Cocci is LETHAL...DO NOT take it lightly...

[jbs]

Sorry for your loss and thanks for posting your story. Many of us are new at this and the info on this site is really invaluable. Your story may help save someone else's chick from cocci, maybe one of mine. I haven't been able to get my 5 week chicks out on the dirt yet because their coop and run aren't done yet, so i'm worried about cocci. Reading a few stories like yours prompted me to buy Corrid, so i can treat at the first sign of illness. I've been giving them boxes of dirt that they eat and take dust baths in, but i'm not sure if that will be enough to build up their immunity.

Don't beat yourself up too much, you did the best that you could.

 

[TinaCiesla]

Quote:
Thanks for posting this! I'm encouraged to know that someone is already learning from this situation. It definitely makes me feel better. Thank you to all those who have contributed to this knowledge as well.
Tina

 

[Gama]

I'm sorry you lost your baby.

I have been slowly building up a medical kit with some basics. I just ordered some corid from jeffers.com after reading your post, but I hope I never have to use it.

Again, I am sorry for your loss.

 

[Katydid2011]

My heart goes out to you.

I got caught once without medication on a Sunday evening and had to wait until Monday morning because everything was closed. I was up all night, worried sick. I ended up with Sulmet because that's all I could find that Monday morning and I'm glad I did. It's worked for me every time, thus far. The moment I see a chick fluffed up and looking subdued (absent any other symptoms) I isolate and treat for cocci with Sulmet, plain yogurt, and electrolytes. I've never seen the bloody poop stage and I'm thankful for that.

BTW - I'm in 100% agreement with speckledhen. I make sure my chicks have soil to scratch around in right from the start in the brooder.

Again, I'm so sorry for your loss.

 

[seminolewind]

Quote:
You can put them on medicated feed.

 

[kaybats]

Bless all your hearts for posting here! I don't know why it still surprises me that there is so much more to learn. I especially did not know that chicks need to hit the ground so early! I thought this might be happening because I put them out too soon. And my heart goes out to everyone who has had losses

UPDATE:

Out to the barn as usual yesterday morning and my spirits were lifting. Feed was being eaten, the medicated water was being consumed and in general, everyone was looking quite perky. I started to have high hopes by the time I locked up for the night.

This morning, however, another puffball!! Naturally, my heart sank, and I chided myself for making the assumption that I'd had this licked. She was gone by mid-morning. Maybe I was being paranoid, but every time I saw someone laying down and/or had their eyes closed, I was in there poking at them! But, they just got up, started running around peeping, ate a little and drank some water.

I had to run to town this afternoon for feed and whatnot. I also stopped at the vet to ask some questions. Especially about dosing the Corid. I thought to myself, could I be under-dosing? over-dosing? In my opinion, the dosing instructions are not very clear on the bottle and were, in fact, for calves. I did some searches here and on the net in general and all I got was a headache. The vet wasn't there and wouldn't be in til tomorrow and nobody in the office had a clue....that shocked me just a bit. The girls said they didn't deal much with birds....WHAT? There are more farms around here than anything else

SIGH!! So I checked and rechecked my math and I THINK I did it right, but still not 100% sure.

Anyway, back out to the barn, and, you guessed it!!! ANOTHER puffball. She's on my kitchen table as we speak. Every once in a while, she seems OK, but them slips right back into it. She is number 3...I 've seen the progression and I know what's coming. Does NOT make it ANY easier.

Am soooo NOT looking forward to going out to the barn...my heart is breaking...but I've got to check on them.

Thank you all so much for being here!

 

[kaybats]

OK. This one has done something the others hadn't. Just as I had posted the last post, she started cheeping and I RAN into the kitchen to see her going for the food. She ate a little and made a poop. There was white stuff, but also what looked like a tiny little (pardon me) turd. It was not real "red bloody" , but still looked like it could be blood. She refused water, I kinda forced it on her though.

Also, would it be too much if I gave an anitbiotic along with the Corid? And if I did, would I mix them together, or have separate waterers?

 

[Prisserbabe]

How do chickens get cocci? how does it spread? I am getting all worried for my chickens sake!

 

[kaybats]

Quote:
It's in the dirt, not quite sure exactly *what* in the dirt.....been too busy battling the disease. Chicks hatched to a broody hen have more immunity to it than chicks raised in a brooder. And chicks let out onto the ground sooner build up an immunity faster than chicks let out later. I would have thought it would be the other way around. Goes to show ya how much I need to learn!

 

[Blue_Myst]

Quote:
I'm so sorry you're still losing chicks! But you're taking every effort to make your chicks better, and I have no doubt you will!

Don't give them antibiotics unless you suspect an infection. It will only make it harder to treat your chickens with antibiotics later on, and trust me, you want a flock that will respond to antibiotics when they actually need them.

As for Corid dosage, here's a link on a BYC'er asking the same question. I'm sorry if this is one you've all ready looked at: https://www.backyardchickens.com/forum/viewtopic.php?id=204211

Heywood recommended giving 2 teaspoons of 9.6% Corid solution to 1 gallon of water. She also gave a very good recipe for a pro-biotic mash to help your chicks recover.

There could be several reasons why the Corid isn't working quite as it should be. For one, like you mentioned, the dosage could be weaker than required. If you put anything else in their water, like Apple Cider Vinegar, it may tamper with the Corid and make it ineffective. It could also be that you just have a very resilient strain of cocci on your hands.

Thank you for posting this thread--it will help a lot of chicken owners. Cocci is a disease every chicken owner should know about.