Coccidiosis medication in Canada

[catchthewind]

pips&peeps :

Why don't you call the vet back and see if you can take in a fecal sample for them to look for cocci instead of a full visit. My vet does it in their office.

Just called and she said no, they would have to see the animal. It was a different person I was talking to and she actually said they don't do chickens at all anyway and I'd have to bring it into another vet, which is over an hour away. So not only is there the cost but a 2+ hour trip plus a vet visit with other animals around. And I'd be dragging my 1 and 3 year old along. I don't want to lose any more chicks but that just seems ridiculous to me. One of the breeders called and she doesn't have any medication on hand herself but was surprised none of the feed stores do. She thinks I may have been told wrong from the feed store and gave me a couple more numbers to try and is also going to see if she can track some down from any other chicken people she knows for me, though she's not going to be back in town again until later in the afternoon. She said she's never fed medicated feed and has never had a problem with coccidiosis in our area, but that she knows of another breeder who did have it last year and she's positive that breeder got the medication from a feed store.​

 

[pips&peeps]

Have you looked for sulmet? I think the full name of it is sulfamethazine.

ETA: I just pm'd one of our moderators from BC Canada, maybe she can help........

 

[catchthewind]

pips&peeps :

Have you looked for sulmet? I think the full name of it is sulfamethazine.

ETA: I just pm'd one of our moderators from BC Canada, maybe she can help........

Thank you! I just called the store the breeder told me about and she was saying, "nope, we don't have anything" and your message popped in and I asked about sulfamethazine and they do have it. I know from all the reading I've been doing it doesn't seem like it's ideal and doesn't treat all forms of it, but it sure is better than nothing, which is what I'm working with right now. So we're going to go out and get that right away. Should I treat my slightly older chicks too? They are 9-13 weeks old and have been going outside almost every day that it's not raining since they were about 4 or 5 weeks old.​

 

[pips&peeps]

The sulmet is very hard on them, I wouldn't treat unless you see symptoms.

 

[Judy]

What a pain, that Sulmet (an antibiotic) is available and Corid (a thiamine inhibitor) is not. I agree, definitely give the Sulmet to the young ones. I don't know what to tell you about the older ones, whether they are old enough to have enough natural immunity by now or not. Mucousy, hamburgery looking poop and hunched up like they're cold are the signs, before the bloody poop. You'll have to make that call -- I only know from what I've read about cocci, never went through this myself.

I certainly wish you luck with your chicks.

Our Canadian mods are offline and both likely will be busy all day; they are not people who can hang around a lot like I do.... but I'm pretty sure there is a Canadians thread. Maybe that will help, at least for the future....

 

[catchthewind]

Thank you both. It's weird, because even the younger chicks that are left don't really have symptoms. The Silkies have acted quiet and stand around doing nothing, but they've done that since day one. Certainly nothing new since we first put the chicks outside on Friday. They're on sand, so the poops dry up pretty quickly, so it's hard to say if they're mucousy or not really. But they're still acting normal. I will treat them and hope for the best. If I start treating with the Sulfet and the breeder finds some amprolium, can I switch treatments partway through or not? Should I wait until the breeder is back this afternoon and see if she managed to find anything or just start treating right away? It's possible all she would be able to find is the Sulfet too.

 

[catchthewind]

Quote:
oh thanks for this info too! I'll go have a look for the Canadian thread when we're back from the feed store.

 

[Judy]

Here, I copied the dose from another thread for you:

Treat them with Sulmet Drinking Water Solution 12.5%. Dosage for cocci is: 2 tbsp. per gallon of water. It's best if it is mixed fresh daily, so if you birds won't drink a whole gallon, make a smaller batch i.e. 1 tbsp. per 1/2 gallon or 2 tsp. per quart off water. This is the dosage for the first two days. Then for the next 4 days, cut the dosage in half, i.e. 1 tbsp. per gallon of water.

 

[jerseygirl1]

I would have gotten it for you and shipped it there, had we known it sooner. Not illegal to send it to you from the states

 

[wsdareme]

Wow, here we are down here in the states going up to BC to get our 222s, and now you need to come down here to get good meds for your chicks. What's wrong with this picture??

How much is the ferry ride over to Washington? Maybe you could stock up on some things that you can get here that you can't get up in BC.