Detecting Coccidiosis Early

[bobchristenson]

First time chicken-herder here (and known to be paranoid about such things)

I opted for non-medicated feed so I'm especially worried about our 3 week old chicks. I'm wondering what signs I should be looking for to detect coccidiosis early. I know that:

• First (as early as 3 weeks) you'll start seeing "runny poo"
• Later (when it's almost too late) you'll see blood.

My first obvious question is: what is considered 'runny poo'? Since day 1 they've had slightly runny poo, but not what I'd call diarrhea. At what point to I need to think it's abnormal?

Then I'm also wondering if there are other warning signs to watch out for. Will they start acting different (sluggish, not as active, etc?)

I know, I know...alot of you will answer "just start giving them medicated feed like you're supposed to". But, frankly, I want to figure out how to do this without the medicated feed...afterall people did it for thousands of years without giving drugs to their chicks..I'd like to learn how.

Thanks for any advice about early warning signs I should look out for!

 

[Erica]

Most people don't know that the earliest sign of cocci is not eating. Watch the feed dish and if it stops going down at the same rate as usual, act.

Lethargy, hunching, pallor, loose droppings all come late in the illness.

However all chickens do runny droppings (called cecal droppings) about one in four poops, so there's no need to panic if you see mustard-coloured droppings here and there.

Raising chicks without medication is totally possible. I do it all the time. But the key is to graduate their exposure. That is, never let the exposure levels suddenly shoot up. Since warm wet weather can cause massive increases in coccidia numbers, this can be hard to get right.

The easiest way to minimise cocci risk is to raise chicks with a hen, and don't do it in a sterile or ultra-clean brooding area. A tractor is perfect because you can always move it to fresh ground. The thing you're aiming for is graduated exposure.

To achieve graduated exposure, with artificial brooding the keys are in not hatching huge numbers, sprinkling the brooder with hen soil from the start, shifting them to a new brooding area at 3 weeks so the brooder isn't heavily 'seeded' (after this the numbers of coccidia shed by each chick goes up), feeding kefir or some other soured milk (soured milk is a definite preventive), and continuing to increase exposure gradually.

For instance here I start chicks in a small wire brooder (adding a handful of hen soil), then at 3 weeks shift them to a tractor (on ground that's been used in this way before, so I know it's got cocci), then at 8-10 weeks I might put them into my grower pen, or I might keep them in the tractor.

This works really well (along with kefir) and the only cases of cocci I've seen in several years have been 1. A bought-in pullet that had been raised on wire, and so she got cocci within a week of being here; 2. a single chick that may have had immune problems because all her hatchmates remained fine; and 3. One occasion when I raised a few too many cornish x birds in the tractor, and we had drenching summer rain -- cornish x poop like there's no tomorrow (and hence shed a lot more cocci oocysts per bird; also their immune systems aren't as good as layer type birds).

I'll say it again, graduated exposure is the way to raise chicks without medication. It works and also allows medication to remain effective (yes, coccidia can become immune to ionophores, which are the preventive medications). Best of all I'm not seeding my soil with drug-resistant coccidia.

Raising chicks without medications is totally worthwhile, though with the effort involved it's not for everyone. Still, I have about 20 chicks, 20 adult birds and an incubator full, and I get through all the chores in about half an hour a day. None of my birds eats processed food (except to the extent that I grind up sprouts and other ingredients for the babies).

Regards (and I know I've written an essay... sorry about that! It's just a huge issue.)

Erica

 

[LaynaDon95]

I wondered how you were doing. I commented on your "starter feed" thread and told you I was going with non-medicated. What, if any, preventatives are you using?

My chicks are 5 weeks old and in the coop now. They were doing great, until I slacked off on their preventatives. One died from coccidia yesterday and I'm watching a couple more to see if they live. I know it would have worked if I had kept giving them their preventatives faithfully. They are on meds now. The chicks in my brooder (1 week old) are still on non-medicated and doing great. I'm going to try again when I move them to the coop and make sure I don't skip their preventatives at all.

