d'anver lovers,discuss the breed and post some pics!

[K Epp]

My gamebird starter is non medicated. I can't tell you the ingredients or percentages, but I'll take a pic of the label and post it the next bag I get.

Cynthia and I live close and I even have swampy areas on my property. I keep amproluim on hand and give it to the chicks when I start to move them outside.

 

[speckledhen]

My gamebird starter is non medicated. I can't tell you the ingredients or percentages, but I'll take a pic of the label and post it the next bag I get.

Cynthia and I live close and I even have swampy areas on my property. I keep amproluim on hand and give it to the chicks when I start to move them outside.

Karen, you and I do exactly the same thing, though most of my chicks now are on the ground really soon if it's above 50* because they are with broodies. When they get to around 4 weeks old, I run a round of Corid through them, even with mama drinking it, or anytime I see signs of cocci. I have two unexpected dwarf chicks (not D'Anvers) who have short life expectancies. They are having a hard time with cocci, having already been treated more than once. Their "shortcomings" seem to make them more susceptible and they can't shake it as easily as the other chicks. Won't be breeding those two birds again- Don't need these precious little souls to fall in love with, knowing they won't live that long.

Some folks think it's a sanitation issue. Hogwash! It can be if you keep a pigsty of a coop, but you could run around with a pooper scooper under their tiny bums 24/7 and bleach their waterers daily, use disposable feeders and they can still get cocci with the right outside conditions. It's just one of those things. But they usually become immune by the time they are over 10 weeks old or so.

 

[Bine]

As you say coccidiose, I feed oregano and thyme tea and dry oregano to all my chickens. It may not help when the chicks already have bloody droppings but it is a very good preventive. In pet shops here you can buy pigeon teas for racing pigeons those are also very good for building up a strong immune system. The most common brand is natural anwerp with 16 different herbs but I think that the normal herbal teas against infektions or cold for humans do the same. My birds like oregano, thyme, fennel, anise, balm and camomile. In fall and winter they love warm (not hot) tea, in summer they drink more from the reagular waterer with the cidre vinegar mix.

 

[HotDesertChick]

Speckledhen, I do agree that living in an arid clime should initially reduce the the incidence of coccidiosis. We do have trillions of wild birds that possibly could have imported the avian species of protozoa into the site of the coop/run though?

We have always had many, many little dirty birdies that try to hang out in our barn. Thankfully, a busy group of small bird hawks (Kestrels) and roadrunners, tend to reduce the populations substantially. I can sterilize the inside of the run still being built though, although protozoal organisms can be wretchedly hard to eliminate. Once the coop/run is up it will be completely bird proof (half-inch x one inch wire). Our opportunistic/numerous packrats will also have a hard time burrowing under the concrete foundation and wire apron buried in the perimeter gravel. Point is....wild birds CAN bring in disease, even though packrats have their own "breed specific" species of Cocci.

I have always started my chicks in other states on medicated feed, just 'cause I am paranoid. When living in coastal GA (prior to NM) I never used any coccidiostats, such as Amprolium, or sulfonamides. The "teenagers" were well started, and very healthy when I bought them (mainly Golden Sebrights, with a few Quail d'Anvers). All of the birds were "free range" 24/7 too, giving them a pretty healthy existence.

I just don't want to lose any of our new babies (Yes, Yes,...I AM paranoid!)

Bine, You are sooo right, to try to build a good immune system. Good diet counts! If your chickens get exposed to the causal protozoal organism, you still might have a bad scene though? It also may be possible that acidifying the drinking water a tad bit might help the desired intestinal flora? Foster the Good Bugs,.. over Bad Bugs? Heck I dunno. Our water is extremely hard, with much calcium, originating from valley wells. The hard water makes it a PITA to grow plants, etc (and why we have a water softener in de house). Does altering water Ph help with healthy chip?

 

[HotDesertChick]

Soorry....folks. The last line of me post should have read "healthy chix". I hate speeel Checkk.....

Moan........

 

[SchipAlong]

Sigh... All my blacks have red combs at 4.5 weeks. Starting to really think I ended up with all cockerels, when I really wanted none. These guys are extremely friendly too, they'll come running and jump into my arms for attention, so even choosing just one is going to be extremely difficult. Wish for a miracle that I ended up with weird combed pullets!

 

[Bine]

I only once had problems with coccidose in a hatch from a incubator. One reason I favour a hens over a mashine. Protozoa are very hardy and can survive almost everything, And like Speckledhen said, you can wash and brush til the cows come home without getting rid of them. So, you have only two chances to beat them, a good immune system or meds. I can fully understand if someone doesn't trust the heb witches, sometimes the remedies they come up with are pure noncense, but tea doesn't do any harm and you can always vaccinate the chicks, too or switch to meds if you see the first signs of coccidose.
The cidre vinegar in the water stops the growth of germs in the waterer, helps with the good germs in the bird to grow and has some vitamine c. Just try it on yourself and drink a spoon full of it with warm water before breakfast.

 

[Bine]

Quote: I feel for you. Last year I had so many nice boys and no home for them to go to.

 

[speckledhen]

Today's medicated feed just does not prevent coccidiosis, not if conditions are right for it. I stopped using it except on rare occasions when I have to get chick starter and the co-op is out of non-medicated. I just keep the Corid on hand. They do get organic ACV with "the mother" in their water on occasion when they are not on the Corid and they get plain yogurt for good gut bacteria.

For a long time, I did not have to treat chicks at all-most with broodies are not as susceptible to it for several reasons and I've done almost exclusively broody hatching of late. They get on the ground sooner, they pick in mom's poop as babies and she's already immune, etc. But, for a couple of years, we've had super wet seasons when I had chicks on the ground and have had to treat a few groups again. I think this group would have been okay if it had not been for dwarf chick in each of them.

@HotDesertChick , every locale has its special issues, certainly. There are 9 named types of cocci plus some mutations that can even be passed through the egg to a chick from parents. When a chick is infected from that, it does not present as normal coccidiosis. This comes from vet testing at Univ. of KY when a friend had older chicks start acting letharic one day and die the next. They came from hatching eggs out of the midwest, hatched here in my brooder, never left my well-sterilized brooder which housed other chicks as well that were not affected, she came to get them and several weeks later, she lost them one by one, very puzzling and upsetting. They were tested and that was the result, surprised us both, never heard of such. So, there are so many abnormal things, besides the everyday stuff, that can affect them.

 

[HotDesertChick]

Thanks, for the further input...even though me can't spell.

I am seriously considering buying Purina Game Bird Startena for my chicks when they come. It is the only high-protein game bird formula that I have access to in my general area. The feed is 30% protein, and is NON-medicated. I have only fed medicated (usually Purina brand) chick starter in the past to babies in "brooders" (not under natural Mums), but I would certainly like to try non-medicated feeds.

Speckledhen,...I can't find Corid locally, even though the product has been around for decades. Grumble. Why don't you use the Amprolium with the ACV? Any reason? If you use a "low dose" of vinegar, I wouldn't think that it would interfere with the Corid/Amprolium? What is your dilution, for the vinegar-with-mother. How much per gallon of H2O? You use the Corid at listed label rates?

Thanks again, for more information.

Anyone else wish to chime in?