Chick deaths

[orpington123]

hi all. I have recently bought a black copper maran hen with 3 gold top chicks and 3 maran chicks. She is a super mother and the chicks were a week old and before a week all the gold tops died. They went all droopy a while before their death. I had a similar experience with a gamefowl hen with 7 chicks who was a super mother also but out of seven their is only 4 left. The chicks were 5 weeks old when I got them and the ones that died went all droopy and then died about 5 hours after they showed signs of illness. Pretty annoying and like to know why. Thanks in advance

 

[AudieWarren]

Cocci maybe?

 

[Wyorp Rock]

hi all. I have recently bought a black copper maran hen with 3 gold top chicks and 3 maran chicks. She is a super mother and the chicks were a week old and before a week all the gold tops died. They went all droopy a while before their death. I had a similar experience with a gamefowl hen with 7 chicks who was a super mother also but out of seven their is only 4 left. The chicks were 5 weeks old when I got them and the ones that died went all droopy and then died about 5 hours after they showed signs of illness. Pretty annoying and like to know why. Thanks in advance

Sorry to hear about your loss.
We can only speculate-Coccidiosis would be a guess, but since you lost all of the Gold Tops and none of the Marans died, it could have been a genetic defect or failure to thrive. Without testing/necropsy, there is no way to know for sure.

If you happen to lose any more, contact your State Lab and make arrangements for analysis.

 

[rebrascora]

Are you saying that you bought the broody and chicks, so they were new to your place? If so, that would strengthen the case for coccidiosis. Birds develop resistance to the coccidia in their home environment/soil. If they are moved, there may be different strains of coccidia in the new ground that they have no resistance to. Chicks will be much more susceptible to this as they are only just building up their resistance to coccidia in the first place, so any sudden change in environment will make them more vulnerable. The gold tops may have been weaker due to genetics although being a cross, they would normally have hybrid vigour on their side. Did you use medicated feed for the chicks.
It would be worth getting some Corid or Amprolium to have on hand and dose any other chicks as soon as they start showing symptoms. I am guessing you may be in the UK since Goldtops are more common here. You can get Amprolium liquid on line branded as "Harkers Coxoid" if I remember rightly....can't lay hands on my bottle right now to check, but it is sold for use in pigeons. If you are in the USA, Corid is available in the cattle section of most farm stores I believe.

 

[orpington123]

Thanks. I bout the hen and chicks together and never heard of cocciand I’ll check my local Agri store. I live in Ireland though

 

[Eggcessive]

You will want to get amprollium or amprol possibly from a vet or a farm store that deals with cattle and other livestock. It is the same as out Corid in the US. It goes in the water for 5-7 days. In some countries sulfa antibiotics (sulfadimethoxine, sulfazine) are used, or toltrazuril (Baycox.) Those may be strictly obtained from a vet. Here i is some reading about coccidiosis:


http://www.thepoultrysite.com/publications/2/Coccidiosis Management/43/symptoms-and-diagnosis/
http://www.chickenvet.co.uk/health-and-common-diseases/coccidiosis/index.aspx
http://www.the-chicken-chick.com/coccidiosis-what-backyard-chicken/

 

[rebrascora]

Coccidiosis is the commonest killer of chicks, probably worldwide. You can often buy medicated chick crumbs and the medication is to prevent a build up of coccidia (not an antibiotic as many people wrongly assume)..... Coccidia are tiny organisms that live and breed in the gut of animals and their eggs (oocycts) are everywhere Broody reared chicks, because they are exposed to soil and dirt from an early age are usually quite resistant to them and they get some resistance from eating their broody mothers poop but if they are suddenly moved to a new area, they are much more susceptible to it because the strain of coccidia in the new area may be different to the ones they have been brought up with.
I am so sad that you have lost chicks in this way but hopefully you can prevent further problems.
You will find it easier to buy a small bottle of Harker's Coxoid online than something in your farm store if you are in Ireland I think, but it is worth looking. I'm not sure what the product is here in the UK for cattle and whether you would be able to buy it easily over the counter and it would probably come in bulk packs because cattle are big beasts, so you might be better getting Harkers Coxoid for pigeons if you can. I think I got mine off ebay. Obviously Ireland may be quite different to the UK but I would imagine rules and regulations about drugs would be more similar to the UK than the USA, being part of Europe.

Symptoms of Coccidiosis are:- going off food, looking hunched, sleepy and weak, loose or sometimes bloody or mucous poop.