chicks bleeding from vent/bloody discharge

[Echoinghills]

chicks are 8-10 wks old, just switched over to 20% non medicated starter. They were on Purina medicated chick starter, and have only been on the new feed for 4 days. Already lost afew chicks, just found blood in the pine shavings today, and upon checking for injuries, found bloody vents (on feathers) and a chick actually discharged blood in front of me. I cant say it is bloody poo...because no stool appeared in the blood at all. Makes no sense to me! I brought in the lethargic chicks, and most are eating/drinking...feel very underweight though and bony. These are cochins, and the ones i lost were welsummer and afew cochins today. I just lost the welsummer cockerals yesterday. Tonight i lost another cochin!!! Any ideas??? I am at a loss...dont know what is going on, but i wonder about the feed change and i got another bag of Purina chick starter tonight.

 

[Matt A NC]

Sounds like they have Cocci. They most likely had it on the other feed, but the meds were keeping it at bay. Once that was gone the Cocci infested fast. You need Sulmet or Corrid fast, most feed stores carry either medication or both. Once they start bleeding you have very little time to save them.

Matt

 

[Echoinghills]

I have Albon for the water, will that work quick enough if i start them tonight?

 

[lilchick]

Sounds like coccidiosis to me. It builds up in their body and reaches maturity at about the ages yours are. Even with the medicated feed they can still get it.
I use the powdered form of Corid which can be bought at most farm stores. You can purchase the liquid form from your vet. Treat all the chicks cause it spreads quickly.

I would google coccidiosis in poultry and read up on it. Good luck!

 

[lilchick]

I just looked up Albon and read it was used to treat dogs and cats for coccidia. Never heard of it being used on chickens. I know several drugs we do use for poultry are labeled for other livestock.
Use your own judgement on this..

Do you have a vet to call in a.m. to ask?

When I have treated my chicks I have used sugar in the medicated water and mixed it into feed to make a soupy mix for them. Gets more of the drug into them quickly.

 

[Echoinghills]

Sorry... the actual drug name is Sulfadimethoxine (Albon 12.5% oral solution) labeled for swine, chickens, turkey, cattle... it is called Albon for short, but on label is also Di-Methox i guess to shorten it for the agricultural use. It is labeled in turkey and poultry to treat coccidiosis, fowl cholera, and infectious coryzoa. Also suppose to help with respiratory infections. I bought a gallon of it for my other animals here...and found it could be used in poultry also, so i always keep it on hand. 1/2 oz to 1 gallon water is what the label states. I hope this works... between it and the medicated feed again. Sigh!!!!

 

[lilchick]

Great! I just never heard of it called Albon but know what it is when called Sulmet...

Hopefully you can save most of the chicks. Medication, keeping them warm and quiet to rest will help also.
If appetite decreases you can also feed them scrambled eggs mixed with yogurt. good luck!

 

[Kittymomma]

I've used it for kittens but have always used Corid (Amprolium) for the chickens. If it were me and I didn't have any Corid on hand I'd use it. As others have mentioned, once you start seeing blood it's treat quickly or they'll start dropping on you. Oh, just saw it's the same as Sulmet. That should work just fine, best of luck with your little ones.

 

[Echoinghills]

Thanks Everyone!!! I hope it works... i brought in the worst chicks, isolated in their own box...the ones that were really lethargic and didnt run to the water, we just lost another one...but the other 3 that were bad off are drinking and now eating the medicated feed! Fingers crossed!!!! The others in the brooder i may have caught before they started with the blood...they are still running about pretty good and eating/drinking, so hopefully i got this before they got down with it. I have other chicks that are isolated from them also....i seen some blood in their box today also, but nothing like this...maybe i caught them in time also. I wondered about the change in feed, because it didnt make any sense to me how both are separated and i am seeing blood like that. The box in my house that is isolated from the chicks outside didnt have much...just alittle in shavings, but still enough for me to notice. Just one of those things that makes me scratch my head.