Chicks & Red Poop: should I be concerned??

[AurumGrace]

Hello BYC.

So i have been raising 15 chicks for 2-3 weeks. I bought them from MyPetChicken.com and they have all been doing splendidly, with no deaths so far.

I've been keeping them in a kennel/cage (perfectly sanitized new) with towels (changed every few days) pellets, medicated chick feed a heat lamp and electrolyte water.

I've let them out many times for dust bathing outside, or to snuggle in my jacket, or even to run around the room for a little while. (lots of poop to clean up afterwards...)

But today I noticed these strange little red poops, sort of a rusty/chestnut/red color. Not bright blood red, and it has the normal texture and appearance of chick-poop. All the chicks are acting normal, eating plenty, drinking, sleeping, and being active.

Then later on, I saw 2 poops which were a little different. Instead of being red poops, they were brown poops covered in this gooey reddish substance, slightly liquidy, but mostly goo.

It didn't look like runny blood... but it didn't look natural. I looked at the BYC poop chart, but I couldn't find one that matched. I don't know what chick it is, so I can't seperate it, and having 15, it isn't easy to figure out which one it is...

What should I do? What is it? Is there a medication I should be giving them? Something I am doing wrong? Is it contagious?

Please help! Thank you

 

[le_bwah]

A poop pic would help, if you can get one. Have they had any treats that might be giving it a color?

 

[Shezadandy]

I would get some Corid for your chicks and I would remove the towels- when you say pellets, do you mean compressed pine pellets? Those are great for dehydrating poop quickly. But the towel may be the source of the issue. Here's a good info article about coccidiosis. If you're at the beginning of the problem, the Corid will keep it from becoming a problem- and won't hurt them if it's not.

 

[AurumGrace]

Thank you for your replies. I haven't been giving them any special treats, so that probably isn't it... Yes, I believe they are compressed pine pellets.

I am planning on seeing today if our local feed store has some Corid, and if not, we'll order some as soon as possible. I did some research and it sounds as if it is okay to give Corid to chicks even if I am not sure they have coccidiosis... is that correct?

I wasn't able to receive the link to the article... would you mind posting it again? If the towel is the problem, I don't mind doing just pellets if that would work better.

Thank you!

I will attempt to get a picture of the next red poop I come across.

 

[le_bwah]

Thank you for your replies. I haven't been giving them any special treats, so that probably isn't it... Yes, I believe they are compressed pine pellets.

I am planning on seeing today if our local feed store has some Corid, and if not, we'll order some as soon as possible. I did some research and it sounds as if it is okay to give Corid to chicks even if I am not sure they have coccidiosis... is that correct?

I wasn't able to receive the link to the article... would you mind posting it again? If the towel is the problem, I don't mind doing just pellets if that would work better.

Thank you!

I will attempt to get a picture of the next red poop I come across.

It is safe to treat with Corid even if you aren't sure. The dosage is by bodyweight, but it would be difficult to actually cause harm with it; it works by blocking thiamine uptake, which kills off coccidia and keeps them from reproducing inside the bird. They'd have to be on a high dosage of Corid for a long time before it caused noticeable side effects.

 

[AurumGrace]

Thank you all for your answers! I have taken out all the towels and replaced with pellets. We are hopefully buying some corid today. I really appreciate your help!

I haven't seen any more blood/red poop yet today, but I will keep watching.