Bloody spots under perch... Coccidiosis

[comptonsgonecountry]

I added our 10 week old chicks to the coop after introducing them for two weeks by putting a cage in the coop with the older flock. All seemed well... they all are getting along for the most part.

This evening upon fetching eggs, I noticed blood spots under the smaller roost where the chicks perch. They aren't normal droppings but instead runny spots. I checked the chicks bums for any sign of blood and nothing.

I'm heading out in a bit to find Alboin or Corid to treat the chicks with. My question is, should I treat the whole flock? The chicks aren't acting any different than normal. Everyone is eating and drinking.

 

[dawg53]

I added our 10 week old chicks to the coop after introducing them for two weeks by putting a cage in the coop with the older flock. All seemed well... they all are getting along for the most part.

This evening upon fetching eggs, I noticed blood spots under the smaller roost where the chicks perch. They aren't normal droppings but instead runny spots. I checked the chicks bums for any sign of blood and nothing.

I'm heading out in a bit to find Alboin or Corid to treat the chicks with. My question is, should I treat the whole flock? The chicks aren't acting any different than normal. Everyone is eating and drinking.

I would bet that it's a pecking order issue. When chickens go to roost at night, the senior chickens have their favorite roosting spots. When a chicken lower on the pecking order roosts where the senior hen normally roosts; bickering, picking and pecking happen and the lower hen can sometimes get beat up. Sometimes they get pecked on the head and causes bleeding, especially their combs. I've also seen them peck their toes to get them to move over. Overcrowding can cause this as well.

 

[comptonsgonecountry]

I just found the culprit and her stool was solid but still had show of blood in it. She still is acting fine.

 

[dawg53]

I just found the culprit and her stool was solid but still had show of blood in it. She still is acting fine.

It could be shed intestinal lining, here's a link to the poop chart with pics:
http://www.chat.allotment.org.uk/index.php?topic=17568.0
If you suspect cocci, you could seperate the 10 week old chicks from the older birds. By now your older birds shouldve developed immunity. However, you can treat all of them with corid if you wish, it wont hurt them. Dosage is 9.5cc's per gallon of water for 5 days. You can go to 7 days if you want. Make it fresh daily for them to drink. I recommend that you sanitize the inside of the coop, nests and roosts if in fact it's cocci.

 

[comptonsgonecountry]

Dawg53, thanks so much for your help. Yep, the picture from that site is what I saw in the coop this evening. I gave them some plain greek yogurt in hopes of it coating their intestines. Not that the yogurt will cure them. The neighbor up the road has a farm and has corid on hand for her live stock. Ok, another silly question... can I give the chicks the corid for live stock? Or is there corid specifically made for foul?

My flock free ranges during the day so it's hard for me to keep an eye on what their droppings look like. I will keep the chicks confined to the coop tomorrow and let the big girls and guy out. Everyone seems fine except for that one chicks droppings. She's still running around and acting fine when I went to lock them all up for the night.

I also have eight, three week old chicks who have been out and about during warmer weather free ranging in the yard. Should I treat them as well or just keep an eye on them? The all are running around, eating and drinking great. Their stool is also normal.

 

[dawg53]

Corid is used in cattle. It's off label for chicken use, safe for chickens. Usually a bird that is sick with cocci will be lethagic, wont eat or drink, listless, sometimes fluffed up in older chicks. There may or may not be blood in feces. These are the symptoms you have to watch for. There are 9 types of cocci that chickens can get, corid treats all of them.