Chicks Dying

[realsis]

I am so glad you got ahold of someone. when you speak with them again and if the chicks are still not responding to the Corid ask the pathologist if she suggests switching to Sulmet. I know Corid kills The MOST COMMON forms of cocci but their are many strains. if I remember correctly Sulmet gets the strains that Corid does not. Corid is first choice because it kills the most common. But if I remember right, some folks in the past had to switch to Sulmet. See if the person knows anything about that. if it IS considered coccidosis and you are getting no improvement with Corid, you might make the decision to give Sulmet a try. if I was in your shoes that is what I might do. What a awful experience! I am so sorry. I've been through a large loss once and I know it's absolutely devastating. what happened with mine was I was giving a live virus vaccine. The point was to give them a very small amount of the virus and their bodies develop immunity when they fight the virus.well, they got the virus. But NONE were able to get through it and I lost them! it was so horrible! now the ONLY vaccine my birds get is MAREKS. I had no idea that a live virus vaccine carried such a risk. Anyway, I do understand how your feeling and how frustrating it is.Your in my thoughts and Prayers. I hope in some small way I've helped . Again, I'm so very sorry.Keep us posted please.

 

[kuchchicks]

Thank you so much. It is really hard. I truly love these birds. I HATE that I have lost so many and now feel so helpless. I am almost afraid to even go outside and look for fear of find more dead. I'm so stressed.

As for the treatment, the person I spoke with today said that she did not know what the best treatment methods were. While she was vet and the pathologist she said that treating the live birds were not her specialty. And since it was late on Friday everyone else was gone for the weekend. Right now I am giving 1 1/2 t per gallon of water of Corrid for 7 days. At what point should I switch to Sulmet? Should I do the full 7 days and then do Sulmet to just be on the safe side? I'm so nervous and scared.

I have called over a dozen vets in the area. No one does chickens. There is one farm vet in the next town over but I cannot get a hold of them. I am going to try to call again tomorrow.

For the necropsy I actually have to drive to Columbus which is a little over 2 hours away. If they are are continuing to die I of course am going to do it. BUT if the corrid and Sulmet handle it, do you think I should still do it? The pathologist said that just about any vet should be able to test the stool sample to tell if it was Coccidosis. I left a message with my vet (for our dogs and cats) to see if they can test it. I guess if it came back positive and I knew that's what the problem was then maybe the necropsy would not be necessary?

And finally, if it is diagnosed 100% coccidosis, how do I stop this in the future? These are new chicks that I got as day olds from a hatchery. I have older birds and my flock range in age from 6 months to 3 years. All of my birds pretty much interact between 3 coops. These 9 week old chicks were not anywhere near my older birds (though I just had one of my 6 month old silkies in another pen die yesterday as well... now wondering if I should go ahead and treat all of the coops in case I am transmitting it on my boots.... ugh! What a nightmare!)

You all have been wonderful. Thank you for the support. It does help some to know that there are people out there who care enough to try to help me find an answer and save my birds.

 

[realsis]

Yes this has to be a personal judgement call but I agree with you trying the Corid and then if no improvement as a last effort trying the Sulmet. if I remember correctly reading back yard chickens some years back someone else was faced with this as well and Sulmet was effective where Corid was not. I also agree that if coccidosis is confirmed no need to have s tate lab testing. To help prevent coccidosis in the future medicated feed can be used. Also there is a natural way to help the chicks develop a SLOWLY immunity to the cocci in your soil. it's by bringing very SMALL amounts of your soil into the brooder area. letting them scratch about and SLOWLY develop immunity that way. ALL soil has cocci. There are SEVERAL different strains. it's when the chicks get overloaded too quickly with a strain that they become sick. I do both medicated feed AND introduce very SMALL amounts of the soil. Yes treating ALL the birds won't hurt them and might be a good idea. I like helping and I DO care about lot. I have been blessed in the past to have been helped by some very wonderful and caring people! I just want to pay the favor back to others if I can.I do my very best to TRY to help as if they were my own birds.in the past I had three birds at different times come down with very severe cases of wry neck. I was walked through treatment and offered support and it meant the world to me. I now want to help others when I can. I'm so sorry about your silkie. That's awful! I just lost a Silkie myself about two weeks ago. it's so horrible to find them like that..Mine was broody and setting on eggs. She was about 4 years old.She was fine. I noticed a bit light but she ALWAYS got light while broody. she was eating and drinking. The day before she was cooing and fine. The next morning I checked on her and she fell over dead on her eggs. I was heartbroken. I have NOT idea what happened to her! Anyway, I'm here for you if you need a friend. my prayer is that we get your birds healthy and you don't loose anymore! if we can figure out how to stop this nightmare and you can start enjoying your birds again that would be Great!! Keep me posted on what's happening and I have you in my thoughts and prayers. I'm here if you need a friend.

