Coccidiosis urgent treatment question

[chicknmania]

Hi, we have a 9 month old pullet we've been treating for cocci, started her on Amprol for one day, but then switched to Sulfa for the past five days, because it is broader spectrum and we just weren't positive that cocci was what she had. Still not sure, I know the symptoms, but she has been so dehydrated that she barely had any droppings at all. She is doing better now, we've been tube feeding her with baby bird formula and mixing the sulfa water in. Putting on a little weight but still wont eat on her own. She is very lethargic and weak, her droppings were black and dry, then turned watery when we started tube feeding her. Her eyes are bulgey but there is not discharge and no respiratory symptoms at all. I think her eyes are that way becuse she was SO dehydrated..they have gotten a little less bulgey lately. All the rest of the flock is ok at this point, but we had a hen die from what we were sure was cocci a month or so ago.

So my question is: I know you are only supposed to use sulfa for five days. Can I switch her back to the Amprol for a few days? I don't know what else to treat her with. Or should we just try to beef her up with vits/ electrolytes and continue tube feeding? Help, please, anyone? I can't get hold of Peter Brown, either.

 

[chicmom]

Hello. I don't think either of your hens had cocci. It usually only affects chickens under 17 weeks of age. I have never heard of the two drugs you mention. For cocci, I use Corid in the powder form, and if I can't find that, I would use Sulmet.

I've also used some duramayacin too, just in case the cocci has caused an infection due to intestional irritation.

I wish I had some advice for you, but it's so hard to figure out what's wrong with chickens when they get lethargic. It could be so many different things. They could need a good worming, or maybe they've eaten a poisonous plant, or they could have gotten something from a wild bird.

Anyhow, good luck to you. Sincerely,
Sharon

 

[chicknmania]

Amprol (Amprolium) is the ingredient in medicated chick starter, which is what is used for cocci in chicks. I said sulfa, I meant Sulfadimethoxine, you could say it was Sulmet. What I read was that Cocci can be contracted at any age, though more usually in younger birds. But I agree it could be anything. I did deworm them in January with a broad spectrum dewormer, but we only deworm twice a year. The hen who died had blood tinged diarhea, a classic symptom, and responded well at first to the Sulmet, which is why we were pretty sure she had cocci. But again, it could've been something else. Who knows.

 

[chicknmania]

WE are going to try her on Cipro for a few days, for the same reason you use antibiotics, maybe there's an infection somewhere. Her droppings are normal colored, and loose, but that' sprobably from her formula diet.

Anyway, thanks for the response. If anything earth shattering develops in the way of a cure, I'll post it. If anyone else thinks of anything, please let me know.

 

[chicknmania]

just fyi if anyone is interested. The hen died. She actually declined again after we took her off the sulmet. A raccoon got into her pen, and finished her off.

but, I think I know what she had. A disease called Leukocytozoonosis. It is transmitted by Black Flies, which we had lots of around the time she got sick. All the symptoms matched, except she did not have the last stage symptoms described in what I read but that might be because she never got that far before the raccoon killed her. The disease also responds to sulfa drugs.
Anyway, that's what I think it was. We had another hen a few years ago, who had almost identical symptoms, got sick at the same time of year, and who we eventually had euthanized to prevent her further suffering. I have a feeling she had the same thing.

 

[dawg53]

Sorry for your loss.

 

[chicknmania]

Thank you. She was one of my favorites. But these things are always a learning experience, so maybe someone else can benefit.