My advice, make sure you keep up the preventatives for awhile, especially after you move them outside, or put them on meds.

 

[Presidential]

Excellent post, Erica. Thanks!

After posting, I realized my chick's age is 4.5.weeks (not three) - time flies! Anyway, I will watch them very carefully. I do use ACV in their water and have offered yogurt (which they didn't like at all). I will try kefir.

One of the old farmers in town told me "Chickens don't belong in your house! Get them birds outside, so their bodies can grow strong and they grow a healthy immune system". He told me that he thinks the "city folk" way of raising birds in the house, in a sterile environment, filled with meds is the cause for all the problems they are trying to avoid. He left me with a deep sentiment... "Quit making rocket science out of a fart. Let nature do its thing". Hmmmm...

I do think the next round of chicks will be more challenging. No doubt, there will be a higher exposure for the young ones! Graduated. I will follow this good advice.

 

[cubalaya]

bob, we decided this year to go non medicated and we have used medicated for 30 years. we use a rotational system with the chicks and so far, am on my 4th hatch with no losses. since we eat our eggs and eat our extra cockerels, we don't want amprolium or arsenic in our chicken feed. the cubalayas are pretty disease resistant anyway but we are watching the australorps and delawares closely. bloody stools or death would probably make me rethink the whole thing.

 

[Othylocke]

Your best bet would be to hold each chick in your hand and let them poo on you. Mine have a "runny" formed turd.

 

[bobchristenson]

Thanks LaynaDon...Great question, thanks for the sympathy and real world feedback. I've been putting apple cider vinegar in their water and that's all (it was the recommendation I read in one of the books). Is there something else I should be doing, you think?

I'm tempted to just switch to medicated, especially after hearing you lost one. I've got a couple little girls who adore them and I don't think I could stomach seeing them lose one.

If you were me (before any sign of problem) would you just switch or stick with it?

 

[LaynaDon95]

Thanks LaynaDon...Great question, thanks for the sympathy and real world feedback. I've been putting apple cider vinegar in their water and that's all (it was the recommendation I read in one of the books). Is there something else I should be doing, you think?

I'm tempted to just switch to medicated, especially after hearing you lost one. I've got a couple little girls who adore them and I don't think I could stomach seeing them lose one.

If you were me (before any sign of problem) would you just switch or stick with it?

Are they inside or outside? I'm keeping mine on non-medicated while they are inside. They are doing fine. It's when they are moved out that concerns me. I don't know if ACV helps prevent coccidia. I know it's good against lice and other pests. I give mine yogurt or kefir (depending on what I have) which is good for their intestines. I also give mine a natural wormer in their water.
If you are too concerned about losing one, I would put them on meds when you put them into the coop. Just for a few weeks for them to build a resistance to it.
I believe it can be done without meds, or chickens would not have survived to this day and age. I'm just still trying to figure out how. I'm gonna keep trying, but I don't have any really little ones to get sad over the loss of a chick. I'll be sure to post when I find a method that works.

 

[bobchristenson]

Ok, so you think there's a difference between inside and out. I have them in a brooder inside (in a bathroom) so it's pretty clean. I don't plan on putting them into the coop until about week 6 (at the earliest).

 

[ButchGood]

I would like to know Why? I mean, Im a pretty organic guy, I garden organicly, I use no herbicides or pesticides. I live all natural eating whole foods, using all natural toothpastes,soaps, deoderants, laundry detergent. I try to live a non-toxic life style. I cured myself of stage 4 nodular melanoma with a 6 month prognosis in 2004. I plan on raising my chickens all organic......After there recomended time on medicated chick starter. Im not trying to belittle you in any way. Im just curious. Is it that the manufacturing of medicated animal food is dangerous to us and the environment, is it just the challenge of raising totally all natural chickens like our forefathers.