 

[kuchchicks]

So I have been feeding medicated feed... Can they still get coccidiosis WITH medicated feed? Does that mean maybe I'm looking at something else?

I need to go out and feed now. I just keep laying here in my bed not wanting to go for fear of what I am going to find. And at the same time want to desperately go out HOPING all of them will be ok. I hate the not knowing. Not knowing what this is. Not knowing how to stop it. Not knowing how many more I'm gonna lose. I feel so powerless.

 

[kuchchicks]

I have an appointment today to have a fecal sample tested. Unfortunately they cannot see any of the birds until Monday. The only thing to note is that some of the stool is very watery - still brownish but not solid at all. Also I was picking up and looking at a few of them... some of them seem about the right weight, but some seem incredibly thin and lite. I started Corid last night. I'm doing 1 1/2 t per gallon. But I am wondering if I should give them something else to try to bulk them up a bit. I am feeding a regular medicated starter feed. I am not positive but think the protein level is typically 18%. Should I give something like cracked corn or scrambled eggs to try to get some more nutrition in there?

 

[kuchchicks]

So the fecal sample showed higher than normal coccidiosis but not so high they thought it would cause the number of deaths it has. The vet will not be available til Monday to see any of the birds so I was told to keep giving corid. The vet tech I spoke with said that it was most likely a parasite if some sort killing them if not coccidiosis. Any thoughts?

Also thoughts on adding Nutri drench? What about feeding eggs to try to bulk them up s bit? None of the vet techs could really guide me much.

 

[Wyorp Rock]

An all flock type feed usually has around 20%protein.
Corn is not going to "bulk them up". How much treats are included in their daily diet (this includes everything besides poultry feed)?
Continue the Corid.
How old? Around 8-9wks? Parasites could be a possibility, but that's fairly young for worms.
Nutri-drench won't hurt. Since you are giving Corid, I would dose each bird according to the instructions on the bottle instead of adding it to the water.
Make sure the Corid is the only source of water available to them.
Do you feel like they are losing weight?
I've just glanced through the thread, trying to pick out the highlights.
How large is the coop that you moved them to? How many birds are left?
Do you have photos? Any symptoms at all that you can think of? What breed do you have?

 

[realsis]

eggs are a great idea. I always feed scrambled when mine are under the weather. They really love them and eagerly eat them even if they are not eating anything else. I have nutri drench . I've used it in the past as well. I didn't noticed any results from using it but I do believe it helped the inside with the nutrients. There is a product I start using with my chicks that I think is WONDERFUL. I stumbled onto it about 5 years ago when my chick had pasty butt. after using it awhile They never had loose stool again. I did some research on the benifits of using products like this on chickens and I was convinced. it's a Probotic.Its called PROBIOS. and I won't be without it.it has 10 million colony forming units of GOOD bacteria.Once the good bacteria establish in the gut they can actually beat out the bad illness causing bacteria keeping them healthy and balanced.you know how people feed yougart to help the gut of the birds? This is the same principles but much much better than yougart and a lot easier to give. I put a small amount daily in the drinking water.It has ALL of the Top health promoting bacterial and more! one bottle lasts a long time too! after this post, I will take a picture of the product and post it so you know what your looking for. anyway, the vet thinks it's a parasite? I always thought chicks were too young to get parasites such as worms. I'm sure she's meaning another type of parasite. My take on that is that I'm wondering if the mother hen passed down to the chicks something but that wouldn't make since because they all have different mothers. These came from a hatchery or breeder? I can't remember if you said? The only thing I can think of is that the parasites must have came from the hatching physicality. What do you think? I'm going to post a pic of the probotic nest post. I swear by this stuff. it's always been great for my girls. you can order online and sometimes find it in the chicken supplies at the farm store.

 

[kuchchicks]

They are 9 weeks old. I really don't give them treats at this point. I don't know if they are LOSING weight, but I just felt like some of them felt really lite when I was picking them up. Some are definitely much heavier than the others. I currently have 19 out of 29 birds left. They are RIR and Plymouth Rock. Honestly no symptoms other than falling over dead with no warning. Coop is probably 4x8 feet with a run.

 

[realsis]

This is the stuff.