I picked up 10 new chicks at a poultry swap yesterday to start up a new flock.... 5 seven-week old partridge rocks and 5 slightly younger blue-laced red wyandottes (seller was not sure of birth date, but they look to be around 5 weeks old). The chicks appeared healthy and active yesterday and this morning, but when I looked in on them this afternoon, I noticed three areas of blood in the shavings. I initially thought one of them must have been injured in a scuffle, and put them out in the pen to get a better look at each of them. It did not take long before I happened to see one of the Wyandottes take a poo which looked like bloody water with some tiny black specks in it. I separated that chick from the others and, long story short, there was more bloody stool (no mucous... just like thin red blood), the chick lay down, and within 2 hours was dead. From what I have read online, bloody stool is a sign of coccidiosis, but is this stool bright red and watery, and does the chick look normal and then die within a few hours???? What else could it be? If it is coccidiosis, whar are the chances that the other Wyandottes are also infected and how likely are the older partridge rocks to now become infected? If I start them all on coccidiosis meds tomorrow, is that likely to protect them? This is the first time I have ever run into this sort of problem... previously raised Australorps and never lost a chick or hen.
