Bloody stools and 1 dead chicken

[Mburrows6653]

Hey everyone! On Friday my flock seemed fine. Everything / everyone looked normal. Saturday, 1 pullet was lethargic and panting heavily. I brought her inside and gave her some cool water, and 4 hours later she was dead. Sunday, 2 more chickens were lethargic and I brought them inside and noticed they had very bloody diarrhea! I ran and got Corid powder from TSC and started dosing everyone today. Does this sound like coccidia or something else? Please help, I’m devastated and do not want to lose anymore. Tomorrow I plan to deep clean the coop and sanitize with ammonia. It has been very hot here in SoCal (100+ days) and I’ve been hosing down the run to help cool the girls off. I read online that coccidia thrives in moist areas and I’m wondering if I caused this thinking I was helping but actually causing more problems. Please help. Thank you.

 

[Wyorp Rock]

Welcome To BYC

Can you please get photos of the poop?

How old are they?

Could be Coccidiosis. Corid Powder dose is 1 1/2tsp per gallon of water given for 5-7 days as the only source of drinking water. Don't add any vitamins, supplements, etc. to the water during the course of treatment.

If the infection is severe enough, the Corid may be effective, so it would be a good idea to source a Sulfa Drug (like SMZ-TMP) or Toltrazuril.

Coccidiosis is cause by protozoa. It's found naturally in the soil and in the poop. Wet warm conditions can cause more oocysts in the environment, but most that are healthy and mature should have resistance to the strains found in where they live. It's possible the extra moisture did create an ideal environment for their to be more than normal and the birds ingested more than normal.

I would not try to sanitize, nor would I use ammonia. Just let the area dry out.

 

[Mburrows6653]

Welcome To BYC

Can you please get photos of the poop?

How old are they?

Could be Coccidiosis. Corid Powder dose is 1 1/2tsp per gallon of water given for 5-7 days as the only source of drinking water. Don't add any vitamins, supplements, etc. to the water during the course of treatment.

If the infection is severe enough, the Corid may be effective, so it would be a good idea to source a Sulfa Drug (like SMZ-TMP) or Toltrazuril.

Coccidiosis is cause by protozoa. It's found naturally in the soil and in the poop. Wet warm conditions can cause more oocysts in the environment, but most that are healthy and mature should have resistance to the strains found in where they live. It's possible the extra moisture did create an ideal environment for their to be more than normal and the birds ingested more than normal.

I would not try to sanitize, nor would I use ammonia. Just let the area dry out.

Thank you so much for the reply.
These are pics of poop from the 2 most sick chickens from my bathroom overnight. Yesterday, the poop was clear with bright red blood clots. These chickens received their first dose of corid last night. I syringe fed them both 4cc of medicated water and then they both continued to actively drink on their own afterward for 5 mins on and off. All of my chickens are between 11-17 weeks old.
Ok, I won’t use ammonia or sanitize. The coop/run is very dry right now. I have not wet it down in 4 days. All of the chickens now have corid dosed water as their only water supply. Do you know the SMZ dose for chickens? Would I also add this to the corid water? I have smz for my horses. Is it the same? Thank you.

 

[Mburrows6653]

One of the 2 chickens from yesterday is already doing much better and is eating and drinking on her own so I have returned her to the flock. My other chicken, who is actually also a crossbeak is still inside. She’s more weak and not eating yet. I was wondering if anyone knows if this could be an issue.. she’s a crossbeak and in order to get a good amount of water she dunks her entire head into the cup/bowl. I noticed she’s acting like the water is irritating her eyes. Do you think the Corid could cause an issue with her eyes since it’s constantly getting into them from her dunking her head to drink? I hope she’ll be ok. She has always drunk water this way due to her crossbeak. Thank you.

 

[Wyorp Rock]

The Corid could possibly irritate the eyes if she's having to dunk her head to drink.
You may be better off syringing the Mixed water into her.

Glad you are seeing improvement. Looks like intestinal shedding in the poop. I'd continue with the Corid for 5-7 days, see that they have deep shade during the day. Heat stress can be fatal.

 

[Mburrows6653]

The Corid could possibly irritate the eyes if she's having to dunk her head to drink.
You may be better off syringing the Mixed water into her.

Glad you are seeing improvement. Looks like intestinal shedding in the poop. I'd continue with the Corid for 5-7 days, see that they have deep shade during the day. Heat stress can be fatal.

Should I also give SMZ or not together? I’m thinking I’ll shallow her bowl so she can’t fully dunk her head. Thank you.

 

[Wyorp Rock]

The SMZ would be given if you find the Corid to be ineffective.

See is she does o.k. with a shallow bowl. You don't want her to get dehydrated.

 

[Nurfsmom]

One of the 2 chickens from yesterday is already doing much better and is eating and drinking on her own so I have returned her to the flock. My other chicken, who is actually also a crossbeak is still inside. She’s more weak and not eating yet. I was wondering if anyone knows if this could be an issue.. she’s a crossbeak and in order to get a good amount of water she dunks her entire head into the cup/bowl. I noticed she’s acting like the water is irritating her eyes. Do you think the Corid could cause an issue with her eyes since it’s constantly getting into them from her dunking her head to drink? I hope she’ll be ok. She has always drunk water this way due to her crossbeak. Thank you.

The Corid can in fact irritate their eyes, according to the information I read. I recently had a bout with coccidia with the same symptoms as you. It was raining a lot and their pen was not fully covered, plus on concrete. I treated with a heavy dose of Corid for 5 days. From the first day, I lost 16 young chickens (about 3 months old) total then the deaths stopped. One pullet I used a syringe to give it to her since she was not drinking. I also took her home with me (we live 40 miles from chicken pen) and dosed her several times over the next day or so. She started eating and drinking on her own, so I returned her to the flock.

We now have the pen completely covered so no more problems. I will also on occasion, give them a preventative dose for a few days to hopefully ward off any more problems.

I wish you good luck and your chickens return to being healthy.