HELP! 12 week chick with bloody stool but vaccinated for cocci

[Benshensct]

Hi all, Hoping you can help me. This morning I noticed bloody stool in the coop of my 12 week olds. I checked the little ladies and identified one of the easter eggers with a messy backside and a downward facing tail (Agnes). She's acting less sprightly than usual but still moving around slowly. All three chicks were vaccinated for Mareks and Coccocidiocis during their first week of life, and eat unmedicated feed (Grubbly's Little Pecks). The other two are acting normally, eating and drinking. I checked everyone for mites and didn't see any.

Not sure what to think here and I'm nervous because she's so young. Is it possible she has cocci? I have her isolated in a little crate in the run with food and water and added some electrolytes to the water. I do see her drinking, so that's positive at least.

Should I treat her with corid? Bring her to an emergency vet? Pictures of the stool are attached.

It's all particularly upsetting because, despite trying to give all of my ladies the best life with a healthy diet and regular free ranging, I've had a few with health issues over the years and I don't know what I'm doing wrong.

 

[FunClucks]

I'd suggest getting a sample of the affected bird's poo and getting the vet to do a fecal float. This should be much cheaper than him seeing the entire chicken. They can diagnose a wide variety of things in the poo. Your chicken could have some type of worms rather than coccidiosis, or maybe some other thing.

You can treat for coccidiosis without a fecal float or vet visit, especially if symptoms match what you've seen last time your flock had coccidiosis, but without a firm diagnosis you'll just be guessing and hoping for the best. 2 teaspoons CORID liquid per gallon, change it every day, and supply as the only source of water for 5-7 days. The dosage for the powder is different.

Sometimes, even though they get the vaccination, it doesn't "take". The chick misses the spray, or doesn't get enough of it, or was supposed to be vaccinated but wasn't - who knows what actually happened at the hatchery.

Also, if the strain of coccidiosis on your property is different enough from the one your chick was vaccinated for, your chick could come down with coccidiosis from the strain present on your property, in spite of the successful vaccination.

I would do something very, very soon though, your chicken doesn't sound good.

If you treat one chicken for coccidiosis or another disease/illness present in the environment (worms, giardia, etc), I'd treat everyone in the coop. It won't hurt them, and if they have the same thing but not as bad, it will help them. But talk to the vet about it when you get the results from the fecal float.

If you're super worried about this chicken and can afford it, by all means visit the vet with her. The long and short of my post is, try and figure out what you're treating as soon as possible so you can treat properly in time to preserve the life of your hen.

 

[Benshensct]

Update - Fecal float results came back with no parasites or giardia. She's not eating or drinking much but she is walking around. I put her back with her chickmates with the hope that they will encourage her to eat. It's helped a little. She's still passing very loose stool with blood in it so I'm not sure what to think. I gave her some nutridrench this morning and put some hardboiled egg in her beak. Very much hoping she pulls through :/

 

[Kiki]

Update - Fecal float results came back with no parasites or giardia. She's not eating or drinking much but she is walking around. I put her back with her chickmates with the hope that they will encourage her to eat. It's helped a little. She's still passing very loose stool with blood in it so I'm not sure what to think. I gave her some nutridrench this morning and put some hardboiled egg in her beak. Very much hoping she pulls through :/

Did they test for coccidia too?

Cocci is a bacteria which is not the same thing as coccidiosis which can cause blood. Coccidia is coccidiosis...not the bacteria cocci.

Thread 'Just a friendly reminder on coccidiosis vs cocci' https://www.backyardchickens.com/threads/just-a-friendly-reminder-on-coccidiosis-vs-cocci.1190998/

 

[Benshensct]

@Kiki thank you for the info regarding cocci vs coccidiosis! I didn't realize it was different.
Also a good point - I assumed that the fecal float covered a coccidiosis test but it does not. Knowing that I'll start her on corid to be safe. Do you think I should treat her chickmates even though they aren't experiencing blood in their stool? Thanks so much for your help!!!

 

[Kiki]

@Kiki thank you for the info regarding cocci vs coccidiosis! I didn't realize it was different.
Also a good point - I assumed that the fecal float covered a coccidiosis test but it does not. Knowing that I'll start her on corid to be safe. Do you think I should treat her chickmates even though they aren't experiencing blood in their stool? Thanks so much for your help!!!

I believe it's best to treat the entire flock at the same time with Corid. I am confident that it would not hurt any of them to drink the Corid water if they do not have coccidiosis.
It is very important that you do not give any added vitamins while using Corid.

 

[Eggcessive]

I would think that if the fecal float had no parasites, that would include both coccidia and worms. You could call the vet today for confirmation. Most chicken poop will have one or two coccidia seen, just because they are in the gut and in dirt, but when many are seen, then that is when Corid/amprollium or other drugs may be needed. I am not sure how long a coccidiosis vaccine lasts, but Corid use will supposedly make it ineffective. I’m just not that familiar with it, although some vaccinated chickens will still get coccidiosis. There are at least 9 strains in chickens, and the vaccine covers to most serious strains. If you see more poop that looks like blood, take a picture.

 

[Benshensct]

Update - after a stressful weekend with lots of supportive care, Agnes seems to have bounced back! No blood in her stool, her tail is upright, and she's acting like her normal self again. WHAT A RELIEF!!

Instead of using Corid, I decided to try ACV in the water, diatomaceous earth in the feed, and I gave her .1ml of nutridrench each morning. By Sunday morning, she was eating and drinking normally.

Thank you all for your help and advice. So thankful for this community!!