Cocci possible when never left brooder?

[FruAstrida]

I have some newly hatched chicks and just noticed what appears to be an all blood stool? Is it possible for them to have cocci if they haven't been introduced to outside soil?

 

[speckledhen]

Actually, it's more rare, but possible. Chicks can have oocysts in their gut when hatched. Some strains of cocci have even mutated and passed down from the parent stock. Folks I know have lost entire brooders full of chicks and necropsy showed this, chicks who have never touched ground, though with that type of cocci, you don't usually see any bloody poop. The chicks just look lethargic and die suddenly.

 

[FruAstrida]

Thank you for the reply- these chicks seem otherwise healthy. They are new hatches so they do sleep often - but they also move around and perk up too ;-) I just noticed that the stool was very dark and looked red tinged (of course it's hard to tell on a paper towel) Wondering if I should treat or not.

 

[speckledhen]

Is it more pink or actually red and bloody? Sometimes, intestinal lining is shed and can fool you into thinking it's coccidiosis.

 

[FruAstrida]

It is very dark - to the point that sometimes I wonder if it is all black but think I still see red tinge. Would that be intestinal lining? Also, would they have that kind of poop normally just a couple of days after hatching?

 

[speckledhen]

Hard to say. Would have to see a picture of what you're talking about to be more definitive.

 

[FruAstrida]

Ok here is a picture of the poop I described. This one came from a chick a few weeks but I have barely week old chicks with the same type of poop too??? I have one sick hen out in the coop who is isolated. She has progressively gotten worse from not very mobile to unable to stand at all - just rolls over. Worried about the entire flock and the new chicks. Chicks are not in coop with other hens. What do you think?

 

[speckledhen]

That doesn't look like cocci to me.

 

[FruAstrida]

ok Thanks! They are still acting normal