 teaspoon.
The moderate outbreak dose (.012%) for Corid liquid is 1 teaspoon.

The severe outbreak dose (.024%) for Corid Powder is 1.5 teaspoons
The severe outbreak dose (.024%) for Corid liquid is 2 teaspoon.

 

[Bocktobery 10]

Thank you Eggcessive..

Have two chicks that are looking poorly. They still have energy but are huddling and shivering, one worse than the other. I tried to get some feed/water with meds down their beaks but its difficult to do because they are so tiny. Not sure if they are going to make it. All the others seem ok still. I do have fleshy looking 'intestinal lining' red in some of the droppings, but most droppings are looking normal.

The older adult flock looks ok too, but won't know until tomorrow morning for sure.

 

[CrazyChickLady7]

Cocci is typically spread through feces so I'm not sure how it would affect the chicks, unless you have a walk im brooder and didn't change your shoes

 

[KayTee]

Just to clarify Eggcessive's last post with the corid dosing instructions - each quantity is per gallon of water.

 

[MrsBachbach]

Thank you Eggcessive..

Have two chicks that are looking poorly. They still have energy but are huddling and shivering, one worse than the other. I tried to get some feed/water with meds down their beaks but its difficult to do because they are so tiny. Not sure if they are going to make it. All the others seem ok still. I do have fleshy looking 'intestinal lining' red in some of the droppings, but most droppings are looking normal.

The older adult flock looks ok too, but won't know until tomorrow morning for sure.

Just wondering, are the chicks under a heat lamp? Since they lost their mother, they will need a brooder area. They will all die without heat.
Also, if they are doing poorly and not drinking much they would not be getting enough medicine for their cocci. I think you can take an eyedropper and give the ones that are looking ill a drop of the liquid corid straight out of the bottle. Hopefully, they will be good enough the next day to start drinking more.
Btw, you can't avoid coccidiosis unless you keep your chickens off the ground. It lives in the soil and chickens pick it up naturally. Over the years you get more droppings from your chickens and more cocci in the soil. When the weather gets wet, you have an outbreak of it. Tends to stay under control with dry conditions. That's why it's helpful to keep your pen and run areas dry.

 

[Bocktobery 10]

Hey thanks everyone! I really appreciate all the replies/help!

Yeah, they are under two heat lamps to be exact.. well, the one is a heat lamp and the other is just a regular 60 watt bulb to add some heat. I still have the two chicks huddling, one is not really eating at all. I tried, last night, to hand feed and he took just a little bit... not really any solid foods. This morning I watched him poop out some strange looking poop with a twinge of blood in it. Looked more like a worm than regular chick dropping. The other chick is seemingly not as bad, but she will need attention too. I'm just about to try and hand feed them again.

Out in the coop- two bloody poops again this morning, but not so bad as yesterday (not as much blood). I have no clue which chicken is doing it, but will continue with the corid treatment for 5 days, high strength. Everyone seems ok- funny how this disease just kind of hides.

Yeah, my coop shavings were wet due to the mother hen spilling the water and kicking shavings in and out of the waterer. We've also had a lot of rain and I keep the windows open to get air circulating through. There is a bit of an overhang outside the coop so that protects the coop from getting a lot of rain, but I know that it does make things damp inside sometimes depending on the wind. Its been very wet outside for about the last two weeks.. good for the garden, but I guess not so good for chickens.

For coop treatment, I just removed the bloody poop that I could see with affected shavings, stirred it up and added new pine chips over top.

Could I add apple cider vinegar to their water while the corid is in it, or just leave it as it is until after medicating? I don't know if its ok to mix those two things- corid and acv. One thing is for certain, I will never go without ACV in their water again... that really is a great preventative.

 

[MrsBachbach]

Hey thanks everyone! I really appreciate all the replies/help!

Yeah, they are under two heat lamps to be exact.. well, the one is a heat lamp and the other is just a regular 60 watt bulb to add some heat. I still have the two chicks huddling, one is not really eating at all. I tried, last night, to hand feed and he took just a little bit... not really any solid foods. This morning I watched him poop out some strange looking poop with a twinge of blood in it. Looked more like a worm than regular chick dropping. The other chick is seemingly not as bad, but she will need attention too. I'm just about to try and hand feed them again.

Out in the coop- two bloody poops again this morning, but not so bad as yesterday (not as much blood). I have no clue which chicken is doing it, but will continue with the corid treatment for 5 days, high strength. Everyone seems ok- funny how this disease just kind of hides.

Yeah, my coop shavings were wet due to the mother hen spilling the water and kicking shavings in and out of the waterer. We've also had a lot of rain and I keep the windows open to get air circulating through. There is a bit of an overhang outside the coop so that protects the coop from getting a lot of rain, but I know that it does make things damp inside sometimes depending on the wind. Its been very wet outside for about the last two weeks.. good for the garden, but I guess not so good for chickens.

For coop treatment, I just removed the bloody poop that I could see with affected shavings, stirred it up and added new pine chips over top.

Could I add apple cider vinegar to their water while the corid is in it, or just leave it as it is until after medicating? I don't know if its ok to mix those two things- corid and acv. One thing is for certain, I will never go without ACV in their water again... that really is a great preventative.

Idk, I've always read not to add anything extra to their diet when treating for cocci. The parasite thrives on thiamine is what I have read, and Corid blocks this, so you don't want to add extra thiamine to their diet. I don't know about ACV, but I might leave it out of the water right now.
One thing I have done to get chicks more interested in their feed is feed them a warm wet mash. I add just a little bit (maybe 1/4 tsp) of organic acv to a cup of warm water and pour a bit of that to their feed in a dish to moisten it. They really seem to love moist feed. Now the problem with that when treating with Corid will be they may not drink as much. So, I would do this very sparingly right now. After their course of medication, I would put a vitamin/mineral supplement in their water for a few days to give them a boost.
If the chicks are still huddling, they may be cold. Maybe you need to lower your heat lamp? Is the temp at least 90 under the bulb? Not sure how old your chicks are. If temp is ok, maybe they are just scared. If their brooder is damp and drafty, that is part of the problem. Losing their mom, damp conditions and now disease is really stressing these chicks. Put them some dry bedding and make sure they are not exposed to drafts. Also, with it being summer now, you also don't want them to get overheated, so make sure they can escape the heat lamp if they need to. I can understand having two on (in case one goes out) but they still need an area to go in the brooder where they can escape the heat.
Hope they get better.