Cocci Questions

[chickenchick04]

From what I've read and seen on this site, it would appear that two of our four hens have cocci. I think the third one has had it but managed to recover on her own. We are picking up amprol/corid this afternoon to start treating them but I'm wondering whether I should add it to the water that they all drink out of or whether I should somehow try to segregate the two and only give it to them. If I give it to all of them, will it affect our one and only hen who is finally laying eggs? She's the only one that doesn't appear to ever have been affected. Can we still eat the eggs? Also, we would like to add more chicks to our coop sometime in the next couple of weeks. I know that cocci is a naturally occurring thing, but should we still try to do something to sanitize the coop and the run before we add to our flock? I think that's all my questions...for now

 

[winekntrychicks]

You can never get rid of cocci in the yard. It's everywhere. I would separate the birds in question and treat. The shower enclosure make a great hospital; easy to disinfect when the patients are released. Or you can treat the whole flock passively they can build immunity to cocci.

 

[atimme]

If they are all running together then treat them as a group. If they are drinking, eating, or walking on the same ground then the cocci bug is in all of their system, only some are actually showing symptoms. Don't eat the eggs until the proper withdrawal time printed on the packaging. If you are planning on adding to your flock I would STRONGLY dissuade you from doing so until the birds you have been treated and symptom free for a month at least. Then go through and completely clean everything, coop, feeders, waterers, roosts and spray with DC&R Disinfectant. It's a commercial grade spray and works great. I wouldn't mess around with bleach, not with proven cocci about. Rinse everything well. Then you can safely add new birds. After quarantining them of course! You'd be asking for heartbreak to not do these things.

 

[chickenzoo]

Corid is the same chemical in medicated feed....so I think even if you treat all of them, it will not hurt them.

 

[winekntrychicks]

The best defense against cocci is immunity. If your birds are out in the open and wild birds are in the air they shed cocci as well. All the cleaning and disinfecting in the world will not eradicate cocci. It is present every where. Your goal is to treat infected birds and "cut down" the colony of cocci.

 

[Qi Chicken]

If one bird has it they all do. Treat them all in the water. If you get the liquid it says 5ml per gallon but lots of people use 9 ml/gallon. I tried 5 ml for 5 days and the chickens were still lethargic although the bloody stool stopped. They were still eating medicated food so I upped it to 7 ml for 4 days I think then back down again. (per a vets advice) They are ok now. There is really no point in sanitizing as cocci is everywhere. From what I read a new chick under mom eats her poop and gradually builds up an immunity. If your new chickens will be chicks and they are exposed early on they will hopefully be ok. Older birds might have an issue. Definitely quarantine them though as you don't want your current chickens exposed to anything else.

 

[chickenchick04]

Thanks everyone. So (and please excuse my ignorance), once they've been successfully treated is it something they are immune to or is it something that can come back again? Kind of late now, but we butchered and ate one of our roosters a couple of weeks ago before I'd figured out what was going on. Please tell me cooking kills off the cocci...

 

[winekntrychicks]

Quote:
My experience has been this. I have chicks that I expose to the outside in gradual time increments each day. I let them stay out longer each time. Their systems are not medicated and they get a gradual exposure over time. They do build up antibodies. They have never gotten sick. Then I have groups of chicks (when I first began chicken keeping) who are on medicated food who go from brooder to outside cold turkey and get cocci. I have never had a chick or chicken die from cocci. I treat but I don't go overboard with the disinfecting thing. Did my grandparents do that? No and they never had problems. I had one lady here on the forum say that with all new chicks she puts a big momma's poo in the chicks water and she had never had cocci ever in her flocks. I have never done that but my babies who live with their momma's have never had cocci. It the ones that come from retail stores are the ones that have had issues.
Great article: http://attra.ncat.org/attra-pub/PDF/coccidiosis.pdf