Dead chick autopsy

[Ray987]

I had them on Baycox (toltrazuril) as a precaution just 5 days ago to prevent coccidia also had them on vitamins and antibiotics just before that
I'm feeding them powder crushed feed currently and it seems like things are not getting better, 2 more died whenever they eat one or two declines and die, I'm pretty sure we don't have grit in my country no one sells that and can't order it online so is there an alternative to that? They're dying one by one and I'm not being able to help them
Don't have any vets that can do a profit necropsy around unfortunately

Located in Syria

 

[coach723]

Grit is usually available where ever feed is sold, it's a known, needed quantity with poultry. Without any testing, I simply don't know what else to suggest, beyond what I already have. Is there an entity in your country that deals with disease outbreaks in poultry in your country? Most places have something, to protect the poultry industry from disease outbreaks like newcastles, avian influenza, etc. That would be what I would look for next, ask for resources for testing/necropsy. I'm really sorry, I simply don't know what else to suggest.

 

[Eggcessive]

Good suggestions from Coach723. Baycox is good to use for coccidiosis. What part of Syria are you in. I realize there has been a long war there. I don’t know how large chick grit is, but perhaps you can crush some larger small rocks or granite. Some soil has enough grit, but I always put it out in a contain so the chickens can just take what they need. Is their feed a commercial grain mix especially for chicks? People usually have to feed what feeds are normally available in their countries, I realize.

 

[Perris]

I had them on Baycox (toltrazuril) as a precaution just 5 days ago to prevent coccidia also had them on vitamins and antibiotics just before that

were they OK before that?

 

[Ray987]

Grit is usually available where ever feed is sold, it's a known, needed quantity with poultry. Without any testing, I simply don't know what else to suggest, beyond what I already have. Is there an entity in your country that deals with disease outbreaks in poultry in your country? Most places have something, to protect the poultry industry from disease outbreaks like newcastles, avian influenza, etc. That would be what I would look for next, ask for resources for testing/necropsy. I'm really sorry, I simply don't know what else to suggest.

You would be surprised to know how chickens are raised here grit might be available for commercial poultry farms however not

Good suggestions from Coach723. Baycox is good to use for coccidiosis. What part of Syria are you in. I realize there has been a long war there. I don’t know how large chick grit is, but perhaps you can crush some larger small rocks or granite. Some soil has enough grit, but I always put it out in a contain so the chickens can just take what they need. Is their feed a commercial grain mix especially for chicks? People usually have to feed what feeds are normally available in their countries, I realize.

Latakia (Syrian coast) I'm shocked by the fact that they can't find enough grit on ground

I'm feeding them Cow feed 18% protein, I know it's not enough but it's the best available on the market regarding quality of the ingredients
Ingredients are:
Corn, Soy bran, wheat bran, vitamins, calcium and such
I crush it to powder along with some powdered bread crumbs

 

[Ray987]

were they OK before that?

They were perfectly fine until just 2 days ago, I gave them the toltrazuril around 7 days ago also I had them on Vitamins and antibiotics here's what I've been giving them

Note that this is my first batch or chicks that I run on medication like that, I had a bad experience with coccidia with my previous batches hence why I decided to give Baycox as a precaution every once in a while also this is the first batch to feed bread crumbs and probably the first to eat whole wheat at this age

 

[Perris]

My chicks are eating breadcrumbs from hatch and whole grains from a couple of days old, and find appropriate grit in their environment as I'm sure yours can, so I think they are red herrings here. You said the chicks were OK before you medicated, and sick after, so that's the obvious cause. Perhaps the dose was wrong. Perhaps the medicine was not what it was supposed to be. Perhaps coccidia is the lesser of two evils - mine don't get medicated for coccidia and develop immunity themselves.

In any case, the antibiotics will have killed the good bacteria as well as any bad in their gastrointestinal tract - and there are a lot more good than bad unless the bird is really ill already - making it harder for them to digest some of the food that they ingested. So it's generally a good idea not to medicate unless you know it's needed, and then to be sure you've got the right medication for the problem at hand.

 

[Eggcessive]

I have no idea if cattle feed is okay for them. Different species have different requirements. Some things could be in the food that are not good for them. Also, I don’t know the dosage of toltrazuril for chicks.

 

[Sic]

Just going to note that the chicks seem extremely small and underdeveloped for 42 days of age, which would lead me to believe that what they are eating is not sufficient to provide the nutrients they need to thrive.

 

[Ray987]

Dose

My chicks are eating breadcrumbs from hatch and whole grains from a couple of days old, and find appropriate grit in their environment as I'm sure yours can, so I think they are red herrings here. You said the chicks were OK before you medicated, and sick after, so that's the obvious cause. Perhaps the dose was wrong. Perhaps the medicine was not what it was supposed to be. Perhaps coccidia is the lesser of two evils - mine don't get medicated for coccidia and develop immunity themselves.

In any case, the antibiotics will have killed the good bacteria as well as any bad in their gastrointestinal tract - and there are a lot more good than bad unless the bird is really ill already - making it harder for them to digest some of the food that they ingested. So it's generally a good idea not to medicate unless you know it's needed, and then to be sure you've got the right medication for the problem at hand.

I did correct dosage as described on each medicine, this is actually a vets description on how to protect against coccidia and the antibiotics+vitamins to support growth they said, however you could be right, Perhaps I should get vitamins without the antibiotics? And what about coccidia? Does toltrazuril have any side effects? I can't seem to protect my chicks from coccidia without giving them either amprolium or toltrazuril although they're on ground at their first week