Chicks have stool in blood, dropping fast

[shopper]

New to this forum and new to this problem. From what I've been reading, I think my 3 week old chicks have Coccidiosis. Poor lighting and woodchips delayed diagnosis (if I'm right). They eat well and not lethargic until today.
Little stool, lots of blood. I was afraid they might have been eating the wood.
Have started milk treatment but I'm confused about the Amproylium. Isn't that the same as "Amp" that's in my medicated starter? And if it is, do I still add powder to the feed?
Also, do I use vinegar water between milk treatments? Thanks for any help.

 

[emilyweck]

I've heard of Corid being a good remedy.

 

[silkiechicken]

Now that you see bloody poo that means they are in the late stages of an infection by this protozoa called cocci. At this point, you will want to go out and get a drug called sulmet from the feed store asap. Dose according to the bottle, and do finish the dose as it is potent, and they should recover in a few days.

The amprol in the feed is a preventative which means it inhibits the growth of cocci in the gut if it is present at low levels, but moist litter can casue cocci oocysts to be in such great number they eat enough to make them sick. The ammount in the feed is low to only help build immunities so I'd strip that brooder down and scrub it clean, give them the right meds and strip clean it for a few days in a row to get rid of any high concentrations of potential cocci protozoa that is expelled till they perk back up. Making sure it stays dry is a good preventative.

I personally don't believe that vinegar, water, milk and other "preventative cures" will be able to save them at this point if they are lethargic AND have bloody stools. Sulmet is a good thing to have on hand and it stores for a good number of years. It is potent though so follow through with treatment on the bottle as per poultry, as it is normally labeled for swine/cattle.

Good luck!

 

[shopper]

Great info, thanks. Moved the chicks to a different brooder right away and started the milk only because the feed store was closed when I made this discovery. Figured it couldn't hurt in the meantime. Feed store AM, brooder scrub PM. Thanks again.

 

[davylindas]

I know a breeder of Silkies who said it is her practice to not mix anything with the sulfa drugs or Corid while treating for Cocci. Even though unfiltered apple cider vinegar is an excellent nutritional aid for chickens, she believes that it could dilute or interrupt the effectiveness of the drugs. She says to treat with the treated water and medicated pellets only until chicks are healthy and stable.

I have decided to make my brooders using a tightly woven wire bottom for my two week plus chicks. Younger chicks should NEVER be kept on pine shavings, wood pellets or newspaper. Use paper towels, or rubber textured shelve liners which can be sanitized and reused. I have read that because Cocci is transferred through the stools, a wire bottom helps to reduce disease outbreak exponentially. I will place newspaper on the floor under the brooders and change it frequently, and clean the floor with an Oxine solution before putting down a fresh layer of newspaper. One end of the brooder will have a heat source with a thin layer of hay which I will replace daily. The other end will be the food and water which will sit on the wire. That way the water stays cleaner, and the spilled food and droppings fall through. I have also replaced heat lamps with light bulbs. I use 75 which I can raise and lower to control temp in brooders. I believe my horrific loss of chicks (as a newbie chick raiser) was due to having the brooders too warm. Now I also have thermometers.

Wire should be cleaned regularly with an Oxine solution, and brooders completely cleaned between batches of chicks. Eventually I will find my plumb line and equalibrium. But for now I would rather err on the side of extra cleanliness than to lose chicks again to Cocci and other types of deadly diseases to chicks.

 

[Judy]

http://www.clemson.edu/public/lph/ahp/disease_links/images/coccidia.pdf

https://www.backyardchickens.com/forum/viewtopic.php?id=368508

https://www.backyardchickens.com/forum/viewtopic.php?id=461910

The last link has a recipe for a home treatment -- not that they don't need the Corid or sulfa, but this will maybe help control it til you can get the medicine.

 

[silkiechicken]

Quote:
Honestly, I would introduce chicks early to cocci oocysts. Early exposure at LOW levels will go miles in gaining and maintaining immunity as adults.