First Run of Cornish Cross Meat Birds and Super Excited!

[JRNash]

I wore em. Wore them when I was cutting hogs,butchering sheep,hunting, fishing. Let me rephrase that. I wore them when my cutoff shorts and bare feet would not suffice. Took threats of a beating to get shoes on my feet.lol

 

[Morrigan]

I am ready, but I cannot sleep, I am thinking about my poor chickens.

Always happens, but after they have been gone a few weeks and I start eating them, it is all worth it.

I have a dilemma on the flip flop front. The straps have broke on mine and there are none in the stores right now.

Good luck today Ralphie. It's such an emotional and tough day, but it is worth it.

 

[Morrigan]

Question for everyone.

The one chick is still doing poorly; poor appetite, undersized and not as lively as the rest. I'm starting to wonder if it could be cocci. I have some corid and was thinking about dosing her with the syringe to see if that makes a difference. Have any of you treated chicks with corid? Do I have to be worried about residual effects when eventually butchering? I'm pretty much the type that tries to avoid drugs and antibodics if at all possible.

All of the the others look incredibly heathy and lively, and I haven't seen any suspicious droppings.

 

[JRNash]

Outside of my experience and knowledge Morrigan. Sorry.

 

[JRNash]

Pm Ralph and Jessica,between the two of them they can probably cover everything

 

[JessicaThistle]

Question for everyone.

The one chick is still doing poorly; poor appetite, undersized and not as lively as the rest. I'm starting to wonder if it could be cocci. I have some corid and was thinking about dosing her with the syringe to see if that makes a difference. Have any of you treated chicks with corid? Do I have to be worried about residual effects when eventually butchering? I'm pretty much the type that tries to avoid drugs and antibodics if at all possible.

All of the the others look incredibly heathy and lively, and I haven't seen any suspicious droppings.

Hey Morrigan, I just fought cocci in my chicks and treated with corid. I wouldn't jump to that especially if you don't want to use medications. However, corid isn't really an antibiotic. It is immune system support more than anything. I think with cx, this sometimes just happens.

This is what I would do. Do a full body check on the chick. Look for lice, etc. Examine it's vent. Is there any blood? Do a full examination of the pen or area that the chicks are and look for bloody droppings. Watch really closely all of the other chicks to be sure you don't see any others that start to look lethargic and aren't eating or drinking. Cocci starts killing within 24 hours. So it hits hard and fast.

So, let's assume it's not cocci after doing the above. I would bring that chick in and immediately start syringing water fortified with Polyvisol (baby vitamins without iron), scramble up an egg to offer as food or wet some of your chick food with the vitamin fortified water.

If the chick perks up after that, she may be fine. If she dies anyway, it could be anything and not really coccidosis. But if you see any blood in poops or on vents, I mean red blood not the pink intestinal sheddings, trust me, you will know the difference, act with Corid fast. I used 1 1/2 tsps of 20% Corid powder per gallon of water for 7 days on mine because I have so many. Syringe it to any looking lethargic because they aren't eating or drinking.

If it is coccidosis, prepare yourself because it is heart breaking. I picked up a lethargic looking chick and was going to start syringing her some corrid water to have her seizure and die in my arms. I balled like a baby. It felt like I went through the chicken apocolypse as we lost 40 chicks over the course of 5 days.

You could treat with corid to be safer rather than sorry. I think there is a 2 week withdraw period before eating eggs or meat.

 

[Morrigan]

Thanks so much, Jessica, for the good advice. Based on what you said, I don't think it is cocci. The rest of the flock is the most energetic looking group of CX I've ever had. I haven't seen any bloody dropping, aside from what I've come to recognize as small pink strands of shed intestinal lining, which I've had in weeks 3-5 of my last two batches of CX. I was starting to freak out over what I thought was a bright red poo, before I realized I was looking at a squished cherry tomato.

But, what really makes me think it isn't Cocci, is that when I went to give the birds their mid-day fodder, the ailing bird was looking much better. I had intended to isolate it, but I left it in, as it was clearly interested in food and jostling in with the rest of them to eat. From what you said, I wouldn't expect a bird stricken with cocci to linger around a couple of days and then start improving. I'm back to my theory that may the crop was impacted, but it is working itself clear again. I will look at him/her again when I put them away tonight and decide whether I need to isolate it to give it some extra food and TLC. I'm going to put some probiotics in the water tonight, just go give all the chicks a little extra digestive firepower.

 

[JessicaThistle]

Thanks so much, Jessica, for the good advice. Based on what you said, I don't think it is cocci. The rest of the flock is the most energetic looking group of CX I've ever had. I haven't seen any bloody dropping, aside from what I've come to recognize as small pink strands of shed intestinal lining, which I've had in weeks 3-5 of my last two batches of CX. I was starting to freak out over what I thought was a bright red poo, before I realized I was looking at a squished cherry tomato.

But, what really makes me think it isn't Cocci, is that when I went to give the birds their mid-day fodder, the ailing bird was looking much better. I had intended to isolate it, but I left it in, as it was clearly interested in food and jostling in with the rest of them to eat. From what you said, I wouldn't expect a bird stricken with cocci to linger around a couple of days and then start improving. I'm back to my theory that may the crop was impacted, but it is working itself clear again. I will look at him/her again when I put them away tonight and decide whether I need to isolate it to give it some extra food and TLC. I'm going to put some probiotics in the water tonight, just go give all the chicks a little extra digestive firepower.

Oh yeah, if this is the same bird that you thought had an impacted crop it most likely isn't coccidosis. She would be dead by now and so would others most likely. Is the crop really squishy? I don't know if you remember that I massaged a meatie's crop who wasn't doing well and it was because it had eaten a piece of tire rubber. My massaging caused the bird to pass the rubber and she lived.

 

[Morrigan]

I did massage the crop yesterday a couple of times. I'm hopeful that did the trick.

 

[Morrigan]

I meant to add, Jessica, that I'm really sorry to hear about your ordeal with cocci. It is so heartbreaking to have even one die. I'm glad you got your flock past it.