Bloody stools won’t go away

[Snowingamanda]

Hi,
I have recently lost a polish to bloody stools despite Corid and Sulfa treatment, although I caught the sickness too late. Now I have another Polish that has bloody stools. I have been treating him with Corid and Sulfa for a few weeks now without any improvement. He contributes to have blood in his poop and losing weight fast. The meds are expensive, plus I have been keeping him and the other 2 Polish that so have that also appear to be sick in my house, to keep them out of the elements but by now any hope that they’ll improve is gone. I can’t keep keeping them inside. There are flies and I spend a lot of time daily cleaning after them, so today I turned them outside into the rain (they do have a coop, of course). I’m ready to throw in the towel now. Does anyone have any other ideas of why the poop doesn’t improve? I can’t afford a vet. What would you do in my place?
Thank you.

 

[Wyorp Rock]

Hi,
I have recently lost a polish to bloody stools despite Corid and Sulfa treatment, although I caught the sickness too late. Now I have another Polish that has bloody stools. I have been treating him with Corid and Sulfa for a few weeks now without any improvement. He contributes to have blood in his poop and losing weight fast. The meds are expensive, plus I have been keeping him and the other 2 Polish that so have that also appear to be sick in my house, to keep them out of the elements but by now any hope that they’ll improve is gone. I can’t keep keeping them inside. There are flies and I spend a lot of time daily cleaning after them, so today I turned them outside into the rain (they do have a coop, of course). I’m ready to throw in the towel now. Does anyone have any other ideas of why the poop doesn’t improve? I can’t afford a vet. What would you do in my place?
Thank you.

I'm sorry to hear you're dealing with this.

Can you post some photos of the poop and of the birds?
Where are you located in the world?
What dosage of Corid are you using?
What Sulfa Treatment are you using and the dose?
How old are the birds?
What do you feed?

Hopefully with more information we can give you more suggestions.
Some things off the top of my head that can cause blood in the poop are Coccidiosis, worms, Enteritis and infection.
Do you have access to any antibiotics?

 

[Eggcessive]

Here is the OP’s previous thread:
https://www.backyardchickens.com/threads/please-help-to-tube-feed-my-chick.1339026/

You did see the vet earlier. Did you take in some droppings or have them check the chicken for coccidiosis or worms? Fecal floats can be pricey in some places, but it would save money in the long run on giving unnecessary drugs. The vet could even do a gram stain for enteritis. Sorry for all of your peoblems.

 

[Snowingamanda]

I'm sorry to hear you're dealing with this.

Can you post some photos of the poop and of the birds?
Where are you located in the world?
What dosage of Corid are you using?
What Sulfa Treatment are you using and the dose?
How old are the birds?
What do you feed?

Hopefully with more information we can give you more suggestions.
Some things off the top of my head that can cause blood in the poop are Coccidiosis, worms, Enteritis and infection.
Do you have access to any antibiotics?

Hi, thank you for trying to help. I’m in CA. For Corid I’ve been giving them a couple of drops with a syringe once or twice a day, mixed with a few crumbles of sulfamethoxazole crushed pill. I’ve also had Corid in their water, and Corid and Sulfa in their water for two weeks but now I only do syringe drops in the mouth because I’m running out of corid and it’s expensive for me (I have 3 kids also). I also put s dewormer in their water and asustes them against mites again.
The birds are about 4 months old, the sickest one is the cockerel. I also have some adults with bloody poops (in a totally different yard/inclosure with lots of hay, so no wet/exposed ground even!), and I tried Corid in their water too but no luck so i just stopped. I’m overwhelmed.
I feed chick finisher mixed with scratch but for the Polish I’ve been feeding them mediated chick food (now I ran out and I can’t afford more).
Im trying to make fermented food to help boost their digestive health.
I’ll post pics of birds and their poop later tonight when I’m home. Thank you!

 

[Snowingamanda]

Here is the OP’s previous thread:
https://www.backyardchickens.com/threads/please-help-to-tube-feed-my-chick.1339026/

You did see the vet earlier. Did you take in some droppings or have them check the chicken for coccidiosis or worms? Fecal floats can be pricey in some places, but it would save money in the long run on giving unnecessary drugs. The vet could even do a gram stain for enteritis. Sorry for all of your peoblems.

Hi Eggcessive, thank you for the suggestion. Yes, I took the first bird to the vet but I don’t have money or time to do that again. I’m currently flunking my grad school and lost funding because I’m not doing any writing, between my three kids and these sick chicks....I know I should have thought of that before getting chicks but I didn’t know they would be so resistant to treatment :’( now I know better

 

[Wyorp Rock]

Hi, thank you for trying to help. I’m in CA. For Corid I’ve been giving them a couple of drops with a syringe once or twice a day, mixed with a few crumbles of sulfamethoxazole crushed pill. I’ve also had Corid in their water, and Corid and Sulfa in their water for two weeks but now I only do syringe drops in the mouth because I’m running out of corid and it’s expensive for me (I have 3 kids also). I also put s dewormer in their water and asustes them against mites again.
The birds are about 4 months old, the sickest one is the cockerel. I also have some adults with bloody poops (in a totally different yard/inclosure with lots of hay, so no wet/exposed ground even!), and I tried Corid in their water too but no luck so i just stopped. I’m overwhelmed.
I feed chick finisher mixed with scratch but for the Polish I’ve been feeding them mediated chick food (now I ran out and I can’t afford more).
Im trying to make fermented food to help boost their digestive health.
I’ll post pics of birds and their poop later tonight when I’m home. Thank you!

