Four-month-old chicks have no energy, will not eat, and have runny poo - possibly bad feed?

[DobieLover]

I will do that - I swapped it this week because they are getting closer to egg-laying age and I didn't want them to start laying and not have enough calcium.

Don't feed layer feed until they are actually laying.
I've never fed it. I keep my flock on Flock Raiser with two containers of free choice oyster shell for supplemental calcium for the active layers. If you have roosters, you shouldn't be feeding layer feed regardless.
How many hens do you have? How much space do they have?
Coccidia oocysts occur naturally in the soil and are part of the normal flora of a chickens gut in very small numbers. They multiply rapidly in wet conditions where the chickens pick up more oocysts and when this happens the population in the chickens gut can explode and cause disease.

https://www.backyardchickens.com/articles/coccidiosis-how-to-treat-it.64386/

I found this article, and it says: "You do need to make a fresh batch every day, and keep him/her away from all the other chickens." Since all the chicks are together, it's safe to assume that they all need the treatment? Do I also need to treat the main flock?

Can you post pictures of the affected birds?
If the pullets are not willingly eating or drinking, you need to drench each bird. Give each bird 1/2 tsp undiluted Corid. CAREFULLY drip it along the corner of the beak so it wicks in and the bird swallows on its own. I would drench once daily for 3-5 days.
The Corid water for the initial period of treatment is 2 tsp per gallon of water for 7 days with no other source of drinking water available. Once you mix up a gallon of water and fill the waterer, any extra solution can be kept in the refrigerator. Change the water the next day.
After the first week, drop the concentration to 1 tsp per gallon of water and continue for another week.

 

[Crazy Maizie]

Does this mean my two-year-old roosters too? Trying to find an article on how they get this and how it spreads. These are my new chicks. I'm just now introducing outside, and they have had some contact through rabbit wire only with the main flock. However, my main flock seems to be okay right now. A couple of weeks ago, I lost a hen to unknown causes though.

Cocci live in the ground. Its everywhere and you cannot avoid it. It is always recommended to introduce clumps of dirt from the local soil because cocci is different depending on location. Then, the cocci load won't be as bad on newly intoduced chicks.
You want to act fast. I would treat the whole flock.

https://www.backyardchickens.com/th...-amprol-amprolium-dosing.818879/post-11899998

 

[BesideStillWaters]

If they are together better to be sure than sorry.

They aren't together, but I'll treat them anyway. They have met through the wire, and a few days ago, one got past me and fought with one of my adult hens.

 

[BesideStillWaters]

Don't feed layer feed until they are actually laying.

Oh. Oops.

I've never fed it. I keep my flock on Flock Raiser with two containers of free choice oyster shell for supplemental calcium for the active layers. If you have roosters, you shouldn't be feeding layer feed regardless.

Good to know, I'll swap the roosters back to chick starter.

How many hens do you have? How much space do they have?

Total? I have seven hens, four roosters, fifteen chicks. They are separated: six hens, one hen (she's blind), all four roosters are in a bachelor pad situation, and the fifteen chicks are together.

Not sure about the space, I don't know the dimensions. The new chicks have a very small space right now - the run was originally built for miniature bantams I had over ten years ago - but we are in the process of expanding it. (Also will not be fifteen in the end, once they are healthy again I plan to sell the eight roosters out of the fifteen.)

Coccidia oocysts occur naturally in the soil and are part of the normal flora of a chickens gut in very small numbers. They multiply rapidly in wet conditions where the chickens pick up more oocysts and when this happens the population in the chickens gut can explode and cause disease.

Makes sense, but it's not that wet right now. It was about a month ago, we had some bad flooding. Also the chicks were inside in a huge cage at the time. They've been going outside for a few hours each day to get them used to it.

Can you post pictures of the affected birds?

Yes, I can get you some.

If the chicks are not willingly eating or drinking, you need to drench each bird. Give each bird 1/4 tsp undiluted Corid. CAREFULLY drip it along the corner of the beak so it wicks in and the bird swallows on its own. I would drench once daily for 3-5 days.

Thank you, I'll do it.

