chickens dying daily! HELP!!!!

[casportpony]

Once again, I am very appreciative for the people who have responded on this thread, and especially for your honesty. I was under the impression that most good chicken owners just give some type of coccidiosis prevention medication as a responsible safeguard against the parasite....much like I do for my goats. Now that several of you have been honest enough to admit that you do not do that, I feel much better.

But I'm not sure if we are all just being a little bit neglectful or not. So from those who know, please respond to my question: Should all chicken owners give coccidiosis treatment periodically through a chickens lifetime, or should it only be treated if there are symptoms and/or known exposure to cocci?

Thanks.

Kevin

I treat only when I see symptoms, and if I see symptoms in one that's housed with others, all of them get treated. Make sense? I also get baseline weights on mine... Growing chicks and poults should make daily gains and if they don't, they're sick. Not saying you should weight every chick daily, but maybe weigh all of them now, then again in a week. Keep doing something like that until you figure out what normal gain for you flock is.

-Kathy

 

[Eepster]

I'm not sure if it is the same with chickens, but with goats if you treat them a bunch when they don't need it, when they really need it it's less effective. The reason being is that only the strong parasites survive, and then they have strong baby parasites. If you keep switching the medicine it helps the medicines stay effective. I don't treat my birds for anything, but no one has been sick yet. If they were sick, I would find out what it was and then treat them all for it.

 

[tridentk9]

I'm with Kathy and Eepster. Treat for symptoms, allow for some of your coccidiostats to be effective. Build up a good immune system. A good immune system isn't achieved by one thing, it's a gestalt of living.

If by some chance you do manage to have a coccidia free environment and chickens- they have a lowered chance of fighting off any coccidia- their body doesn't know how. Good for a lab, bad for a backyard flock.

Though this theory might not be good for all parasites or diseases

 

[seminolewind]

2) There was an abnormally high amount of blood in the intestinal track

Cityman, A few years ago I lost 2 pullets overnight and one the next night with no symptoms whatsoever. My guess was necrotic enteritis and that can be silent, and can be caused by cocci or bacteria. When I lifted the bodies , blood came running out. All my non-symptomatic birds got put on corid right away and I didn't lose any more. There was just never any symptoms the day before. So I wonder if the high amount of blood in the intestines may be something more than coccidiosis, or something that ate thru the intestinal wall.

 

[Papas Chickens]

I have only lost chickens from old age and that darn redtail hawk. I never treated my chickens for cocci. I live in Arizona, is it more likely or less likely to get cocci out here?

 

[Eepster]

Cocci live near the bottom of grass stalks. When it rains, they climb up the stalk. If you have tall grass they are less likely to get a bad case of cocci. If it doesn't rain very much where you live your birds are less likely to get cocci.

 

[Papas Chickens]

No tall grass here, heck there isnt any grass at all lol. We only get rain during monsoon season wich is right now but its a good time spread between storms and when its not raining its hotter then heck over 100 everday during the summer. We have sand and clay out here.

 

[little buddy]

I have been following this thread and still hoping to learn more. I lost 3 hens in the last month. Two died quick with no symptoms. One looked awful and she was checked out at the vet. A stool sample showed nothing. I had to put her down a week later. I never had an sick or dead bird for three years before this. I feel awful about losing them.

 

[JasyChixMix]

Following. Looks like I'll be having to treat for cocci, I've lost 5 in the last couple of weeks, with the same symptoms. I'm also treating for mites, but mites shouldn't be killing them like this. I also live in the Middle TN area.

 

[casportpony]

Following. Looks like I'll be having to treat for cocci, I've lost 5 in the last couple of weeks, with the same symptoms. I'm also treating for mites, but mites shouldn't be killing them like this. I also live in the Middle TN area.

Sorry for your losses. TN is one of the states that does free or very low cost necropsies. Contact them and they will give you shipping instructions:
https://vetmed.tennessee.edu/vmc/dls