Quote:
Coccidiosis is not your traditional kind of infection. You should never use any kind of antibiotic to treat it. All your chickens are exposed to the protozoa that cause this infestation, but as they grow older, they develop resistance to the overwhelming infestation that your babies are experiencing. No, the medicated feed is not enough. It has a tiny amount of medication in it, which is meant to help them develop resistance more easily - but so far, i haven't seen that prove true. You need Corid - or some other brand of Amprolium (the stuff that is in your feed). You should be able to get a small bottle at your feed store for 15-20 dollars.
Your four month-olds should have already developed resistance to the protozoa in your soil. They will not "catch" coccidiosis from your chicks. It just doesn't work that way. These protozoa are animal specific, so don't worry about your dogs. There are chicken cocci that affect chickens and dog cocci that affect dogs - and so forth. I can't say for sure about ducks. I don't have any knowledge on them or whether they are affected by cocci.
You can put the medication (one to two teaspoons of liquid amprolium 9.6%) in whatever water the affected chickens are drinking. If others age chickens are drinking that water, it's fine. But you want the affected age group to drink only the medicated water for 5 solid days. Change it out and add fresh medication each day.
The things to look out for are really wet areas in their run - because cocci thrives in warm wet areas. However, it's in your soil pretty much everywhere, so don't obsess over cleaning every little tiny thing. Just keep their waterers and feeders clear of droppings - specifically while they're getting through this infestation and developing their resistance.....and keep their bedding clean - and most especially, dry.
You can also help them get through this by giving them some milk products - you would normally never do this, but milk products help coat their intestines, easing the damage caused by cocci infestation.