Chickens possibly have Coccidiosis....Please Help!!!

[BirdZilla]

Ok so I have a small flock of seven chcikens. They are five Ameracaunas and two Banny's. So about two weeks ago I noticed that they were feeling under weight and eating alot more feed than usual. They lay very well and seemed fine. I went to my local feed store and they suggested that I worm my chickens, I have raised chickens my wholelife and never had this problem or any other problem. So i wormed my chickens two weeks ago, well everything seemed fine until I saw they bloody poo! I freaked out. The lady at the feed store said that they had Coccidiosis, I am not familiar with the symptoms or the treatments. I did one treatment three days ago and did another one today. Please help if you can I am worried about my girls!!!!!

A worried Mommy!

 

[chookchick]

Can you give us a little more info? How old are these chickens? (they seem a little old for cocci). What wormer did you use? When you say "treatment" what do you mean--for cocci or worms? Do they look sick (not active, hunched up, not eating a lot?) I would lay off of any meds until you figure out what is really going on.

 

[MoodyChicken]

Bloody droppings is the telltale sign. Depression, weight loss, and paleness are all very common too. Sulfur based antibiotics, coccidiostats (Dimethox, Amproleum), Apple Cider Vinegar, and garlic are all some of the treatments. Coccidiosis is found in the soil, and all chickens usually have some number of cocci in their digestive tract. It is generally stress induced. Stress weakens the immunity and a weak immunity lowers the pH in the digestive tract to a favorable environment for the cocci. When the cocci multiply to a high number, they start to damage in the intestinal lining. Keep your birds calm and warm, offer plenty of fresh feed and water, and begin treating. Treat all of your birds for no longer than 2 weeks (any longer and your birds will suffer vitamin K deficiency). Isolate really sick birds to aid in recovery. Offer fresh greens. It sounds like your birds have a mild case (if they're perky and eating well), in which case they should recover fine. Be prepared to treat any prolapses. Prolapse of the vent is common.

 

[JennsPeeps]

My BR had cocci but the other didn't, even though same age. I treated her with Sulmet, per the instructions on the bottle. You cannot eat the eggs for the 6 days of treatment, nor for the 10 days following.

The BR's cocci is 100% cleared up now and she no longer seems depressed and skinny. We're waiting for her to start laying again... any... darn... day.

 

[BirdZilla]

Well there are close to about a year maybe al little older. THey seem to act fine but now someof them have lost feahers on there behind areas. Before they had lost alot of weight but they seem to still feel fine "acting normal" running around they aloways follw me around begging for scraps. I feed my chickens alot of food so I know they are not starving, they also eat alot of scraps aka greens, yogurt, cherrios etc. I'm just not sure what to do. The people at the feed store seem to think its cocci, but they also said it was intestional worms. So I really dont know what to think.