I'm sorry to hear this. You have a lot going on right now.

I'm not a vet nor and expert. Seeking vet care is best, but sometimes that's just not possible. If you can give us more details about the dosing you have been using, that would be great.
Being more precise about dosing would be beneficial - a few crumbles of a pill, it's hard to know if you are giving too much/little.

What did you worm them with (product and dosage)?

IF you have been giving the correct doses for 2 weeks of both Corid and Sulfa drugs, then I think I would stop the medication. Give them some buttermilk with white rice (in addition to their feed). I understand you may be adding scratch to feed to extend it, but I would focus on giving them the chick finisher/feed. Scratch is a filler and treat, it's not as nutritionally dense as a balanced poultry feed which sick/weak birds need. The finisher may also be less protein than chick starter so take a look at that - I would aim for 18-20% protein - you can always give a little egg, meat or fish to boost protein if needed. For now, I would leave off the fermenting of feed, if not done correctly, mold can be a contributor of illness as well. If you wish, soak enough feed that they will consume in a day overnight. My birds love wet feed - I usually just soak it for about an hour or so each morning - making it "fresh" daily.

As for the mites - are those gone completely? If not, then try your best to get them gone. A permethrin poultry dust or spray would be good to use.

 

[Snowingamanda]

I'm sorry to hear this. You have a lot going on right now.

I'm not a vet nor and expert. Seeking vet care is best, but sometimes that's just not possible. If you can give us more details about the dosing you have been using, that would be great.
Being more precise about dosing would be beneficial - a few crumbles of a pill, it's hard to know if you are giving too much/little.

What did you worm them with (product and dosage)?

IF you have been giving the correct doses for 2 weeks of both Corid and Sulfa drugs, then I think I would stop the medication. Give them some buttermilk with white rice (in addition to their feed). I understand you may be adding scratch to feed to extend it, but I would focus on giving them the chick finisher/feed. Scratch is a filler and treat, it's not as nutritionally dense as a balanced poultry feed which sick/weak birds need. The finisher may also be less protein than chick starter so take a look at that - I would aim for 18-20% protein - you can always give a little egg, meat or fish to boost protein if needed. For now, I would leave off the fermenting of feed, if not done correctly, mold can be a contributor of illness as well. If you wish, soak enough feed that they will consume in a day overnight. My birds love wet feed - I usually just soak it for about an hour or so each morning - making it "fresh" daily.

As for the mites - are those gone completely? If not, then try your best to get them gone. A permethrin poultry dust or spray would be good to use.

Hi, and thank you for all the advise!
This is what his poop looks like I did treat them again with permethrin dust and no more mites appeared so I’m guessing the first time got them all.
For worming medication And more specific dosages I’ll check tomorrow morning. I used both, Corid and Sulfa in slightly higher doses than suggested and I have discontinued them since.
Im baffled because the little guy acts totally normal. Eats, drinks, runs around, just doesn’t gain any weight (looks to like losing weight), so I’m guessing not absorbing much of what he eats... but still not fluffled up, not lethargic, doesn’t look sick otherwise ‍

 

[Snowingamanda]

View attachment 1974894
Hi, and thank you for all the advise!
This is what his poop looks like I did treat them again with permethrin dust and no more mites appeared so I’m guessing the first time got them all.
For worming medication And more specific dosages I’ll check tomorrow morning. I used both, Corid and Sulfa in slightly higher doses than suggested and I have discontinued them since.
Im baffled because the little guy acts totally normal. Eats, drinks, runs around, just doesn’t gain any weight (looks to like losing weight), so I’m guessing not absorbing much of what he eats... but still not fluffled up, not lethargic, doesn’t look sick otherwise ‍...

 

[Snowingamanda]

I’ll adjust their feed to take out scratch. I fed them high protein chicken food mixed with wild game food for a while when they were inside and I tried to get him back to health. It’s after I released them outside I started giving them chick finisher with scratch. I’ll take out scratch and will also tu rice and buttermilk, thank you.

 

[SSSophie]

Maria,
Forgive me if I am ignorant here as I have had chickens less than a year and am still learning... But I hope this helps? I went through a similar issue over the past few months. Lost too many chickens. I thought it was coccidiosis and kept treating with Corid. Only to keep losing more chickens. My husband and I were seeing blood in stools so we kept treating. We went through two of the $20 bottles. Every day we were losing birds in a flock that was close to 300. Aside from the blood we were seeing lethargic chickens who were not gaining weight. They would start looking unkept with ruffled feathers, drop their wings, then slowly loose their ability to walk, after that they would die. I spent weeks attempting to nurse these chickens back to health with one after another dieing in my arms. I was ready to just give the whole flock away it was so heartbreaking and that was less than two weeks ago. Then, I was walking around the coop... Staring at chicken poo.... Really upset and beating myself up mentally... Going mad.... Suddenly I saw what I'm pretty sure was a worm. I treated with safeguard. My birds have stopped dieing and I feel less like a twit who kills everything she touches....

Everything happens for a reason and the big guy upstairs has some sort of plan in all of this. Some things are just out of our hands.

I'm not saying that this is what your birds automatically have or anything but I've read this and your other post.. if the Corid isn't doing the trick I would look into an alternative treatment or it's something else causing the issue at hand. How you cared for Plucky and were so dedicated to him was truly amazing and shows what type of person you are. I hope you find a resolution soon and things get better for you and your flock.

-Jen