Chickens under 2 months dropping like flys,no noticeable symptoms

[EggSighted4Life]

Yep, lost several a few days after hatch. No signs the night before but in the morning dead chicks and blood everywhere. It was awful!

That sounds awful, sorry for your loss.

Thank you for sharing!

 

[AlleysChicks]

That sounds awful, sorry for your loss.

Thank you for sharing!

It truly was. My first time dealing with it and I was in tears.

 

[Kiki]

It truly was. My first time dealing with it and I was in tears.

And now you keep Corid on hand right?

 

[AlleysChicks]

And now you keep Corid on hand right?

I had some in my chicken kit before just in case. It was there so long it was a month from expiration. I picked some up again afterwards.

 

[EggWalrus]

It truly was. My first time dealing with it and I was in tears.

So sorry about this last loss. Losing chicks is always hard.

 

[ChickenCanoe]

I understand and agree there could be more than meets they eye. Thank you for sharing (and reaffirming) details that could definitely have impact and I may not have considered.

I have seen newly hatched chicks take a drink directly from it's brood mates droppings. Do you know if they can sporulate after being ingested? And can the spores become infectious through inhalation? I see a lot of my chicks bury their beak in shavings while they are sleeping.

I apologize if my post didn't come out friendly enough to the OP! Sometimes questions come off like interrogation I realize... and it's really just my brain processing possibilities and trying to communicate effectively.

Hoping for the rest of you flocks to continue thriving with NO more loss, and some answers for you.

I'm certain that I've been perceived as unfriendly on many occasions. I tend to be more matter of fact and not warm and fuzzy. That comes from a long life of dealing with dire issues and less than friendly adversaries.
Seems like trying to help and giving to the point advice, especially when it isn't what people want to hear, makes them feel attacked.

Coccidia attach to specific segments of the digestive tract and each species prefers a different segment or region.
So I don't imagine that they can become infected from inhalation.
Most animals with soil contact can ingest coccidia. Most coccidia species will only parasitize specific animals. Those that infect chickens won't infect other animals and vice versa. There are species that infect turkeys, pheasants, goats, horses, dogs, cats, etc. but they won't infect other species.
Most say that there are 9 species of eimeria that can infect chickens. I've also seen 7 as the number. But some only attach to the middle portion of the small intestine, some only lower portion, some the ceca and some the duodenal loop. One starts at the top but works its way down and infects the entire small intestine.
An oocyst gets crushed in the bird's gizzard and releases 8 coccidia (sporozoites) which then attach themselves to their species specific preferred portion of the intestine. The sporozoites enter a cell wall, feed, grow and go through asexual reproduction. The infected cell ruptures and the results of that reproduction enter more cells. Fertilized zygotes are produced in the new cells. That zygote is an unsporulated oocyst which passes from the intestine. Then, given optimal conditions, of 70-90F, a moist environment with sufficient oxygen, the oocyst sporulates.

Here are a couple links that will explain in more detail.

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4675589/
https://www.merckvetmanual.com/poultry/coccidiosis/overview-of-coccidiosis-in-poultry

 

[Wyorp Rock]

Most say that there are 9 species of eimeria that can infect chickens. I've also seen 7 as the number.

I'm not trying to start an argument and at the end of the day....does it really matter if there are 7 or 9 strains of Eimeria? We all know with an outbreak it needs immediate attention and treatment.
I usually always refer to the Merck link you posted previously - it has good information.
Anyway, if I read that article correctly (I've read it many times, but I'll probably read it a 100's more before I die and learn something new) I see 9 listed However...the last 2 seem to be questioned as where they come from But, I usually do say 9 strains. LOL
E tenella
E necatrix
E acervulina
E brunetti
E maxima
E mitis
E praecox
E hagani
E mivati

 

[ChickenCanoe]

X2. I've always said 9 but some recent things I've read mentioned 6 and 7.
And it really doesn't matter to almost anyone except a microbiologist or avian pathologist - of which I am not. I just read the research.

I wanted to add a few points to the last post.
Any chicken in the world with soil contact will likely have coccidia in the digestive tract.
A consumed unsporulated oocyst can't parasitize. So those shed into a bone dry environment can't cause a problem.
Eimeria of a species that isn't chicken specific, can't cause a problem.
If chickens have been exposed over time to virulent species, thereby having developed resistance, it can't cause a problem unless there are other issues like Mareks or a bacterial infection compromising the immune system.
IMO, even veterinarians may not be able to differentiate between different species of coccidia or even sporulated oocysts. So when fecal samples are read, they will almost always report that coccidia is present in the feces. That doesn't mean they need treatment.