The Corid water for the initial period of treatment is 2 tsp per gallon of water for 7 days with no other source of drinking water available. Once you mix up a gallon of water and fill the waterer, any extra solution can be kept in the refrigerator. Change the water the next day.

After the first week, drop the concentration to 1 tsp per gallon of water and continue for another week.

Will do!

Thank you! We will go get some corrid today. And after this, I'll keep some on hand! Can it be stored in the original bottle for a long time?

 

[BesideStillWaters]

Cocci live in the ground. Its everywhere and you cannot avoid it. It is always recommended to introduce clumps of dirt from the local soil because cocci is different depending on location. Then, the cocci load won't be as bad on newly intoduced chicks.
You want to act fast. I would treat the whole flock.

https://www.backyardchickens.com/th...-amprol-amprolium-dosing.818879/post-11899998

Oooohhh I see. I just stuck them out in the run for an hour or two for the introduction. I've read about people introducing local soil, and I never knew why. I guess now I know. My last flock must have been lucky, I stuck all 13 out in their new run, no introduction at all, and they never had this problem.

I'll do it as soon as I can today.

Thanks for the link!

 

[DobieLover]

They've been going outside for a few hours each day to get them used to it.

If they haven't been outside during all this time, they haven't been exposed to the strain of coccidia in the soil they will live on when they were young so they could build up immunity to it. This is how they got sick. How old where they when they first hit the ground permanently?

Thank you, I'll do it.

Please re-read my post as once I more thoroughly read your thread I realized that you do not have chicks at all. You have near POL pullets and the dose should be 1/2 tsp per bird.
You need to do this ASAP as they can develop necrotic enteritis without immediate treatment.

 

[Crazy Maizie]

Oooohhh I see. I just stuck them out in the run for an hour or two for the introduction. I've read about people introducing local soil, and I never knew why. I guess now I know. My last flock must have been lucky, I stuck all 13 out in their new run, no introduction at all, and they never had this problem.

I'll do it as soon as I can today.

Thanks for the link!

You're welcome!
All animals have cocci - it's just when an overload happens it becomes an issue. I don't know the whys for everything either. We just all learn as we go, right?
Hopefully once treatment starts your peeps will perk right up.

 

[BesideStillWaters]

If they haven't been outside during all this time, they haven't been exposed to the strain of coccidia in the soil they will live on when they were young so they could build up immunity to it. This is how they got sick. How old where they when they first hit the ground permanently?

About 3 months old - but technically, they just now are out there permanently. I've been carrying them to the run during the day - all 15 - and bring them inside to the cage to roost at night. Until yesterday.

Please re-read my post as once I more thoroughly read your thread I realized that you do not have chicks at all. You have near POL pullets and the dose should be 1/2 tsp per bird.
You need to do this ASAP as they can develop necrotic enteritis without immediate treatment.

Oh - I'm sorry, to the chicken mama they are still chicks. They grow up so fast! Yes, four months old, not really chicks anymore.

I just need them to hold on until we can buy the corrid today, then I will administer it when I get home.

 

[BesideStillWaters]

You're welcome!
All animals have cocci - it's just when an overload happens it becomes an issue. I don't know the whys for everything either. We just all learn as we go, right?
Hopefully once treatment starts your peeps will perk right up.

Yes! This year has been quite a learning experience so far. So many times I wanted to quit. I've had the killer gnats, stubborn raccoons tearing up the wire around their run, mites / lice, and now this. All one right after another since the end of March. When my parents had chickens, I don't remember them having any issues like this.

Thank you, I hope so. They are pets, but even if I wanted to hatch more eggs, I can't from one hen. The mother of the sex-links died a couple of weeks ago. (I have rhode island reds, sex links, and then some wonderful mutts thanks to my sex link rooster.) These are the last sex links I'm going to have, and I don't want to lose them.

 

[DobieLover]

They grow up so fast! Yes, four months old, not really chicks anymore.

It's times like these where semantics are important. They stop being referred to as chicks when they are fully feathered and off heat, generally at 6 weeks old. They are then referred to as pullets or cockerels until one year old when they are referred to as hens and roosters/cocks.