Cocci

[Lacrystol]

Ok, I have a chicken that is 1 week old, she is acting very sick, sleeps all the time, she does eat and drink, she has her feathers puffed out and wings dragging to the ground. I thought it was one thing but now I'm wondering if it's something else. I have talked to the person, whom I have gotten the hatching eggs from, there are 9 chicks total and only this one is acting horrible sick. She had pooped yesterday and it was dark red and runny. She does eat but drinks very, very little. Her eyes are always closed, sometimes she holds her head up high but will fall asleep with it down. I have seen water come out of her mouth, she's bow legged, she walked as if she has to poop. she does not poop a lot in fact yesterday she pooped 3 times only. All three times very runny, the second time it had white with the dark red.

The person whom I got the eggs from told me that she has had to treat her chicken for Cocci, I have no clue what this is or what it is about. So my questions: How do I treat her? Will my other chicks get it? can my sick chick die from this? She's been acting sick now for 4 days and she's not getting better, at first I thought she may have Necrotic Enteritis, until I found out about the previous owner having to deal with cocci. Will she have this all her life? Is it cureable? What and where can I get some medication for her so that I can start treating her.

I must add, the first 2 days she had a sneezing thing going on, but I have not heard that anymore.

 

[Three Cedars Silkies]

This is cocci. The chick will die soon if you don't get some sulmet into her. 2 tsp. in a quart of water and eyedropper the solution into her every hour for at least 8 hours. The red runny poo is blood.

 

[Miss Lydia]

first of all I don't remember hearing of a chick that young having cocci, since it would have to be on the ground to catch it. Are your chicks in a brooder with warmth from a heat lamp? https://www.backyardchickens.com/forum/viewtopic.php?id=161116 have you made sure she doesn't have pasty butt? thats where the poop gets plugged up and can't get out and it will kill them, you have to clean it off them bums. to keep it moving. sounds like you might have had some problems with your temperature in your bator that could have caused these problems also. I hope soemone else can come along and offer some insite.. all the best with your little one. also are you feeding medicated chick feed?

 

[Three Cedars Silkies]

They do NOT have to be on the ground to get it. It is more common in chick over 2 weeks, but certainly they can get it. You can bring it in from the yard on your hands.

 

[Lacrystol]

I have had several chicks and never, I mean NEVER had a Cocci problem. I got some hatching eggs from someone and when they all hatched only one seems to be acting sick. Anyway I couldn't tell you how she got it but my guess would be maybe the mother is a carrier? and transported to the eggs some how?

I came home and started her on Sulmet right away, I also gave her some whole milk because I read the milk will sooth her tummy while she starts to build up an immunsystem. Don't know how creditable that is but shocking enough something is working.. She is up and walking around, and chirping, she's starting to hold the one side of her wing up to normal the other side is still dragging. She's also isn't doing the bowed legged thing, her walking aint the best right now, she looks like she's drunk. She keeps falling down. I want to say I see some improvement but I haven't seen her go poop yet. She sat by the water bowl in which I had put some sulmet in it and drank it for about 5 minutes. I'm wondering if she was really really dehydrated... Right now any noise she perks her head up, she didn't do this about 3 hours ago. She's not eating much right now but probably full from all the water she drank. ha ha

Yes I have her on medicated chick starter food, again I don't know what her poop looks like at this time because I haven't seen her go but once since I have been home and I have been home for 3 1/2 hours and at that time, her poop was white and runny, the runny part was dark brown, not bloody.. This was before I started her on the sulmet...

How long does it take for a chick to go poop?

 

[Lacrystol]

She went poop and the red is gone, now we have white and watery diareara.

 

[Miss Lydia]

well that sounds like improvement. How is she this morning?

 

[Lacrystol]

Well I noticed her poop is starting to get solid, it's white and dark brown but not runny anymore. She's still seems a little weak because she laid in the food dish and didn't get up, but she did eat quite a bit this morning while laying in the food dish. But I'm excited to see the poop is getting solid..

 

[Miss Lydia]

Thats always a good sign and hopefully in a few more days she'll be running around with the rest and you won't be able to tell which one it was...

 

[Ridgerunner]

A little information on Cocci. There are several different strains of protozoa that can cause Cocci. They live in the chicken's intestines and can cause problems if the numbers get too big. Some strains are more severe than others. Protozoa can reproduce in the chickens intestines but wet manure can also contribute to their life cycle. When a chick gets sick from Cocci, it is usually because the chick eats protozoa when it pecks at wet manure and those protozoa add to the number of protozoa reproducing in the chickens intestines. Usually, keeping a dry brooder will control Cocci, but remember that some strains are stronger than others. A dry brooder does not always control the problem. I'm not accusing you of having a wet brooder or not taking good care of your chicks. Some chicks are just more susceptible than others.

If one chicken has Cocci, all chickens that it lives with have Cocci. It is passed on by them eating each others poop. Actually, I consider this a good thing. A young chick can develop an immunity to Cocci, but immunity to one strain does not mean they have immunity to all strains. They develop that immunity easier if they are introduced to Cocci at a very young age, so the ideal is for your chicks to be introduced to it at a very young age if you have Cocci in your flock. I take dirt from my run and give it to my brooder raised chicks about the third day in the brooder, just after they have learned to eat their regular food. I do not feed medicated feed but I keep the brooder fairly dry and make sure I watch them carefully for signs of problems. So far, I have not had any problems. I do not keep the brooder absolutely dry because they need a bit of damp manure so they can pass the protozoa to each other. I accomplish that by putting a piece of plywood in there they can poop on. A little damp is the key, not wet.

Medicated feed is usually medicated with Amprolium, Amprol, or some similar product. Amprolium does not kill the protozoa but inhibits it reproducing. That way the numbers stay down so the problem does not develop but the chick can develop immunity. Amprolium is also sold separately to go into their drinking water as a Cocci treatment. With the really severe strain it does not always work and sometimes for a severe infestation you need to treat with antibiotics.

It is not passed on through hatching eggs and I doubt the protozoa could exist in an incubator if the eggs had a bit of poop on them, but it is certainly possible you transmitted the protozoa back to your flock some way. Wild birds can transmit it. Your flock may have it and it was caught from them some way, some how. There are plenty of different ways that it can be transmitted.

I don't know for sure that what that chick had was Cocci, but it sounds like it. Whatever it is, your treatment is working so you are doing the right thing. I'm glad you caught it in time.

I'd suggest watching the other chicks in the brooder for signs of problems. I'd also watch your adults for signs of Cocci, especially right after the new chicks are integrated in, but also in wet weather. Having Cocci is not a death sentence for your flock. Many of us have it in our flocks and don't even know it. But it is something that can cause a problem and you need to be aware of it.

Hope this helps a bit. Good luck!!!