At any rate, I hope the OP gets to the bottom of it and shares the results of tests.

 

[Elsveta641]

Toxic... is a very misunderstood word that is subjective. In small amounts garlic will little to no effect... I speak confidently about dogs though I am unfamiliar with cats.

The thing is studies that feed large amounts of something to an animal and see that *CAN* cause anemia... and so on are way to sensationalized.. If time is taken to read studies... a lot can be revealed about just what kind of excess took place to achieve said effect.

Great job looking out for fellow BYC'ers though and giving a heads up!




So sorry to hear about your issue and losses.

Coccidiosis won't kill a one week old chick as it hasn't even had time to rear it ugly head yet... that I would contribute as failure to thrive or genetic weakness. At this point... that is the simplest and most likely answer from what I have read (since toxic heat source is ruled out already), and I would definitely start Corid... using a drench dose on any who are already acting sleepy and treatment dose in the water.

I did read the whole thread but I feel like I'm missing some details, if you don't mind a few questions please...

What are you feeding including treats and supplements? How many birds in what size space... per enclosure?

You say they vaccinated... for what? Marek's or coccidiosis?

You also said the vet diagnosed the cat with Giardia... by the phone. Did they have a fecal float to confirm or how did they do this?

You mentioned Goldfeather farm.. so I looked at their website, and don't see an NPIP number listed anywhere...


Links to help... if you need to refrigerate the chick these are packaging instructions if you need to ship...
https://www.backyardchickens.com/threads/how-to-send-a-bird-for-a-necropsy-pictures.799747/

I know you already got your lab # but once more...
https://www.aphis.usda.gov/animal_health/nahln/downloads/all_nahln_lab_list.pdf

Hope you get this figured out.

Hang in there.

Sorry for the delay.I have ADD and am antisocial this is so overwhelming Chicks under 1 month eating chick crumb and grit, over 1 month eating grower and grit. Treats they get vegetable and apple trimmings maybe 4 times a week and the occasional boiled duck egg. There were 30 newborn chicks in a 6x2x2 stock tank now there's 22. There were 15 of the biggest chicks under 1 month old in a 2x5x2 A-frame cage. Theres now 9. There were 15 "grapefruit sized" chickies up to age 3 months in a 10x10 foot pen. Theres now 12. Those are the ones who were vaccinated, both Mareks and Cocci. 3 died.
The vet diagnosed on the phone by being in practice since 1979, knowing there were cats allowed in and out of the house, knowing she had 2 week old babies pooping and peeing god knows where in here enclosure, us having chickens and the over saturated land were on. I've used him for 15 years, I trust his judgment on cats

 

[Elsveta641]

I would normally agree that a 1 week old chick is unlikely to succumb to coccidiosis. Normally it is more like 3 weeks. However, we don't have enough specifics to say for sure. With 7 day old chicks that have been raised in a dry brooder with fresh bedding and clean fixtures, there isn't likely to be any eimeria(the coccidia protozoa infecting chickens) oocysts to be consumed. The oocysts have to sporulate to become infective. Depending on the species, that can take less than 18 hours. Once that happens and more oocysts are shed in the feces and contaminate the bedding, in as little as 4 to 6 days in a warm moist environment, they pass through several generations and there could be millions of oocysts released in the chickens' droppings.
The OP has raised several batches of chicks. Were any of the younger chicks placed on some of the same bedding or the same brooder prior to complete disinfection? Did insects or rodents have access to the brooder? Was there a chance of contamination from clothing? Were the water founts and feeders sterilized between hatches? Were the chicks exactly 7 days old or could they have been 9, 10, 11 days old when they started dying?
Theoretically, if there were any oocysts present in the bedding, water or whatever, when the chicks came out of the incubator, they could have started the eimeria life cycle almost immediately.
Coccidia oocysts are spread on people's shoes, feet or bodies of wild birds, insects, rodents, equipment that hasn't been thoroughly cleaned, etc..

The brooder is cleaned once or twice a week depending on number of chicks in there. The water and food is cleaned and replaced at least once a day. HOWEVER I do sometimes take the bigger ones out for sunshine when it finally comes out. In a bottomless cage so they can foreage for bugs. Won't be doing that anymore And I do not change clothes in between each batch of animals I tend to so yes I suppose it's possible