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From what I understand, they can be exposed to it in the hatchery or if you have other chickens. Is this the first time your brooder has been used? Or is this a second (third?) batch of chicks raised in it? If it is not pristine, there could be cocci in it that could affect the chicks.
However, I question chicks so young getting SO SICK in this short of time from cocci, unless they were BATHING in it!!! My sister had one chick with bloody poop, and she called our state (Florida) agricultural school in Gainesville. Really nice guy there told her that it was EXTREMELY unlikely for chicks that young to have coccidiosis, because even if they were exposed and not on medicated feed, it would take SEVERAL WEEKS for the levels to build up to the point where they were causing bloody poo.
So, any of you BYC people have any other info on this? This is ONE SOURCE, and I know the consensus on here seems to be "it's cocci, treat for cocci". But I'd like to open up the forum for consideration - in chicks that young, is it possible/likely that it is something else? Should she treat for cocci AND something else?
I'm a newbie on here, but I've been doing a lot of reading. My sister's chick had bloody poo for several days, but the guy in Gainesville said that it probably wasn't cocci and that maybe another chick had pecked its rear or something like that, as it was "red" blood rather than darker blood from the digestive system. She did not treat her chicks, and it went away. This is the guy that said "chicks that young don't get cocci built up that quickly".
Again, if the brooder has been used before and was not cleaned, it's possible that it's a CESSPOOL of cocci... I dunno!
And my chicken just wet on my leg - poor girl!
EEEWWW!!!
