day 4 of sulmet-not working...are my chicks going to die?

[pastrymama]

today is day 4 of sulmet and at least 3 of 6 of my chicks are still pooping red. i can't find corrid here so sulmet is it. i have bleached everything, put them on medicated feed two days ago(which i wasn't doing before) and had put them in a new box in the garage. but this morning my BR freaked out and jumped on top of the waterer and knocked it over and ruined the brand new box. don't have anymore so out into the coop they went. no choice. at least it's AZ and it's 90 right now and 70 at night so i fugured it was better than them sitting in a wet box. so the question is, is this stuff ever going to work or are my 5 week old chicks going to die? they are active, eating, drinking, chirpping....but i noticed that today one of them will just all of a sudden lay down on it's side like it's tired with it's wing and leg spread out. then about 5 seconds later it jumps up again and runs around. is it just happy to have freedom from the box and is tired or is it on it's way out? i just don't know what else to do for them. i feel so helpless and like i screwed this whole thing up.

 

[Sunny Side Up]

I don't know, but if they are active, eating, drinking, chirping, running around with only 5-second rest stops, I would guess that they're feeling all right. Are they pooping bright red liquid blood, or just have a reddish tint to their regular poops? It might just take them a while for their guts to re-set. If they're acting as active as you say & not pooping actual blood, I would say to relax & enjoy a bit. It sounds like they're getting good food & have nice safe clean conditions. Your temps in AZ sound as mild as ours in Florida, and I keep my chicks outside almost right from the start. I do bring them in at night until they're good & feathery, and big enough to not be a temptation to the snakes.

You're smart to learn about symptoms, and you're good at observing their behaviors. I go more by how my animals look & act rather than specific symptoms.

Let us know how things progress!

 

[silkiechicken]

If they are running around, sunning themselves (the lay down spread out part), and being active, they are getting better. Cocci presents as lethargic chicks who do not eat or drink much, and get skinny fast. Are you sure what you think is blood is not just cecal poop? A melted chocolate chip kind of consistency which is normal?

 

[pastrymama]

so i didn't know that my chick was sunning herself. every time she laid down, it was in a sunny spot. funny. but the poo, you described the consistency perfectly(gross, however amazing). i do not nor have i ever seen actual blood, just it looks like dark burnt orange poo. and it's more often than not and sometimes more liquid than what you described. but never bloody.

 

[jerseygirl1]

Check out the poop chart

http://www.chat.allotment.org.uk/index.php?topic=17568.0

 

[silkiechicken]

Quote:
Chances are then that they never were sick and you didn't need to medicate for anything. Cecal poo's are normal and healthy.

 

[pastrymama]

if that is what it is, then why all of a sudden am i just now seeing this? and it started with 2 chicks, then the next day 3 chicks, and so forth until they were all doing it in a matter of a few days. the chart said it is every 8-10 poos, but this is way more often than that, or at least it seems that way. am i just crazy? clearly this is the first set of chicks i have ever had and i have no idea what is going on. one day everything seems fine and the next...not so much.

 

[THough1956]

Also try giving them some yogurt.